I do not have objective data, but I do have the impression that over the years I see more and more children with atopic dermatitis and especially now, when the cold arrives.
When I present this diagnosis to some parents who have already come to the consultation several times because “these eczemas have appeared again and they scratch a lot”, they ask: “but what is atopic dermatitis?”.
It is a skin disease that appears in outbreaks, that is, the infant or child can spend seasons without lesions, but in times of cold, temperature changes or coinciding with other diseases, eczema appears. They are children who usually have Dry Skin and periodically an outbreak appears, that is, they start with reddening of the skin, they can present blisters or crusty lesions and of course scratching lesions because what the child experiences is itching. The itching or itching can be constant, even if you only have dry skin and there are no other lesions, and it creates a vicious circle that must be broken.
You can start at 2-3 months of life and is usually limited to the face: cheeks, chin, forehead, and ear folds. Later, at one year of life, it can affect the face, knee and elbow folds, wrists, ankles, neck and extension areas of the extremities. From 2 years and throughout the school stage it affects knee and elbow flexures, ear folds, neck, wrists and ankles; They may also present lesions on the eyelids, peri-oral area, and feet.
It is therefore a chronic disease, but at the end of the second year of life, 50% of children progressively stop having outbreaks. If they continue, upon entering adolescence, many others will leave the disease behind. The rest must maintain their skin care over the years.
What can we do?
To begin with, there are some general measures that help:
–Keep skin nourished and hydrated. I usually tell parents that it is a problem for “kids from a rich house”, because it is advisable to moisturize more than once a day (who has time!) and on the other hand, they are expensive products. Jokes aside, we must hydrate the entire body with emollient creams, lotions or oils, especially the most sensitive areas.
–Wear comfortable clothes made of natural fabrics that allow perspiration. Wrap it up to go outside and when you get to a closed place, wear jackets, because sweat triggers itching and eczema.
–Short bath with warm water. Add moisturizing lotions or oils to the bath water, little soap and if we use it, make it a mild soap, with a slightly acidic pH. After the bath, dry the skin without rubbing, with a soft towel and apply moisturizing cream.
Now that the cold has started avoid dry environmenttherefore do not have high heating.
In the case of starting an outbreak consult your pediatrician or dermatologist to treat the symptoms and manage it as well as possible.