subject: How to Help Your Child with Eczema Deal with Fears of Contagious Diseases [print this page] How to Help Your Child with Eczema Deal with Fears of Contagious Diseases
Eczema is not contagious but you may encounter a lot of concern from your child's friends' parents. If your child has a skin problem, there can be some questions around isolation with other children at school, in sports or at after school activities. Many parents advise their children to keep a distance if someone has a cold, flu or unusual skin eruption. Both kids and their parents often are not sure which types of rashes are contagious and which aren't. By helping your child inform friends at school, this can make the day much less anxiety producing for him. In addition, it is helpful to let parents know of your child's classmates and social friends that this skin problem is not something that can be caught by other people.
Because students bring chickenpox to school and problems such as lice, it is easy to generalize that all rashes can be passed around. Eczema is not one of these types of rashes and certain forms of it are due to the body's allergic response to something ingested or certain factors in the environment that are causing a reaction through the skin. Many people are familiar with how there can be a rash from nickel for some people. Use this comparison with people to help them understand that their kids are safe and they may still play together. Atopic eczema is not like athlete's foot, scabies or measles.
Education is a way that we are able to get rid of false assumptions and replace them with true understanding. Your child will appreciate it if other children still interact with him and don't treat him like an outcast. Remember that your child is already probably itchy during school because the day antihistamines are milder than those used at night. Help make your child as comfortable as possible and remove any apprehensions he might have about being around others during recess and times of play.
