As the weather gets colder, more babies suffering from eczema come for treatment to the Pediatric Outpatient Department of the Chongqing Health Center for Women and Children (CQHCWC) – located in Southwest China's Chongqing.

Due to low air humidity, coupled with household heating and hot baths, a baby's skin becomes drier in winter, aggravating eczema. During this time, face cream for babies is particularly important.

How to pick face creams for babies?

Although many products are called face creams, there are two broad categories in China nowadays. One is for products with a cosmetics product number – that is, skin care products. For these products, all ingredients must be marked on the packaging and hormone ingredients are clearly prohibited. The other is for products with a disinfection product number, which are mainly used for external disinfection. As a result, it's easiest to choose products from the former category and avoid those from the latter, so as to avoid hormone creams. If it is really difficult for you to distinguish between them, you can check a product out on the official list of the National Medical Products Administration.

In addition, the national drug supervision department is extremely strict in its supervision of the efficacy of skin care products, not allowing common cosmetics to claim that they have the effect of curing conditions. So, avoid products with descriptions such as "bacteriostatic, eczema" when making a purchase. You also need to be aware that where you buy the product matters a lot. Be sure to purchase through regular channels, because even some baby creams sold in drugstores come with a disinfection product number.

Is it necessary to use hormones for eczema treatment?

Eczema is essentially an allergic disease, so babies should try to avoid allergic foods and allergens in their daily life. You should keep your baby's skin clean and moist, with good skin care and avoid overheating and sun exposure. Through this approach, mild eczema can be cured. If the eczema is aggravated, it needs drug treatment and then it is recommended to see a doctor and take medicine under the guidance of your physician. Eczema medicines are generally used externally and rarely need to be taken orally. For external use, it depends on the state of the skin lesions. For example, when there is exudation or erosion, it is necessary to soak the skin with an aqueous solution and then use hormones after improvement.

Can we still use hormone medicines prescribed by a doctor?

Currently, topical corticosteroids are still the first-line medication for eczema. Hormone ointments are generally divided into four grades according to the potency:

(1) Super strong potency: 0.1 percent fluocinolone ointment, 0.05 percent clobetasol cream;

(2) Strong potency: 0.05 percent halometasone cream, 0.05 percent betamethasone dipropionate cream, 0.1 percent betamethasone valerate cream, 0.25 percent desoximetasone ointment and cream;

(3) Moderate potency: 0.05 percent fluticasone propionate cream, 0.1 percent mometasone furoate cream, 0.1 percent hydrocortisone butyrate cream, 0.1 percent triamcinolone acetonide cream;

(4) Weak potency: hydrocortisone cream, 0.05 percent desonide cream.

Of course, children are a special group when it comes to people who take medicine. Due to the high moisture content of their skin, they can absorb external ointments quickly and completely. So, ointments with weak and moderate potency usually have a good therapeutic effect. In addition, these ointments are safer and so are more suitable for children. To emphasize: when hormone-containing ointments are used locally, the body absorbs very little, so there is no need to worry about fair use. But in order to determine what constitutes "fair" use, it is recommended parents consult their doctor.

To ensure the health of children, the Pediatric Outpatient Department of the CQHCWC offers a full service, 24 hours a day, year-round.

Address: Areas C and D of the Outpatient Building of the Ranjiaba Branch

Clinic hours: 24 hours a day, year-round

Other service hours:

Asthma/Allergy Clinic:

Monday, Wednesday: 8:00-12:00

Friday: 8:00-12:00, 14:00-17:30

Neonatal Clinic:

Monday to Friday: 8:00-12:00

Digestion/Nutrition Clinic:

Wednesday, Friday: 8:00-12:00, 14:00-17:30

Endocrinology Clinic:

Tuesday, Saturday: 8:00-12:00, 14:00-17:30

Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic:

Monday to Friday: 8:00-12:00, 14:00-17:30

Acupoint Applications:

Monday to Friday: 8:00-12:00, 14:00-17:30

Chinese Massage:

Monday to Sunday: 8:00-12:00, 14:00-17:30

Pulmonary Function Test, Allergy Assays:

Monday to Friday: 8:00-17:00

Saturday to Sunday: 8:00-12:00

Tel: 023-60354338