Baby eczema is a common skin condition that affects infants. Eczema causes your baby’s skin to become dry, bumpy and itchy. Treatment is available to reduce symptoms and help your baby’s skin heal. Eczema is a chronic condition that can come and go throughout your child’s life.
Baby eczema is a common skin condition that affects infants and young children. Eczema causes patches of your baby’s skin to become itchy, dry and bumpy. The most common place where symptoms of eczema will affect your baby is on their face.
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Baby eczema affects an estimated 15% to 20% of infants under age 2 in the United States. The condition can last into adulthood.
Baby eczema makes your baby’s skin dry, itchy and sensitive. This happens because your baby’s protective barrier on the outermost layer of their skin is weak and doesn’t work as expected. Their symptoms can last for a couple of weeks each time there’s a flare-up of symptoms.
Baby eczema is a chronic condition, where it can come and go unexpectedly. Some children grow out of the condition when they reach adulthood but will still experience symptoms of dry skin or mild flare-ups throughout their life.
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Symptoms of baby eczema usually begin during their first six months. Symptoms could include:
Baby eczema can affect the skin anywhere on your child’s body but the condition is most common on their:
A combination of genetic and environmental factors causes baby eczema. These factors include:
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Your baby’s skin is unique and can react to different triggers in their environment that cause symptoms of baby eczema. Some of the most common triggers include:
No, baby eczema isn’t contagious. The condition can’t spread from person to person.
Your provider will diagnose eczema after a physical examination. The appearance of the rash on your baby’s skin leads to an accurate eczema diagnosis. Your provider might offer additional tests to find out what caused symptoms to form on your baby’s skin. Tests could include:
Treatment varies for baby eczema based on what caused your child’s symptoms to flare up and the severity of their symptoms. Treatment for baby eczema could include:
Your baby’s pediatrician can diagnose and treat eczema. If your baby has recurring or severe symptoms, their pediatrician might recommend visiting a dermatologist who is a skin care specialist.
After treatment begins, your baby’s symptoms can reduce after a couple of days. It could take several weeks before your baby’s skin heals completely.
Baby eczema needs treatment to go away completely. The best treatment is using moisturizer daily or several times each day to keep your baby’s skin hydrated.
Most cases of baby eczema clear up by the time they start school, around age 4 or 5. Sometimes eczema can go away or reduce in severity as your child reaches adolescence or by the time they turn into adults. As your child grows, they may have sensitive skin or flare-ups of eczema symptoms throughout their life.
Since several factors can cause eczema in your baby, there’s no way to completely prevent the condition. You can help your baby reduce their risk of developing a flare-up of symptoms by:
Eczema causes your baby’s skin to be dry and itchy. Your baby might try to scratch their skin to relieve the itchiness. While it may be difficult to prevent your baby from scratching their skin, scratching can make your baby more likely to get an infection. An infection occurs when bacteria or a virus enters your child’s body. This can make your child’s symptoms worse. Visit your child’s provider if their symptoms get worse or if they have an infection.
To prevent side effects like an infection on your baby’s skin, keep your baby’s skin moisturized with creams, ointments or lotions designed for a baby’s skin. Rehydrating your baby’s skin can reduce their symptoms and prevent itchiness.
No, there isn’t a cure for baby eczema. Treatment is available to help your baby’s skin heal and make their symptoms go away. Some cases of baby eczema go away by the time your child grows into an adult, but they may experience skin sensitivity or minimal symptoms of eczema throughout their life.
Visit your healthcare provider if your baby’s skin shows signs of an infection. Babies diagnosed with eczema are at a high risk of developing an infection because the protective barrier of their skin doesn’t work as it should. Scratching can also break open your baby’s skin, exposing their body to bacteria or viruses that can get into their body. Signs of an infection include:
Symptoms of baby eczema and acne can look similar but there are differences between the two conditions. Baby acne causes pimples to form on your baby’s skin, specifically coming from the oil glands in their hair follicles. Eczema causes dry and itchy patches of skin that form a rash. Eczema can also cause bumps on your baby’s skin. These bumps aren’t filled with fluid. Some acne pimples are fluid-filled. Baby acne can resolve on its own, but baby eczema needs treatment to rehydrate your baby’s skin.
A note from Cleveland Clinic
Baby eczema usually affects your child’s face and it can be concerning to see a rash suddenly form on your baby’s cheeks. Avoiding irritants and triggers and keeping your baby’s skin moisturized and hydrated helps improve their skin’s healing time and prevent future flare-ups. While your baby isn’t able to vocalize that they’re itchy, you can stay a step ahead of their condition by scheduling times throughout the day to put moisturizer on their skin to keep them from scratching their eczema rash. You might also consider putting mittens on your baby’s hands so they can’t scratch at their skin, which can make their symptoms worse.
Last reviewed on 07/05/2022.
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Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Policy