Treating Infant Eczema

It is important to have contact der­matitis in mind. If you do have it in mind you will see a good many chil­dren in whom you are reasonably sure that the trouble has been coming from the outside. Determination of the exact cause is, however, a very differ­ent matter, and often is impossible. The general [...]

Sensitization and ensuing dermatitis from drugs contained in local applica­tions to the skin are very common in adults – I doubt if they are as common in infants and children. I have used coal tar for literally thousands of pa­tients and ammoniated mercury in hundreds, and have seen just three cases of sensitization to tar [...]

Contact dermatitis from shoes is not uncommon and is often wrongly thought to be a fungus infection. It is caused more often from the cements, asphalts, or other adhesives that are used in the linings of shoes than from anything to do with the leather itself. It is usually seen on the upper surface of [...]

Ammonia dermatitis is common in babies of the diaper age and is caused by the breaking down into ammonia of the urea in the urine on the diaper by bacteria from the bowel. Ammonia dermatitis is a classical example of dermatitis from a primary irritant- there is no allergic sensitization. There may be erythema with [...]

I am inclined to think that in chil­dren the clothing is the most common cause of contact dermatitis. It may be difficult or impossible, however, to determine what constituent of, or addi­tive to, the cloth is causing the trouble. Wool is a common cause of eczema-it can work either by inhalation or by contact. Such [...]

Plant Dermatitis
In some parts of the country, derma­titis from weeds,7 particularly rag­weed, is common in adults; it is not common in children. The dermatitis is caused by contact with the oil con­tained in the leaves, stems, and pollen. Patch tests are positive. Eczema from pollen is common in children, but this is of the atopic [...]

I am writing especially for pediatri­cians. I will therefore start this sec­tion by suggesting to them that it would be best if they discarded the idea that all eczematous skin eruptions in infants and children are caused by what they eat and cured by removing some food from the diet.
Contact dermatitis is the most com­mon [...]