by BabyCenter Guest Blogger posted in Parenting

By Chelsea Day
When I was a teenager, I babysat a toddler who had eczema. Red scaly patches covered his cheeks and the crooks of his knees, flaring up occasionally based on the weather or his body chemistry. It itched like crazy and often kept the poor dude from sleeping well.
His mom -- who also suffered with the condition as a child -- had an extensive care routine. He received soothing baths with specific products and there was a list on the refrigerator of foods that were off-limits for him, including nuts, dairy, and certain fruit juices that aggravated the condition.
I thought it was the worst thing ever. I felt so bad for this mom and her son, and I prayed that my kids wouldn?t be hit with the affliction. Eczema is triggered by a combination of environmental and genetic factors, and it runs in my extended family, so this early experience had me worried. When I started having children of my own, other parents in our play date groups would talk about their eczema struggles, and I kept knocking on wood. My first kid had no symptoms. My second kid had the most perfect skin in history. Then my third son came along. I could see right off the bat that he had some issues. Every little thing caused him to break out in what doctors initially called baby acne. My husband and I eyed the patches on his butt and cheeks nervously, hoping that they wouldn?t develop into eczema.
And then, a dramatic event caused the skin situation to ...