Day Care & Eczema Link

Early day care attendance might also mean a greater chance of eczema.

According to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, 10 to 20 percent of all infants and young children here in the U.S. experience some symptoms of the skin disease eczema.
Past studies have shown a connection between eczema and daycare with some showing it increases the chances of getting this skin condition and others showing it lessens the chances. But German researchers noticed a peculiarity about their country, namely that east German children had more eczema than west German children. They also noted that over half of east German children attended daycare and only 6 percent of west German children did. So the researchers wanted to see it the increased eczema rates and day care were somehow connected.

Of all the things they looked at, only daycare attendance during the first two years of life came up as a risk factor for a child developing eczema.

Experts think this might be happening because children in a daycare are thought to be exposed to more microorganisms and allergens than at home. What the researchers didn't know was whether the type of daycare or the amount of time spent in daycare had any effect on this. They are calling for more research to get a better idea.