Moisturizing Reduces the Chance That Babies Have Eczema

Eczema is still a bit of a mystery, despite a definitive-sounding name. Dermatologists call it “atopic dermatitis,” which implies that the red, itchy skin characteristic of eczema is fundamentally a type of allergic reaction. In most cases, however, categorizing the rash does not help very much with the treatment. Often, babies have eczema. Families frequently struggle to find ways to get it under control. It can really make infants miserable. Patches of skin become red and itchy, and babies may scratch at it. The itch may also keep infants and their parents awake.

Doctors may prescribe strong topical medicines that blunt the immune system to treat eczema (tacrolimus, pimecrolimus). Such drugs (Protopic and Elidel are the brand names) are not recommended for regular use. Pediatricians try not to prescribe them at all for babies under two years old. Weakening the immune system could lead to serious infections or even cancer, and infants’ immune systems are underdeveloped.

Early Use of Moisturizer Reduced the Risk That Babies Have Eczema:

Recently, a randomized clinical trial found that early use of moisturizer can reduce the chance of a baby developing eczema (JAMA Dermatology, July 23, 2025). This multicenter study had almost 1250 babies baby-parent pairs, with half moisturizing starting at 9 weeks and half refraining. The parents got to choose which moisturizer they used: Vaseline, Vanicream, CeraVe Healing Ointment, CeraVe cream or Cetaphil cream.

Youngsters who got moisturizer had a 16 percent lower likelihood of eczema at two years. That is a relative risk. Families with a dog in the home had even better results, dropping their chance of atopic dermatitis developing by more than 30 percent. While that’s not reason enough to get a dog, it makes it even easier to love the dog you have.

How Dogs Affect Eczema:

Scientists have long been investigating pets, particularly dogs, as mitigating the risk of atopic dermatitis. One group of researchers reported that the risk of allergic eczema is strongly reduced in children whose families had pet dogs when they were born (Allergy, Dec. 2016). More recently, a study in Michigan found that in families with dogs, it was less likely that babies have eczema (Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. In Practice, Dec. 2022).

The authors wrote:

“Since pet-keeping influences infant gut microbial composition, the lower rate of eczema in dog-exposed children may be linked to altered early-life immune development triggered by microbial exposures. Clinically, our findings suggest that prenatal dog exposure could protect against early eczema.”

Genes and Dogs Together Affect the Chance That Babies Have Eczema:

A Finnish study of 3781 children with a possibility of type 1 diabetes (an autoimmune condition) found that those with a cat or dog in the house during the first year of life were less likely to have eczema (Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, April 2020). This may be related to the clouds of bacteria that dogs carry with them (just as we do, by the way). In one study, scientists found significant differences in gut microbes among formula-fed infants with and without a dog in the home (Clinical and Experimental Allergy, Aug. 2023). This might tip the scales a bit towards protection from atopic dermatitis.