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Gabriele Curcio was only a few months old when his parents noticed red, dry patches on his forearms. ?They came and went, and didn?t seem to bother him at first,? says his mom, Kate. ?But as he grew older, the patches would appear behind his knees and on his wrists, and they were clearly itchy ? sometimes even painful.? Their doctor confirmed what they suspected: the Toronto tot had eczema.
Affecting an estimated 10 to 20 percent of children, eczema is a chronic inflammatory skin condition that tends to flare up and subside. Eczema?s cause is unknown, and although people with allergies have an increased incidence, eczema is not an allergy itself, according to Anne Rowan-Legg, a paediatrician at Ottawa?s Children?s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. The patches can appear anywhere, but are often seen in the creases of the wrists, elbows and knees, and can become cracked or infected. Rowan-Legg says that most cases are diagnosed in infancy and early childhood but, happily, about half of these kids will ?outgrow? their eczema, or find symptoms have greatly improved, by puberty. In the meantime, it can cause a lot of misery.

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Treatment is aimed at preventing flare-ups, and easing th...