The worst day of my son’s difficult few years with eczema was supposed to be a regular day — I was taking him to get a haircut. But on the way to the salon, he had scratched his legs so badly that upon lifting him out of his carseat, I was shocked to discover that he was covered in blood.
For __parents whose babies and toddlers suffer from eczema, this story probably sounds familiar. But research conducted at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine concludes that moisturizing newborns with something as simple as petroleum jelly may help prevent eczema and allow kids to be happier and healthier.
That’s right — petroleum jelly; a jar of which you can often find for less than $5 at your nearest pharmacy.
Dr. Steve Xu, a resident physician in the department of dermatology at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, recently analyzed data from a 2014 study at Oregon Health & Science University that studied 124 babies with a predisposition to eczema. Each baby in the study had a family member with eczema, asthma, or hay fever, and researchers concluded that moisturizing them all over their bodies (except their scalps) at least five times per week reduced their risk of eczema by 50%. The study began when the infants were a mere few weeks old.
Dr. Xu asserts that a moisturizer as simple as petroleum jelly may, therefore, help prevent this painful skin condition, also known as atopic dermatitis. Why petroleum jelly? It’s “safe, fragrance-free, and doesn’t have preservatives or additives that could potentially cause irritation or other allergies,” Xu says. Plus, it’s recommended by the National Eczema Association as a top choice for moisturizers. And the fact that it’s cheap is a major bonus — especially considering the fact that costs related to eczema reach an estimated $3.8 billion a year.
Not only is eczema painful, but it is often linked to other physical conditions like asthma and allergies. According to a Washington University School of Medicine study, 50-70% of kids with severe eczema will eventually develop asthma. Known in the dermatology world as the “atopic march,” eczema also damages the skin, making it more likely to allow allergens in — which explains the link between eczema and these other conditions.
Needless to say, the possibility of preventing eczema and the host of other conditions it’s linked to is an exciting one to both dermatologists like Dr. Xu and to parents.
Unfortunately, this study doesn’t do much for patients already in the thick of it with baby eczema, as petroleum jelly may soothe, but it will not cure an outbreak. It may, however, provide hope for __parents planning on having more children that are likely to suffer the same fate. Our third (and last) child was our only baby with severe eczema, but if we were planning on having more kids, I’d strongly consider this petroleum jelly experiment in the hopes of preventing the same suffering he experienced.
Atopic Dermatitis is the most common form of eczema. It usually develops in babies but for many, it goes away as the child grows. Such was the case for my son, and I am incredibly grateful that his eczema days are behind him, for severe eczema is far more than a skin condition. For many, it is a life-long battle that also includes allergies and asthma. Hopefully dermatologists like Dr. Xu will continue to research and offer more possible solutions like the use of petroleum jelly to help parents fight this troubling condition.