Yes it is true that baby clothes don’t last long with kids growing as fast as they do, but taking care of a babies clothes is still just as, if not more, important. One of the major reasons proper clothing care is so imperative is to protect an infant’s skin from irritating substances. Because the household use of many different chemicals has increased in modern society, the sensitivity of human skin has increased, and babies have the most sensitive skin of all. A parent must be sensitive to any foods or substances that their children have allergies or intolerance to. In other ways, caring for children and infant’s clothing is similar to adult clothing, but on a much smaller scale.

Powerful detergents are unnecessary even for adults, so it makes sense to buy one detergent that will work for the whole family. By using a mild detergent, all of the clothes will come out just as clean, but without the abundance of irritating substances that can cause problems for a baby’s skin. In some circumstances it is better refrain from the use of any detergents at all. Instead soap for sensitive skin and hot water will get clothes clean, but will take more time. There are some “baby” detergents that are marketed to the young parent market as detergents that are better for babies’ skin, but there is no real difference from these and other mild detergents. Baby detergents are only another way of marketing to the kid retail industry. When purchasing a mild detergent, parents should look for a substance with no added fragrances or colors.

Once the clothes are washed, drying them as directed should be fine without the use of a fabric softener. The best way to dry infant clothing is on a clothesline, but they should hang in an enclosed area that is not in contact with pollen or insects. It is important for the clothes to be completely dry before they are put away or worn by a child, and hanging the clothes on childrens clothes hangers will help keep their form. Baby clothes hangers and childrens hangers are an important part of clothing storage for kids because small garments tend to gather and lose their form more easily.

New clothes should always be washed before worn. Just like new clothes can be stiff and irritating to adults, new clothes are even worse for infants and small children. The same is true for any type of hand-me-downs. Dust mites and other irritating things can gather on any type of clothing that has been in storage.

Extra care should be taken in any circumstance involving an infant, and clothing care is only one of them. By following these few tips, skin irritation and other problems will be one less thing to worry about, and kids’ clothes will stay looking good.

By: Ron Maier Jr.

Eczema’s most predominant characteristic is dry skin. When you are treating baby eczema you need to concentrate most importantly on keeping his skin moist among other things. It should not be wet, wetness can lead to more eczema, but it does have to be moist.

When you are bathing him, his bath should be in warm not hot water. Histamines when released from skin cells can cause itching, and hot water on the skin creates the conditions whereby histamines are let out of cells.

You will also want to use cleaners that do not contain soap. Soap can be an eczema trigger. Some of the main things in soap that causes a problem for sensitive skin are the artificial colors and fragrances that are added. You may say well then I can use a soap that does not have fragrances and colorings added. That is true, but you must also choose a soap that also does not contain lanolin. This too is an ingredient in many soaps, lotions and other cosmetics that are bad for skin that is troubled by eczema.

Many times, children with eczema do not like bath time. The reason for this is that the bath water often stings them when they get into the tub. This may also be true for your baby; the only difference is that he is not able to verbalize this for you. So if you find him beginning to cry when you put him into the bath, this may be a cause of it.

One way around this is to bathe him in bath salts that are good for eczema. It will not only take away the stinging properties of the water but it will also strengthen and moisturize his skin. This is necessary to prevent the skin from cracking and becoming infected. If the skin becomes infected, the problem then becomes that much more difficult to get under control.

In the event that the skin does crack and become infected, then the use of a good bath salt becomes that much more important as an antiseptic, and as an agent to kill the eczema virus that resides on the surface of the skin.

Baths should be brief if you are bathing him with a regular bath. The sooner you can get him out of the water the better. If you are treating him with a bath salt good for eczema then you should let him stay in the water for 15 – 18 minutes. The reason for this is that is how long it takes for the salts to do their work. One benefit is that within 18 minutes the skin will be re-hydrated. By that time it would also have penetrated deeply enough into the skin to get the pores into a condition that allows them to get rid of excess acids which often play a role in helping eczema to be a torment.

By: Broyde McDonald