To mark Eczema Awareness Month in September, sensitive skincare expert, La Roche-Posay, in partnership with the Irish Skin Foundation (ISF), has unveiled research that suggests childhood eczema could be a silent sleep disrupter to unsuspecting parents across Ireland. Despite broken sleep patterns often being the first indicator of the chronic skin condition, a mere one in 10 of parents would consider this as a potential cause of their child’s sleep disturbance.
The research findings also show, that although one in five children in Ireland are living with eczema, over half (57%) of parents admitted to have little to no preparation when it came to awareness of baby skincare. The Irish Skin Foundation in partnership with La Roche-Posay, are set to host a free public event – ISF Eczema Expert Event – in the Red Cow Moran Hotel on Saturday September 29 to give people advice on how to live a comfortable life with eczema.
According to Consultant Dermatologist with La Roche-Posay, Dr Niki Ralph, oftentimes the first sign of the onset of eczema in young children can be disturbed or disrupted sleep patterns, caused by the itching and uncomfortable sensations experienced as a result of the sensitive skin condition.
Dr Niki Ralph, La Roche-Posay Consultant Dermatologist commented: “One of the first questions asked of parents during a skin consultation will be in relation to how their child is sleeping, as frequent sleep disturbance and broken sleep patterns can often be the first sign of a sensitive skin condition, such as eczema. Not only does this affect the child, but it can also have a wider effect on a tired and anxious household dealing with the effects of sleepless nights. Regular emollient therapy, essentially the use of specially formulated moisturisers, such as those within the La Roche-Posay Lipikar range, is the cornerstone of treatment for eczema.”
Despite statistics indicating that one in five children in Ireland suffer with eczema, when it comes to cognisance amongst parents in terms of eczema as a potential cause of sleepless nights, for most (88%) eczema would not even enter their top three considerations. Instead, teething (55%) was cited as the most likely consideration, with hunger (17%) in second place and colic (15%) in third place.
When it comes to sleep patterns, just over a third (35%) of parents claim their child would wake up once a night until the age the age of two, with some two in five (40%) waking two to three times per night. When it comes to the effects of a broken night’s sleep on parents, one in three (34%) admitted their performance the next day was most likely to suffer, with almost three in 10 (29%) claiming their mood would be most affected, while almost one in five (17%) felt their concentration would most likely to be negatively affected.
David McMahon from The Irish Skin Foundation commented: “We are delighted to partner with La Roche-Posay this September for Eczema Awareness Month and raise awareness of this very common skin condition. Moderate-to-severe atopic eczema takes an immense toll on people living with the condition and their families. For children and adults flares are painful, very irritating and cause a distressing, incessant itch that can make getting rest and sleep impossible. This is a nightmare for parents of young children with the condition and their siblings – in many ways eczema completely disrupts ordinary family life, causing stress that can be very difficult to cope with.”
La Roche-Posay’s Lipikar body skincare range has been specifically designed for very dry to eczema-prone skin for all the family, including babies. Formulated with minimalist formulas that work in partnership with the skin, the Lipikar range provides immediate relief of skin discomfort and with regular use, decreases the recurrence of flare-ups.
Eczema Awareness Month runs throughout the month of September.
For more information see irishskinfoundation.ie and laroche-posay.ie.