I recently came across a few young patients with eczema in kindergarten or school age in the clinic and I have some thoughts to share with you. These little patients are not mild (the severity of the lesions should be moderate), the duration of the disease is not too short (most of them started before the age of 1), and the medication and basic skin care are not very standard, so the eczema is not well controlled. The actual eczema in the infant stage needs to be treated or not? The characteristics of infant eczema The skin barrier function of infants and young children is still developing and improving, so infant skin is easily irritated by the external environment and eczema can occur. The most common type of eczema in infants and toddlers is atopic dermatitis (also called atopic eczema), which most children develop around 2-3 months of age. By preschool age, eczema often appears on the flexors of the limbs, in addition to the face and neck. Can infant eczema really get better on its own? Words are pale, let’s use data to speak. The following chart shows the results of a study conducted by foreign scholars on the long-term follow-up of infantile atopic dermatitis/eczema: You can see that about 1/3 of the children will be in remission after preschool, school age or adolescence; another 1/3 will be in remission during the infantile stage, but then relapse in the adult stage; the remaining 1/3 of the children will have a rash that persists and eventually develops into Adult eczema. (The red line in the graph represents patients in the eczema flare-up phase, while the yellow line represents patients whose eczema is gradually improving or healing.) Therefore, waiting for your baby’s eczema to heal on its own is not a wise choice, but you should actively treat it. What are the benefits of aggressive treatment of eczema in infants and children? The most immediate benefit is, of course, the improvement or even long-term relief of the child’s condition. After regular treatment your baby’s skin appearance improves, itching is reduced, and the quality of sleep is significantly improved. As the saying goes, a good night’s sleep leads to good growth, and growth and development will not lag behind that of normal children. Secondly, the quality of life of parents and caregivers is significantly improved. Often mothers complain about the misery of scratching their eczema babies during countless sleepless nights. If the baby sleeps well, the mother will, of course, have a restful sleep. The third benefit is often overlooked, but is actually very important: children with eczema who suffer from chronic sleep deprivation can suffer from poor concentration, tantrums, or frequent anxiety, and children with eczema can be misunderstood as contagious, discriminated against, and left out in public, resulting in a lack of self-confidence. Effective control of eczema is therefore beneficial to the child’s psychological and personality development, and helps the child participate in normal social activities. The fourth benefit is that the child will not show up until he or she is older. Studies have found that effective eczema control in infancy and early childhood reduces the risk of developing respiratory allergic diseases later in life. Many children with eczema suffer from other allergic diseases such as allergic rhinitis and asthma, and numerous studies have found a strong link between eczema, food allergies and respiratory allergic diseases (allergic rhinitis and asthma). This may be related to the fact that the skin is more susceptible to environmental allergens and triggers an immune response during infancy, so controlling eczema early, improving skin care, and reducing skin irritation from allergens can reduce the risk of developing asthma later. One final benefit is that it saves money. When eczema is controlled from a young age, medical expenses for treating skin eczema and respiratory allergies will definitely be reduced when you grow up, saving your family money in small ways and national medical resources in large ways, which is good for your family and your country! What can be done to actively treat infant eczema? Studies have found that 80% of infant eczema is mild and can be well controlled with only topical medications and moisturizing emollients. This may sound optimistic, but the reality is quite different, as a significant proportion of infant eczema is poorly controlled and can be severe for years. The reason for this is that the two main reasons are: 1. the use of topical medication is not standardized: parents or caregivers do not follow the requirements of the doctor’s medication, eczema is not yet under control will be eager to stop medication, resulting in repeated fluctuations in the condition, not easy to control. Therefore, it is recommended that you use topical anti-inflammatory drugs (including hormonal and non-hormonal anti-inflammatory drugs) under the guidance of a specialist, and follow up on time so that the doctor can determine changes in the condition and adjust the drugs. Generally, doctors will recommend a follow-up visit after 10-14 days of initial consultation, because on the one hand, most topical hormone creams available for children are safe for 2 weeks of continuous use, and on the other hand, 2 weeks of continuous treatment is also convenient for doctors to observe the efficacy of drugs. 2. Neglecting the use of moisturizing emollients: improper use of emollients, insufficient dosage, or failure to insist on long-term use.