What Bedding Is Best For Baby Eczema
Babies who suffer from eczema can struggle to sleep due to feeling uncomfortable and itchy through naptimes and nighttime. The need to itch or rub their affected skin against the sheets can wake them from sleep, or prevent them from falling asleep at all. This can cause the whole family to family to feel over tired and unhappy.
Every baby is different, and every person’s experience of eczema is different. There is no simple answer that will take away all discomfort from eczema during sleep, but as experts in organic bedding, we have some tips that might help to prevent an eczema flare-up caused by bedding.
It’s perfectly normal for all babies to wake multiple times throughout the night. They are programmed to rouse frequently, as they need regular feeding, changing and comfort. Their sleep cycles are much shorter than adults and they have not yet learned how to get back to sleep after waking, so it’s pretty typical for a 0-3 month old to wake every 40 minutes or so. However, it’s also totally normal for us parents to nurture their sleep and encourage them back to sleep as soon as possible. If your baby has eczema don’t let it be the reason they are awake through the night!
Keep cool
Overheating and sweating can be triggers for eczema and can make sore skin very uncomfortable. Skin with eczema is also less able to control temperature, so it’s very easy to get too hot. Cotton and bamboo are ideal fabrics for eczema-prone children to have as their bedding, as these natural fabrics are breathable and light, allowing air to flow through the weave and against the skin.
Keep bedding light by using just the duvet cover or a quilt without a duvet, or on chillier nights pick a lighter tog duvet. Our wool duvet is naturally self regulating, keeping you cool when you're hot, and warm when you're not. Babies' bedding should be tightly tucked in to keep it from covering their face, but you can use layers of sheets so it is easy to adjust the temperature for them.
Toxin-free and organic
Babies aren’t born with eczema, it develops as their skin reacts to the world outside the womb. Every day they encounter new materials, chemicals and toxins and although the skin will be an effective barrier against most of it, those with eczema can react badly to unseen chemicals. Fabrics used in clothing, bedding and other home textiles are treated with various chemicals before you buy them. They can be to help the product look attractive to make you want to buy them. Fabrics can also contain traces of the pesticides and other chemicals used during the fibre growing process. These chemicals are undetectable to the naked eye, but eczema-prone skin can flare up very suddenly after contact!
Choosing GOTS-certified organic cotton and other organic fabrics for bedding is the best way to ensure these chemicals aren’t on your fabrics and against your skin. Organic cotton is grown without pesticides and toxic chemicals and is made into products without the addition of harmful chemicals.
All Kabode bedding is made with GOTS-certified organic cotton, so you can rest assured that it’s the kindest bedding for sensitive skin.
Squeaky clean
It’s horrible to think about, we know, but beds are a haven for dust mites. They live in mattresses and bedding and feed on skin flakes and sweat (bleurgh!) Dust mite residue is a major irritant for eczema, so keeping things clean and fresh is even more important for sufferers.
Change sheets regularly and hoover the mattress each time. Each baby should ideally have a brand new mattress, as mattresses that have been used and stored between babies can harbour a build-up of dust mites and other allergens.
Bedding should be washed well using skin-friendly detergent. Have a look at our care guide for some ideas for eco-friendly, gentle detergents.
The worst bedding for babies with eczema
So we’ve gone over some tips and good choices you can make to help your little ones get a restful night despite their eczema, but what should you avoid?
Always check the care label of any bedding to see the material composition. Polycotton or polyester aren’t good choices, as they are a blend of polyester - a man-made fibre made from crude oil. Polyester isn’t naturally breathable like cotton, so it can create a heat trap next to the skin, causing overheating and sweating, Any patches of eczema won’t be able to breathe and heal under synthetic fabrics like this.
Avoid wrapping baby up in too many layers of blankets, clothing, pram suits etc. Babies can’t regulate their body temperature like adults can so it’s very important not to let them overheat. Usually, the advice around this is because overheating is a risk factor for SIDS, but it is also worth bearing in mind if your baby has eczema as they are likely to be more comfortable if cooler.
If eczema is keeping your baby and you awake at night you have our sympathies! Hopefully, some of the tips here will help you to look again at their bed and bedding, and find some ways to help soothe their irritated skin so that you can all get a good night's sleep.