We all love a good night’s rest after an eventful day. This can be difficult to achieve as an eczema sufferer. The worst thing to see is that your child isn’t getting the rest they truly need. The fact of the matter is that kids with eczema often have trouble sleeping at night. The percentage of these kids is at a staggering thirty percent according to many researchers.
Researchers and medical specialists alike have come to a conclusion that melatonin could be a factor for sleepless kids with eczema. Although this isn’t completely proven to be true, studies on kids with eczema have been done with supplemental melatonin as well as the natural melatonin our bodies already produce. Some studies have shown that kids who take melatonin fall asleep way faster than kids who don’t.
I think there have been enough studies to prove melatonin really does help. Will it cure all your Childs sleepless needs? Not one-hundred percent, but it surely won’t hurt to give it a try.
What is Melatonin?
Melatonin is a hormone that is produced by the pineal gland in animals and controls sleep and wakefulness. The same is true for plants as well but is used more as a defense mechanism. When taken as a medicine it is said to help insomnia and this can almost be considered a fact based on the research conducted.
In animals, melatonin controls the rhythm of our bodies in some major ways. It not only regulates sleep-wake timing but it also contributes to blood pressure regulation and seasonal reproduction via melatonin receptors within the body.
Melatonin Benefits
There are tons of melatonin benefits that help people on a daily basis. I will only be focusing on two that can actually help eczema sufferers.
First, melatonin as a natural sleep aid has been crucial for people with eczema. This is definitely the best usage from a natural perspective and doesn’t call for any dependency like most pharmaceutical drugs. If you are someone who has always had trouble sleeping then there could be an issue with chronically having low melatonin levels, making this a great option. Many studies have shown over and over that people who take melatonin in the medical form haven’t been in desperate need of it to always sleep well. This is a good sign because you never want to feel like you need just the right dosage of anything to fall asleep. Melatonin should just work as an extra catalyst to easing resting potential if need be.
Secondly, Melatonin is known to help relieve extreme stress. Stress and eczema just don’t mix so knowing melatonin can really calm you down is a good sign. Melatonin helps control stimulation in your body, which in return causes lower stress levels by default.
It also eases anxiety, fatigue, drowsiness and other things which confirm why it is so great for eczema sufferers.
Melatonin Pills
Melatonin pills can easily be purchased at a health store or even online for convenience. Tablets and capsules are the most common forms, but there is also a liquid version and a cream version of melatonin.
Melatonin pills have no dosage recommendation but based on why you are using them you should figure out the limit that based suits you or your child’s eczema needs. I would highly suggest going for lower doses when pertaining to sleep especially for children. It is very crucial that you don’t give a child high doses due to seizures being a possible symptom of heavy dosage. Melatonin can also alter a child’s development growth since melatonin is, in fact, a hormone.
You should follow label instructions or even consult your child’s pediatrician if needed for extra confirmation.
Melatonin Side Effects
The side effects of melatonin are relatively safe if taken in small dosages over short periods of time. Your main objective is to help your child get more sleep and using melatonin to help manifest that.
When taking melatonin people can get headaches, depression, or short time dizziness. If your child has any health problems then making sure the dosage is small and that your child doesn’t become dependent is vital.
Less is better when it comes to melatonin. Your child’s sleep could actually be affected if given to much. Unless a health professional advises a certain higher dose than make sure you always stay on the lower side of things.
Eczema Sleeping Problems 
Kids with eczema sleeping problems often are caused by the consistent scratching. Even though melatonin can help with body relaxation it’s not necessarily going to get rid of that itch completely. There are five things I usually did as a kid to make sure I could get a good night’s rest.
Cut and Clean your Fingernails
It is essential that you cut and clean your child’s fingernails. Cutting their fingernails will in a sense soften the urge to scratch. They will be scratching with no real nails to damage their skin. This is also good because most kids tend to play hard outside and can have really dirty fingernails. The cleanliness will lower the risk of rashes or any type of infection that dirt on the skin could potentially cause.
Cutting the nails doesn’t mean your kid will stop using them, but this will surely help reduce damage to their skin.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is so underrated, and I think it is something we all should start using more seriously. The best source of Vitamin D is simply the good ole sun. The sun’s ultraviolet rays help the skin soak in the necessary energy for the body to produce Vitamin D.
Sunlight isn’t the only way to get more Vitamin D flowing in your body. A good Vitamin D3 Supplement also helps tremendously. With sunlight or a supplement, your melatonin and cortisol levels will help bring down any inflammation in the body. This will also help boost the strength of one’s immune system.
A study done years back actually showed that people, who took Vitamin D in the morning time, achieved a better sleep duration and an overall comfortable rest.
Climate Control is Key
The colder the climate the worse it seems eczema gets. I highly suggest keeping your children as warm as possible. There’s no need to have them blazing hot, but make sure they aren’t recognizably cold. When I was a kid I actually hated sleeping with tons of covers and blankets over me. I found this to make it even itchier and it took me sometimes hours to fall asleep if I ever felt stuffy or hot.
Finding a neutral balance will be tough but will be another major key to helping your child get more sleep. Making sure they aren’t really hot or that the temperatures don’t fall to low can be the difference between a good and bad night.
Bathing
I always soaked before bedtime as a kid. This was probably the most effective thing for me as a kid and it really helped soothe my skin before bedtime arrived. My mother would switch between Epsom salt and Dead sea salt during bath time. This really helped the itching and redness that the day had caused due to all the bacteria we come in contact with during that time.
Olive oil as an alternate to rotate during daily bath time was also very helpful. My skin always felt so soft and soothed after using a combination of all these. I followed this same bath time routine from the age of three all the way until about middle school.
Massages with Creams and Lotions
After Bathing, I always made sure my skin was replenished. I used different creams and lotions which were always non-fragrance. Post bathing is always a good time to apply cream or lotion on the arms, legs, and back of your child.
Adding massages to the equation will add even more positive effects on the process. Massages are always good to relieve stress or tension in one’s body. They stimulate the skin and help detox the body from spreading toxins. This will help ease the body and eczema sufferers will find more peace at night.
Eczema Insomnia
Sometimes we do everything possible and still can’t sleep or deal with eczema at night. Insomnia is increasing in children who have eczema or for any eczema sufferer, to be honest. If we can have implemented better routines from an early age, we can definitely treat our eczema more effectively as time goes on.
Firstly, we should make sure we have plenty calcium in our diets. If we have this wired in our minds as a kid we will keep those tendencies throughout adulthood. Processed foods are making our eczema worse every day and the truth is many children take on the same bad habits as their parents do. Calcium helps fight Insomnia in most cases and should be an essential to your child’s diet anyway.
Lastly, daytime stress can cause nighttime Insomnia. Stress is just a killer and avoiding it at all cost is just so crucial. Stress can give not only eczema sufferers Insomnia but anyone will lose sleep when stressed out all the time. Sticking to the five pre-bedtime suggestions I mentioned earlier will be very helpful no matter what age you are.
My Final Thoughts
Well as you’ve read not only can melatonin help kids with eczema get more sleep, other things can really factor in also. Making sure your child has an overall healthy environment around them will put them in the best position when dealing with their eczema issues.
Please let me know your thoughts on melatonin or anything else mentioned in this article. Do you have any experience using melatonin in your household? I would appreciate any feedback.