Causes Of Cradle Cap

Infantile seborrheic eczema, also called cradle cap, affects the face, scalp, and upper extremities and is often associated with food consumption (cheese, egg whites, wheat, or nuts are a common cause of infantile seborrheic eczema). Other triggers that can cause baby eczema include soaps, laundry detergents, fabric softeners, wool, and polyester or blended fabrics. A natural treatment, feeding the baby breast milk can help to control or limit eczema in infants.

Eczema Triggers

Eczema tends to flare-up when the person is exposed to certain trigger factors. These substances or conditions worsen the eczema, such as dry skin, irritants, allergens, emotional stress, heat and sweating, and infections. Moisturizers such as jojoba oil can be applied to the affected areas as frequently as required to relieve itching, scaling and dryness. Emollients may also be used on the unaffected skin to reduce dryness. Emollient therapy helps to restore one of the skin's most important functions, which is to form a barrier to prevent bacteria and viruses getting into the body and therefore help to prevent a rash becoming infected. Emollients are safe and rarely cause an allergic reaction. Occasionally, products with lanolin may cause a reaction. Ideally, moisturizers should be applied three to four times a day. Apply in a gentle downward motion in the direction of hair growth to prevent accumulation of cream around the hair follicle (this can cause infection of the follicle).

Types of Eczema

General allergic over-sensitivity, called atopy also known as atopic eczema. Atopic eczema is linked with asthma and hay fever, which are conditions of the immune system. These conditions are often passed down through the generations of a family.

Contact with substances that irritate the skin chemically, called irritant contact eczema. This is caused by direct contact between the skin and the substance, which might be a detergent, soap, diesel or engine oil, strong chemicals in household cleaners, acids, alkaline mixtures, detergents, etc. and various other chemicals that acutely inflame the skin. The condition can become chronic with repeated exposure. This form of eczema is often encountered in the workplace. Direct irritant contact eczema can occur at the first exposure. For example, most people will develop this form of eczema on first exposure to strong chemicals that are acid or alkaline in nature.

Contact with substances that sensitize the skin, leading to acute inflammation when re-exposure occurs is called allergic contact eczema. This type commonly involves nickel, poison ivy, cosmetics, and rubber products. Prior exposure to the irritant allergen is necessary for allergic contact eczema to occur.

Exposure to sunlight as well as certain medications that cause photosensitivity can result in light sensitive eczema.

Infants exposed to moisture from drool or those that have inflammation of the scalp (cradle cap) can develop infantile eczema.

Varicose veins can lead to a form of eczema affecting the lower legs, called stasis eczema. This is also known as varicose or gravitational eczema.

Cause of Eczema

Eczema can cause a wide range of symptoms. All types of eczema cause a desire to scratch. The primary symptoms of eczema include: redness, weeping skin, pain, heat, tenderness, scaling, crusting, dryness, broken skin which may be a result of intense scratching and small blisters may also occur. Over time, damage to the upper layer of the skin can cause the skin to thicken and become scaly.

Each subset of eczema has it’s own distinct causes:

The cause of atopic eczema is related to the presence of hay fever and asthma, which are conditions of the immune system. These conditions are often passed down through the generations of a family.

Irritant contact eczema is caused by a direct contact with the skin and an irritant substance such as soap, detergents, gasoline, diesel or engine oil, various chemicals such as household and industrial cleaners, acids, alkaline mixtures which can acutely inflame the skin. The condition can worsen with repeated exposure.

Allergic contact eczema is a result of contact with substances, which sensitize the skin such as poison oak, ivy or sumac, cosmetics, rubber, nickel, wool, dye, polyester. Initial exposure to the irritant occurs and it is the re-exposure that causes acute inflammation.