Atopic Dermatitis and Sleep Disturbances

Summary: If your child has eczema (atopic dermatitis), you probably already know that sleep is hard to come by. A new medical review shows that up to 80% of kids with eczema have trouble sleeping. But it is not just the kids—whole families suffer! During a skin flare-up, almost 90% of parents lose up to 2.5 hours of sleep a night, and mothers usually bear the brunt of the exhaustion.

Surprisingly, the lack of sleep isn't just from the itchiness. Doctors think the constant waking up turns into a learned habit of insomnia. This means kids might still wake up in the middle of the night even after their skin clears up. Because bad sleep can actually make eczema worse, doctors are now urging parents to focus on good bedtime habits just as much as they focus on skin creams.

Source: rssapp-mdedge-com-familymedicine URL: mdedge.com/familymedicine/article/272190/dermatology/atopic-dermatitis-and-sleep-disturbances (opens in new tab)