Dealing with the eczema around family...

I find that it can be really hard sometimes to explain to family and friends that my daughter cannot have certain lotions, gels or soaps on her. My mother in law in particular loves to put Oil of Olay on her claiming that it will make her skin stop being so dry. It can be so hard sometimes to explain to her over and over again that her skin isn't dry because its lacking moisture, its dry because she has eczema caused by skin irritants. I try to tell her that what her miracle lotion containing fragrance and perfumes for starters, are whats making it worse, to no avail. After dealing with this for a few years, most people, relatives and friends are understanding. They usually won't put anything on her skin without asking, but there are those few who I think will probably never learn and must be reminded forever. I have also learned over time to be patient with these few. I know they don't intend to harm or cause my child discomfort so I try to be more understanding. So I guess that is really all the advice I have to give on that matter. The only thing I can say to you who may be feeling frustrated about this is....I feel your pain and try to be patient. Some people are well intentioned though ignorant and nothing you do will probably ever change that. Its a sad fact but maybe,just maybe if you are persistent they will get the picture one of these days.

Where did my baby get eczema?

So firstly, eczema is obviously not contagious but does usually happen based on heredity. For example my daughter, baby A, has atopic dermatitis that seems to come from allergies that have developed from a mixture of her father's and my allergies. My husband, her father, has asthma and allergies to animal dander, pollen and perfumes. His skin however has no sensitivities. Now that he is an adult his skin has grown out of a mild eczema problem. I have only a few allergies to dust and cat dander. When I was a baby I had a severe case of seborrheic dermatitis. I have grown out of it but since her father and I have this combination of allergy issues, this has made it possible for my daughter to inherit this gene for skin allergies. A question was asked at thetech.org to a geneticist that addressed inheriting eczema that I found interesting. You can click here to read it. It helps a little in identifing as much as you can about your baby's eczema. It is however, important for a dermatologist to properly diagnose your baby's skin disorder if you haven't already. Here is also an article I found helpful about genetics and eczema.