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Home Breast Feeding Breastmilk and Eczema
Breastmilk and Eczema
Breast Feeding
Is your baby suffering from Eczema? Chances are your baby might have gotten it from breastfeeding. Although there are also other ways that your baby may have contracted eczema, you cannot dismiss the breastfeeding angle as the main cause of your baby’s skin problem. Eczema is a skin problem where the skin can suddenly become red and itchy for no reason at all. In babies, eczema can even begin at around the age of two to six months.

Eczema in babies will often appear as a rosy rash wich appears on the baby's cheeks. Usually it disappears as suddenly as it came, but if there is any family history of eczema then it can stay until the child is older.

There are studies that show that babies that are exclusively breastfed have a lower incidence of eczema as compared to baby’s fed on processed infant formula. This may prove that babies acquire skin disorders such as eczema from processed cow’s milk rather than natural breast milk. Though recently, there have been some incidents that have cited breastfed babies are also developing signs of eczema. It seems even after experts have eliminated other causes, the eczema seems to point out to the mother’s milk as the probable cause they can think of. Why could this be?

Although not all experts would readily agree with these observations, eczema in the breastfed babies often does seem to be related to the mother's breast milk. The reason for this could be due to the breast milk being contaminated because of the mother’s consumption of dairy products.

It is thought that if the breast fed baby does develop eczema, then by avoiding all dairy products, the mother may prevent her baby's condition from worsening. Even when she does avoid the consumption of dairy products, it can still take a time for the mother to see some improvement in her baby’s eczema.

A mother should do her best in order to avoid dairy products as often as possible. She should always take time to read all labels of the foods she is consuming to make sure that they are dairy-free. While eating dairy-free, she should also try to focus on foods that she enjoys eating in order to minimize her cravings for dairy products.

A mother should try to make a list of dairy-free food products that she will enjoy eating. Every new delicious dairy-free food that the mother has come to like, she should add it to her daily list. It is also important to make sure of getting the essential nutrients needed from other foods now that she is not eating foods from this group.

In treating a baby’s eczema, hydrocortisone cream can be used to treat the baby's eczema. This cream can help reduce the inflammation and itching associated with such skin problems in babies. Try applying the hydrocortisone cream on the baby after giving him a nice soak before putting the baby to bed. It will help relieve the night time itching that may wake up your baby. Eczema can be avoided in more ways than one.

A breastfeeding mom watching her dairy product consumption is just one way that can help avoid it. Other means are also available so mother’s should always take their time to study about these things. It would help them a lot in bringing up a healthier and disease-free baby.