Posts tagged "baby rash"

Baby Rashes

Baby Rashes

baby rashes
Certain medications, viral illnesses and allergic reactions can cause an Baby Rashes in babies. Many other conditions common in infants, such as eczema, baby rashes, erythema toxicum, and heat rash, can resemble baby acne.  Baby rashes develops during the weeks after birth. This is thought to be most likely due to hormones that passed from mother to infant during the last stage of pregnancy.  Baby rashes can be aggravated by milk, formula, or spit-up coming in contact with the skin. Other irritants include rough fabrics or fabrics laundered in strong detergent. If your baby has baby rashes, don’t use soap, lotion or creams on the face because these can also be irritations.

Newborns are prone to baby rashesMost baby rashes cause no harm and go away in time on their own.

Some examples of baby rashes that are commonly found in newborns are as follows:

•           Pink pimples (“neonatal acne”) are often caused by exposure in the womb to maternal hormones.

•           Erythema toxicum is another common newborn rash that looks like mosquito bites or hives.

•           Dry, peeling skin is often due to a baby being born a little late. The underlying skin is perfectly normal, soft, and moist.

•           Little white bumps on the nose and face (“milia”) are caused by blocked oil glands. When baby’s oil glands enlarge and open up in a few days or weeks, the white bumps disappear.

•          Salmon patches (called a “stork bite” at the back of the neck or an “angel’s kiss” between the eyes) are simple nests of blood vessels that fade on their own after a few weeks or months.

•           Jaundice is a yellow coloration to your baby’s skin and eyes. It is caused by an excess of bilirubin which is a breakdown product of red blood cells.

•           Mongolian spots are very common in any part of the body of dark-skinned babies. They are flat, gray-blue in color and they look a lot like a bruise. They can be small or large. The spots are caused by some pigment that didn’t make it to the top layer when baby’s skin was being formed.

Visit DermaTechRx Research Center to read more about Baby Rashes


Heat Rash Babies

Heat Rash Babies

Most bumps and blotches on a newborn baby are harmless and clear up by themselves. A rash is any skin bumps or blotches. The rash can be red, skin-colored, or slightly lighter or darker than skin color. By far the most common skin problem in infants is diaper rash.

Another common skin problem that occurs with babies is heat rash. With heat rash babies pores of the sweat glands become blocked. This generally happens when the weather is hot or humid. As the infant sweats little red bumps and possibly tiny blisters form because the blocked glands cannot clear the sweat.  When the weather is hot or humid, the infant sweats, but because of the blockage of the sweat glands, this sweat is held within the skin and forms little red bumps, or occasionally small blisters in young infants.

Some helpful suggestions to avoid heat rash are during the hot season dress your baby in light-weight, soft, cotton clothing. Cotton is very absorbent and keeps moisture away from the baby’s skin. If air conditioning is not available a fan may help evaporate moisture and cool the infant. Place the fan far enough away that there is only a gentle breeze drifting over the infant. Avoid the use of powders, creams, and ointments. Baby powders don’t improve or prevent heat rash. Creams and ointments tend to keep the skin warmer and block the pores. Most often, heat rash goes away on its own. Severe forms of heat rash may need medical care, but the best way to relieve symptoms is to cool your skin and prevent sweating.

Heat rash is also known as prickly heat and miliaria and it does not just affect babies. Though it’s most common in infants, heat rash affects up to a third of adults living in tropical climates and can bother anyone during hot, humid weather. Heat rash develops when your sweat ducts become blocked and perspiration is trapped under your skin. Symptoms range from superficial blisters to deep, red lumps. Some forms of heat rash can be intensely itchy or prickly.

Heat rash usually heals on its own and doesn’t require medical care. See your doctor if you or your child has symptoms that last longer than three or four days, the rash seems to be getting worse or there are signs of infection such as increased pain, swelling, redness or warmth around the affected area or pus draining from the sores.  Swollen lymph nodes in the armpit, neck or groin and fever or chills are all warning signs of a more serious condition.


Baby Rashes Pictures

Baby Rashes Pictures

Cradle cap Heat rash Diaper rash

Most newborns and toddlers end up with some type of baby rash.  This can be anything from baby acne, heat rash, diaper rash, cradle cap, prickly heat or miliaria crystalline. Chicken pox and eczema are also common childhood afflictions.  Most of these rashes are harmless and go away on their own.

Cradle cap, a common rash on a baby’s head, is usually easy to recognize, with symptoms that can include a scalp rash that is dry and flaky.  It also appears as thick, greasy, yellow or brown scales.  Other symptoms is it has red patches with crust and is sometimes itchy.

For mild cradle cap, time is often the best treatment, as many children get better on their own.

If the baby has red skin around the diaper area, diaper rash is most likely the culprit. Most diaper rashes occur because of skin irritation due to diapers that are too tight; wet diapers left on for too long; or a particular brand of detergent, diapers, or baby wipes. Avoid it by keeping the diaper area open to the air as long as possible, changing your baby’s diaper as soon as it’s wet, washing with a warm cloth, and applying zinc oxide cream.

Baby acne gets its start in the womb, where baby is exposed to mom’s hormones. Those hormones increase oil production which in turn clogs baby’s oil glands. Pimples on baby’s nose and cheeks usually clear up by themselves in a few weeks. So you don’t need to treat baby acne or use lotion.  If your child starts to get blisters on the body or face or limbs that then crust as new blisters appear, this is probably chicken pox.

Although having a heat rash is common in infants, it is likely not as common as many parents believe, who tend to call any red rash their baby has when it is hot outside a heat rash. As the name tends to imply, heat rash is triggered in certain children when they become overheated, either because they are overdressed or because it is simply too hot outside.

When comparing baby rashes pictures are a good way to identify which rash is which.  Most baby rashes pictures will also include detailed descriptions that can be helpful in identifying the type of rash affecting your infant.  It is common for some rashes to be confused with others. In the event there is still some doubt as to what you are dealing with it is a good idea to contact your doctor.


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