Traditional treatment of eczema in babies and children is to apply hydrocortisone cream to the affected area. This very effectively suppresses the itching and skin rash. However, there is often a price to be paid. Topical medications can be absorbed through the skin and into internal organs. From an oriental medical perspective, the energy of the Lung meridian controls the skin. When a superficial condition is suppressed rather than resolved, the toxins are driven deeper into the body, in this case, into the lung organs themselves. The result, unfortunately, is asthma in many young children. In Oriental Medicine lingo, eczema is even called “skin asthma”! Acupuncturists have long seen a correlation between the use of topical hydrocortisone for infants and a nearly 85% incidence of asthma by the age of 4 years. Shonishen, a painless, needle-free form of pediatric acupuncture, usually resolves eczema in infants within 1 or 2 treatments. If asthma is already present, that condition is also very responsive to Shonishen. Simple dietary changes can also greatly reduce the severity of symptoms in children.