What Does Eczema Look Like? An In-Depth Guide

One of the first things you notice about the skin of a newborn baby is how soft and delicate it is, which makes it prone to various different benign rashes. This can make spotting atopic dermatitis tricky, but it’s much easier when you know what eczema looks like in newborns. 

Mild Eczema in Newborns

Mild newborn eczema typically shows up as small, dry, scaly patches of skin, particularly on the scalp, cheeks and forehead. This may be accompanied by a little discomfort, which can lead to a little fussiness, but not too many tears.

Severe Eczema in Newborns

When talking about the more severe cases of eczema in newborns, it’s pretty easy to spot, as it’s characterised by red patches of inflammation on fairer skin and darker red-hued areas on darker skin tones. It might also cover large areas of the body and feature crusty, cracked, bleeding or even oozing patches.

The natural result is major itchiness, crying and sleep issues. The affected skin can also become scaly and thickened, as these newborn baby eczema photos show.

Your baby may have shown no signs of having eczema in the first eight weeks of life but begin to develop the condition after this point. So, let’s now take a look at what eczema looks like in babies aged between two and twelve months. 

Mild Eczema in Babies 

As your baby grows a little older, the symptoms of the condition will be largely the same as if they developed the problem as a newborn. This means that mild eczema in babies presents as small, dry patches, often on the face, elbows and knees. There shouldn’t be any major crusting, but the surface of the skin is likely to feel rough.

Severe Eczema in Babies 

Should your baby be unlucky enough to have severe atopic dermatitis, it will again be red and inflamed, with cracks and bleeding occurring. Sleep issues are common, and with your baby having developed more fine motor skills, it is more prone to scratching and making it worse. Oozing and crusting are also likely, as is infection.

After 12 months of age, certain other factors come into play that affect where and how eczema presents. What does eczema look like in children over this age? Well, let’s examine the mild and severe forms and the accompanying photos. 

Mild Eczema in Children over 12 Months

When talking about mild eczema in kids over 12 months of age, the same chronic, itchy patches of skin appear. However, due to the skin’s barrier and immune system, as well as their increased mobility, it’s more likely to be a problem in the creases of the elbows or around the neck, buttocks and ankles. 

The skin of children in this age range often becomes less weepy and more scaly than that of infants, having a thicker and rougher texture due to scratching and rubbing.

Severe Eczema in Children Over 12 Months

So, as we can see, severe eczema in kids over 12 months of age can be widespread, intensely itchy, scaly and red, with the hue varying depending on the darkness of the skin tone. Also, it appears around the knees, neck, and elbows. Due to a child of this age being able to move around more, their skin is more likely to have to deal with sweat, friction and other environmental triggers.

Showing up as itchy patches, the skin can also become thickened, leathery and darkened due to chronic scratching. Also inflammation can spread to cover much of the body, leading to a compromised skin barrier, sleepless nights and frequent infections occurring.

Obviously, the colour of your child’s skin can also influence what it looks like when eczema takes hold. That’s why it’s important to understand how each skin tone presents when affected by the condition. Here’s what to know. 

• Light Skin Tones – Eczema may appear as red or pinkish patches, with the affected areas able to be clearly distinguished from the surrounding skin. Inflammation and redness are also more visible than with darker tones.
• Medium Skin Tones – Atopic dermatitis can look dark pink, red, or light brown with medium skin tones, and hyper/hypopigmentation may occur, making the affected areas lighter/darker than the rest of the skin. However, the contrast may not be very pronounced.
• Dark  Skin Tones – With darker tones, eczema can look purple, dark brown or grey, which makes inflammation more difficult to see. The main signs of eczema might be a change in texture, such as being rougher or bumpier. 

Irrespective of skin colour, eczema most often results in dry, scaly skin with leathery areas. Understanding what eczema looks like in children of all backgrounds is important in knowing when to seek treatment.