Atopic dermatitis in babies and children - Part 2
Dry, itchy, sometimes inflamed skin - this can be neurodermatitis, but it doesn't have to be. Because as important as this condition is, it can also be complicated to recognise and treat. In the second part on this topic, we look at the aspects of treatment, care and prognosis.
In the first part, we learnt why it is so important to regularly care for the skin with atopic dermatitis from the outside. There are certain patterns that should be adhered to. For example, the hotter it is outside, the sooner you need to apply something thinner, i.e. a lotion or a thinner cream. The colder it is, the more likely it is to be something greasy, i.e. a greasy cream or ointment.
As you can see, the treatment of atopic dermatitis is quite complex and cannot be answered in a nutshell on an A4 page. It is not one of those clinical pictures where I say: read this page, then you don't even need to come to the practice.
In the case of skin problems in babies and toddlers: don't hesitate, but make sure you see your paediatrician. Personally, I always tell parents at the beginning if they have not yet learnt the care regime properly: It's better to come round once sooner than once too late, when the skin is much worse again, reddening and itching.
Fortunately, the prognosis is not that bad. If there are no accompanying allergies, the problem disappears completely in a third of cases, and in a third it gets significantly better by the time the child is a toddler. Only in children who have severe courses and/or additional allergies can the whole thing go on into adolescence or adulthood.
What is also good to know, especially in severe cases: There is a so-called neurodermatitis training course offered by dermatology or paediatric practices. This is a great thing for parents whose children are really severely affected, who suffer from it and whose condition is not getting better. These are training sessions, so to speak, in which parents are trained - in skin care, in dealing with itching and also in the question of what else can be done in everyday life to make the child feel better.
Main message: If your child has very dry skin and starts to suffer from it - e.g. itching, scratching or restlessness - then please come to your paediatrician's practice so that we can look together at what can be done in terms of diagnosis and treatment.
Further interesting tips
Blood poisoning
Today a topic from the category: Myths of medicine. Colloquially, a red line on the arm or leg is often referred to as blood poisoning. Just as often we are presented with children whose parents are full of fear and worry and immediately need antibiotics because the child has blood poisoning. A little education is needed here.
Adultism
Recently, the word "adultism" has been cropping up again and again in the education/school/nursery sector. So it's time to say something about it from a paediatrician's point of view.
Food
In keeping with Joachim Löw's resignation as national coach, today we have a "highly" complex topic: food.