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Eczema appears as red and crusty patches on baby’s skin accompanied with skin becoming itchy, inflamed, dry, and cracked. According to WebMD, the condition goes away by the time a baby turns 2, but in about the half the cases, a baby will have it as an adult.

Being a parent of a baby suffering from eczema is a painful experience and leaves them helpless. Not only it is tough to watch a baby battle with eczema, trying to discover the reason for this disease’s symptoms leaves them baffled. Eczema breakouts are often confused to be skin rashes.

Even after eliminating certain foods, trying different skin creams, changing laundry detergent or changing the clothes altogether, doesn’t help the miserable child. However, most of the new parents ignore the connection between eczema and hard water.

Hard Water and Effects on Baby Skin – Establishing the Relationship

Parents often believe water-only baths to be the best way of keeping their baby’s skin healthy. This may not always be the case especially for families living in a hard water area.

Hard water is simply water that contains high levels of minerals. Hardness in water is caused due to salts of calcium and magnesium which are essential components of a healthy diet, however, don’t work very well on water used for drinking or bathing.

Hard water doesn’t play well on the skin due to two reasons:

Minerals present in hard water clog skin pores. This prevents the flow of oils from the skin and consequently resulting in dry skin.
Hard water reduces the solubility of detergents, soaps, and shampoos often leaving behind a soap scum or think film on the skin. This scum causes skin dryness and irritation even in adults. So just imagine, what it would do the gentle baby skin?
What Research on Eczema says?

Independent research published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology puts the water quality and its effect on an infant’s skin under the microscope.

Another research conducted by Kings’s College London and Sheffield University UK links the development of eczema condition in babies to high levels of water hardness. The study reveals that exposing the skin to hard water damages the skin barrier, making it vulnerable to external threats and sensitive to potential irritants.

The research examined 1,300 three-month-old babies across the UK and gathered data on water hardness and concentration of chlorine in the home water supply. This revealed that living in a hard water area increased the risk of eczema by nearly 87 percent.

The same report highlights that pH level of water also plays a vital role. Hard water is generally alkaline with pH levels above 7.5. Because skin has pH levels in the acidic range (usually 6.5), bathing with hard water increases the alkalinity of skin and hence, disturbs its balance.

The acidic film on the skin’s surface is known as acid mantle which functions as a barrier to protect the skin. Exposure to hard water damages this skin barrier and may contribute to the development of eczema. For the babies already suffering from this condition, the study confirmed, hard water worsens the situation.

Is Soft Water the Solution?

Soft water cannot be considered a cure for eczema, and there’s still no concrete evidence to support it as an effective solution.

However, the logical conclusion is that soft water is better on the skin than hard water. Soft water generated by the ion-exchange process in a water softener extracts out the salts of calcium and magnesium. This ensures baby is getting in contact with water that doesn’t irritate his skin. Clothes washed in soft water remain soft and gentle on baby’s skin.

Generally, soft water provides additional benefits in terms of reduced energy costs and low maintenance of water appliances. Having hardness-free water in a home can be an essential precautionary measure to reduce the breakout of eczema.

Other important measures to be taken to reduce the chances of babies infected with eczema is the use of mild toiletries, liquid baby cleansers, and fragrance-free baby wipes. It is also essential to keep the baby skin hydrated using a little bath emollient in the water. Using skincare products designed specially for babies ensures their sensitive skin remains healthy.

Colic can seem one of the worst problems to a new mother, especially when you lose days of sleep to your little one distressed with the pain of colic. However, it is surprisingly an easy problem to solve when you know what it is and how to solve it.Baby discomfort is often caused due to colic and indigestion. One of the main reasons for indigestion and the development of gas is due to the improper feeding method. You can reduce the amount of discomfort by feeding milk to your baby without air. Baby bottles are now designed with anti colic features, which eliminate air while feeding and thereby reduce colic — finding the best anti colic bottle that reduces air swallowed while feeding is the key to happiness- for both baby and mother.Best Anti Colic Bottle- How Does it Work.Gas or colic occurs when your baby swallows air, which becomes trapped inside in the tummy. When your baby is unable to relieve the gas by passing it or burping, it causes severe discomfort and pain, making your baby cry a lot. Excessive screaming and crying make the baby swallow more air, and thus the vicious cycle continues.As the main reason for colic is the swallowing of air, one of the best ways to solve this problem is to buy an anti colic bottle that prevents air from entering into the tummy while feeding. This reduces the formation of gas in the tummy and subsequently tummy problems.So, how does anti colic bottles work in reducing tummy problems? Anti colic bottles are designed in a way to reduce intake of air while your baby feeds. It regulates the intake of milk and thereby eliminates the problem of indigestion. It also reduces the formation of gas bubbles in the stomach, which causes pain and discomfort.Shape and flow of the nippleEvery baby is different and feeds differently. Some babies feed well with a wide shaped nipple whereas some with narrow shaped ones. Choose nipple shapes, which is comfortable for your baby. Slow flow nipples are ideal for colicky babies, but it is important to know if your baby is trying too hard to suck milk as this can also lead to intake of air. Therefore, you need to choose a nipple that is perfect for your little one- not too fast and not too slow.The shape of the bottleAnti colic bottles are designed to keep the flow of air bubbles away from the mouth of your baby. You can find these bottles in different shapes and sizes to suit the feeding position of your little one. Most of these bottles also come with in-built valves that prevent air from mixing with the baby milk.You can find so many reputed companies that offer the best anti colic bottles on the markets. All you need to do is choose a perfect one for your baby!