What causes children to have eczema?

Eczema often runs in families. Many children who have eczema will often have someone else in the family who has eczema, asthma or hay fever. Children may also respond to particular triggers in the environment that cause a flare up of eczema such as grass pollen, dust mites, animal hair, and feathers.

Many children will suffer with eczema more in winter as a result of the cold weather, when low humidity and the cold weather increases skin dryness. Some children may also experience a flare up of their eczema following a mild infection such as a cold or when they are teething.