What's Inside

• Eczema Scoop You Should Know

• Fact Or Fiction: Do Baths Cause Eczema?

• What I’m Seeing at Work: Roseola

• Money-Saving Tip: Hack For Treating Yeast Diaper R …

• WWWD: Swollen Tonsils

• Recalls & Alerts: Bassinets, Toys, Rattles

• Funny Things: Serious Conversations

Eczema Scoop You Should Know

Eczema is a very common childhood skin condition. It can affect all ages, and it ranges in severity from mild (hardly noticeable and requiring no prescription medications) to very severe (requiring multiple prescription medications and very life-altering). The key to successful treatment is in understanding what eczema is all about.

What is eczema, really?

Eczema is a skin condition that can cause the skin to look red, dry, or flaky. Sometimes there are small fluid filled bumps and oozing. In the chronic stage, eczema can make the skin look thick and scaly. It can affect skin anywhere on the body, but in children it is usually on the face, the bends of the elbows, and behind the knees. Eczema is sometimes called “the itch that rashes” because it is extremely itchy and bothersome (even before the rash appears). The other medical term for eczema is “atopic dermatitis.” When broken down, “atopic” simply means “allergic,” “derm” means skin, and “-itis” means inflammation. In medicine, we have a habit of making things sound more complicated than they are. Atopic dermatitis is simply then, allergic, inflamed skin.