It never ceases to amaze me about all the ways massage is beneficial for baby. I’m learning about new benefits all the time. This topic is one, for example. Did you know about healing your baby’s eczema with massage?
What is Eczema?
Eczema is an inflammatory skin condition that causes dry skin, rashes, scaly patches, and blisters. It is common among children under two because their skin barrier is more fragile. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, up to 20% of infants have eczema. In industrialized nations, that increases to an estimate as high as 15-30%!
Eczema makes babies feel itchy, fussy, having difficult sleeping, and scratching the areas can cause infection. It can be distressful for babies and parents alike and can have an impact on maternal mental health. Massage can help address both the eczema and help alleviate postpartum depression, as you may know, so a double win!
Eczema has been increasing among all ages and we can, with certainty, point to environmental factors as the cause. Chemicals in our food, drinks, beauty products, and household products are culprits. Many of us are living with a compromised gut microbiome, as a result of those factors, and are susceptible to many things including eczema and psoriasis.
Our Experience with Healing Baby’s Eczema with Massage
My older daughter first exhibited eczema and cradle cap around three months. I wasn’t familiar with either of them when I was with my nieces and nephews as babies so it was new to me. The cradle cap subsided around six months, as they predict, and the eczema stuck around for most of her first year. It was particularly noticeable on her cheeks and in the folds of her elbows and knees. Over time, as we learned to address it, it was not much of an issue for her. I was massaging her periodically, at the time, but didn’t know it was helping her eczema. I also found a couple of natural products that were helping keep under control. Giving her a steroid was not an option for us though it is widely prescribed by doctors so I was pleased to have alternative options.
How is massage beneficial to addressing eczema?
Aside from distracting babies from itchy skin, it helps them relax, as the feel good hormones are released. It supports deeper sleep and increases blood and lymph flow to the skin, which promotes healing.
In this study, babies who received massage from their mothers had less eczema severity, the eczema went into remission, and there was improved quality of life compared to that of the control group.
As we share in our course, as little as 10 minutes of daily massage has numerous benefits and twenty minutes is ideal for an eczema prone baby.
If you have a baby with eczema, here are some tips:
- Make sure you have eliminated as many toxins as possible in the home from detergent to commercial diapers that could be aggravating to baby.
- Choose an organic oil over lotion because you know exactly what it contains. I recommend jojoba oil because it mimics our skin and is high in vitamin E or rose hip oil, which is high in fats. Outside of massage time, I also like to recommend Tubby Todd’s All Over Ointment and Love Bubbsi, which have done wonders for skin issues like my daughter’s. This would be in addition to oil, as one study showed children who received a 20 minute massage had less eczema than those who only received moisturizer.
- Get into a practice of asking permission to massage before you begin. This can especially be helpful when there is skin sensitivity.
- Starts with the legs and feet (as we teach in the course) as it is the least threatening.
- Use gentle but firm touch. Back off if baby is in pain or uncomfortable.
- Use little to no oil on the face as our faces already produces oil.
- Use long gliding strokes for legs, tummy, chest, arms, face, head, and back.
Looking to the Cause of Eczema
As you massage baby regularly and clean up diets and environments as much as possible, you may want to look into their overall gut health. Signs of a compromised gut microbiome include, but are not limited to, eczema/psoriasis, food allergies, ADHD, autism, mood and behavioral issues, etc.
For those of you curious to get to the root cause, I would suggest consulting with a classically trained Homeopath, look into the work of Dr. Elisa Song, who is an integrative pediatrician, and consider looking into supporting gut health with prebiotics and probiotics, especially if baby has been given antibiotics.
Side note: Having a child with a food allergy, I’m always curious to learn what caused it. Skin conditions in infancy have been referenced in this discussion. Initially, I learned that eczema was an early indication of a food allergy. Some 30% of babies with severe eczema also have food allergies. More recently though, I learned that eczema causes the food allergy because of an open “wound” that makes baby susceptible to environmental allergens. I think the jury is still out on this one but it’s something worth exploring.
Ready to get started? Check out our service options in Shop.
