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| Skin discoloration in the Tummy area due to Skin Asthma |
In any way I look at it, I
can really say that pregnancy and motherhood as a whole is life changing. It
will change your priorities, your outlook in life, your decision making
process. It will modify how you look at yourself and how you look at life…it will
change you as a person! It will change you forever, for the better.
Pregnancy is a time wherein
a woman is given the chance to better take care of herself, not because there
are a lot of discomforts which could be felt during this time, rather it is
because there is already another human being developing inside her womb, who is
totally dependent on her for its continued existence. A baby is best protected
if it’s still inside the mom’s womb, but once it comes out, mom’s cannot
anymore offer the same protection the baby gets when it’s still in the protective
environment inside. No matter how a mom takes care of her body, there will
always be some unexpected things that could happen, beyond her control.
Therefore, it is still best to be informed so that she will not be caught
unprepared and so that she can manage her expectations.
One of the difficult things
I have to deal with is when my second child developed skin asthma. I can say
that it’s difficult to deal with since we already consulted his doctor so many
times for his meds, we already changed his infant formula, we changed his
detergent, we used purified water for his bath, we had him take meds, we already
put a lot of creams on his skin, but still it did not lessen his symptoms plus he is only
more than one month then. I can see him get irritated and wake up from sleep
scratching his eyes, rubbing his cheeks, because it might be very itchy and
that hurts me as a mom!
It may not look serious at
first, but then don’t wait for things to get serious. Atopic dermatitis, most
commonly known as skin asthma occurs when someone becomes hypersensitive to ANY
irritant. Its occurrence can be triggered by anything, like in the case of Matthew;
he gets rashes whenever his skin (particularly in the chin, neck and face)
comes in contact with his saliva. Since the irritant can be anything, a mom or
the primary care giver of the child should be watchful in order to know the
triggering factors of skin asthma specific to the child so that measures can be
done as early as possible to avoid it.
Prevention is always better than cure, but conditions like skin asthma cannot really be prevented especially if you do not have enough knowledge about it. So what are the things which serve as indication skin asthma/atopic dermatitis? Here are some of the things that you should watch out for:
1.
Seborrhoeic
dermatitis or cradle cap – characterized by white or yellowish flaky and greasy
scales in the scalp, also in the face, neck, ears and even in the diaper area. According
to studies, around 10 percent of infants who are less than one month old have Seborrhoeic
dermatitis. This condition can be resolve in a few weeks to months even without
medical intervention, but if it persists and continues to get worse, it can
also lead to the development of atopic dermatitis and that’s the time that you
already have to call your doctor.
2.
Cluster of reddened
and itchy rashes which can usually be found in face but also in the neck, ears,
palm of the hand and other parts of the body. The baby would usually rub their
mittens to their cheeks or eyes because of itchiness and itchiness tend to
become more intense during the night.
3.
Itchiness and dryness in the skin creases. I
particularly observed this in my son’s wrist, back of his elbows and back of
his knees.
4. In the case of my son, eyelid dermatitis coexists
with atopic dermatitis. Whenever the rashes become worse, his eyes become
watery and I can also see some very obvious clusters of red, inflamed and itchy
rashes in his eyelids.
One of worst effect of
atopic dermatitis to my son can be seen on his skin…until now thought it’s
already getting better. His atopic dermatitis did not subside until he was 4 months
and during those times, I observed that his skin in the legs starts to
discolor. His skin becomes uneven and I can see some white patches all over. I
did mind about it at first, but when I observed that the skin in torso is also
becoming uneven, I was alarmed and of course got worried. Even if we already
controlled his rashes and inflammation, the skin discoloration remained. I was
afraid that it might turn into vitiligo, but our allergist assured me that it
will go away in 2-3 months. Six months after his skin asthma was controlled,
the skin discoloration in his tummy area is still there, but it also shows some
improvement as the skin becomes more even and there are no more new white patches.
As moms, we should always
be “all-eyes” on our children, especially if they are sick, ‘cause moms know
best! That’s proven…
Stay happy mom-e!s…
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