Day 327 - What to Do if Your Baby Has Excema

Today's first time parenting tip - Moisturize your baby's skin to fight off excema

Red, itchy, dry skin. It's all part of excema, a skin condition where the upper layers of skin become inflamed. If it becomes severe, the skin can crack, blister and even scar.

The best way to treat excema yourself is to keep the skin moisturizes. Excema is a form of dermatitis, which drys out the skin. Keeping it moisturized with a cream or ointment will help the skin retain its natural moisture and help the affected skin heal.

In addition, you should also stop using detergents or soap that dry out the skin. Look for soaps and detergents have an oil or fat base and that are unscented. The milder, the better.

If your baby is constantly itching his skin, he may be damaging it. In this case an anti-itch cream might be a good idea to help protect him from scratching and itching.

Parenting, Excema, Treatment, Itch, Dry, Skin

Day 322 - Symptoms of Croup

Today's first time parenting tip - Learn how to spot the signs of croup in your baby

A co-worker was telling me the other day about how his daughter ended up in the emergency room because of croup, and it made me hop online to check out the symptoms to make sure I was prepared.

Croup is a viral infection that causes swelling of the airways. From what another co-worker tells me, it causes your infant to bark like a seal with they cry or cough. Doesn't sound like something you could easily miss.

In addition to the cough, your infant might be having trouble breathing, or they may make a high pitched squeaking noise while breathing really fast. This is when it's serious and you should get medical attention immediately.

You can treat croup with a cool mist humidifier. You can also try to take your baby outside if it's cold (with a jacket, hat, mittens - the works). Breathing in cold, moist air will help with the swelling of the airway.

If you aren't able to treat the croup on your own or it gets serious, get medical attention. This is one you want to monitor closely, so if you're sleeping separately, conside spending the night in the same room.

Reference - Kid's Health

Parenting, Croup, Symptoms, Treatment, Cough