From the first couple of months of your babies life you will notice if your baby has eczema as they will start itching their skin and it will look red, patchy and sore.
Sometimes babies itch and itch until their skin bleeds and no matter how frustrating it is for a parent sometimes it's a catch 22 situation of you putting cream on and them scratching it and making it worse again.
However there are things to help this condition like looking at the fabric softener you are using in the wash, try different ones and see if babies skin gets better or worse.
You can also watch what food your baby eats and if the eczema flares up try and give them less of a certain type of food.
When bathing your baby try not to use any bath salts or shower gel unless its Oilatum which can be prescribed by your doctor.
After the bath try and use Epiderm or E45 on your babies skin, these are both creams for dry skin and will help your babies skin heel.
Then try and put your baby in a sleepsuit to keep their bodies covered up and hopefully stop them scratching.
When your baby is very small you could try using scratch mittens however they are quite easy for determined babies to get off, so you could try small socks on their hands and then take them off when baby is in deep sleep.
Eczema can last for a lifetime or just for a few years, 9 out of 10 will grow out of it by their teenage years.
Eczema is normally hereditary and normally affects parts of the body where the skin creases like the knees, wrists and face.
The normal side effects are dry, inflamed, cracked or itchy skin.
It usually flares up from shampoo, dusty conditions, unwell, stressed or having a temperature.