Dr. Amit

Are you observing red, crusty patches on the surface of your infant’s skin during his/her first month after birth? this is an indication of infant eczema. It is a dry, itchy skin condition which may occur on any part of your child’s body and is commonly found on the cheeks, legs and arms. This condition is sometimes confused with cradle cap, which is another skin condition.

Causes-

Eczema usually runs in families and is hereditary. If you have eczema, it is likely that your child may have it too. Several problems in the skin barrier allow germs inside and moisture to go out. This is a common cause of eczema in infants. The condition occurs when the body makes insufficient fatty cells or ceramides. When there is not enough of these, the skin loses water and becomes extremely dry.

Does eczema in infants go away by itself?

In many cases, infant eczema goes away on its own and most infants outgrow the condition by the time they are ready for school. However, some children do get eczema during their adulthood. This may continue for years without specific symptoms. Such children also tend to have dry skin.

Treatment-

Here are some home treatment options for infant eczema:

You should use moisturisers on your child. Moisturisers containing ceramides are a good option, which are available at all over-the-counter (otc) stores by prescription. You can also opt for good moisturisers, fragrance-free creams and ointments like petroleum jelly. This helps in keeping your baby’s skin in retaining natural moisture. Apply these after a bath.

A lukewarm bath is beneficial for your child. It helps in hydrating and cooling the skin. The water should not be very hot and the bath should not exceed 10 minutes. You can also add oatmeal soaking products to your baby’s scrub for soothing itchiness.

You must use mild and unscented body soaps for your baby. This is because perfumed, antibacterial and deodorant soaps are rough for your baby’s skin. Scrub some soap on areas of your child’s body where there is dirt, such as the genitals, feet and hand. Do not rub or pat his/her skin.

Several medicines are also used for the treatment of infant eczema. These include hydrocortisone creams and ointments, which help in easing inflammation and itching. You should not apply these medicines in excess as they can thin the skin on the affected areas.

You should consult a doctor on observing any signs or symptoms of eczema on your child’s skin. This will help in proper diagnosis of the problem and an early treatment plan will prevent further deterioration of the symptoms.

If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a Dermatologist.

You are often made the topic of all conversations and jokes in your friend circle, if you are lazy. At times, it is just brushed off by laughing. However, in reality being lazy is not a good sign at all. It hampers the growth and development of a person. Laziness is accompanied by lethargy, sleepiness and not wanting to perform any work. This might not only provide less exercise to the brain, but may also adversely affect your body mentally and physically. Ayurveda offers a great scope of medical practice, which can help you out of your lazy personality.

Here, are some of the ways in which ayurveda can help you lead a normal and healthy lifestyle.

1. Practice yoga: Yoga helps in calming your senses and rejuvenating your soul. It helps in increasing stamina and concentration so that you can go about doing your daily chores without any hindrance. In case, you do not want to practice full-fledged yoga, following only pranayama can also help.
2. Ashwagandha and gooseberry capsules: At times, laziness is experienced right after delivery of a child. During that phase, the health of the mother needs to be carefully monitored. Hence, to reduce lethargy, ashwagandha and gooseberry or amla capsules are consumed. Both have medicinal properties and are stable ingredients.
3. Sleep: Ayurveda focuses a lot on the sleep patterns of an individual. It is said that you need to get the adequate amount of sleep to be able to have the energy to work the next day. Sleeping on time and getting up in the morning with at least six to seven hours of sleep is necessary for an adult. Furthermore, your sleep patterns including whether or not you sleep in the afternoons, help you in combating with laziness.
4. Tea: Ayurveda focuses that lethargy can be due to negative vibes in your body. Thus, everyday you need to consume green tea ginger tea, or lemon tea in order to get rid of the tiredness in your body.

Thus, these are some of the best ways in which Ayurveda can help you get back to shape and have sound mental health, leaving laziness far behind. If you follow these rules in your daily life, then your body would be able to develop and grow properly with all the nutrition and environment that it needs for development. For more information, you can always consult an Ayurvedic practitioner.