Skip to main content

Natural Doesn’t Mean Gentle: The “Soothing” Ingredients That Backfire on Eczema Skin

Andra McHugh
Andra McHugh

Founder of Eczema Kids, Host of the Eczema Kids Podcast

7 hours ago
  • Broken skin can teach the body to fear a food. When a food protein like oat or goat milk reaches the immune system through inflamed skin before the gut has learned it’s safe, the body can flag that food as a threat. Keep food-based ingredients off flaring skin, especially foods your child hasn’t eaten yet or already reacts to.
  • A new herbal balm that makes things worse points to the daisy family. Chamomile and calendula are relatives of ragweed, so a child with seasonal allergies can react to the very product meant to soothe them. The reaction often looks like an ordinary flare, which is why parents reach for more of the same balm.
  • The back of the bottle tells you more than the front. Line up every product that touches your child’s skin and look for Avena sativa (the Latin name for oat), hydrolyzed proteins, and goat milk or casein if you’ve pulled dairy. Patch test anything new on a small spot of unbroken skin before it goes near a flare.

Comments