A newborn baby’s skin is extremely soft and prone to rashes and infections. Since their skin is extremely soft, they are prone to developing rashes even from the clothes they wear. It can be quite disturbing for a parent to discover these hideous rashes on their child’s body but more often than not, these rashes are quite harmless and will disappear on their own when proper care is given to the skin.
Here are some of the common skin ailments for babies which you need not worry about too much.
Pimples – Also known as neonatal acne, these pimples are caused when the mother’s womb gets exposed to hormones. These pink colored pimples might seem abnormal and can last for weeks on a baby’s skin.
However, they do not require treatment and will disappear on their own.
Erythema Toxicum – this is a rash often found in a newborn’s skin. These may appear like mosquito bites of hives.
Their exact cause has not been clearly understood, however, it is known that these can be cured without treatment within days of being born.
Peeling Skin – the dry, often peeling skin may seem like a dangerous health problem. However, this skin appears when the baby is born a little later than nine months. The skin may peel off completely within days and the skin lying underneath the dry peels is soft and moist. This is the actual normal skin of the baby.
Milia – these little bumps on the skin of the baby are usually caused when the oil glands of the baby get blocked. A few days after birth, the oil glands of the baby get enlarged and the bumps will soon disappear.
Salmon Patches – also popularly known as stork bites, these patches can be seen between the eyes of the baby. These patches may look like a serious abnormality. However, they are a simple nest of blood vessels and are usually caused by the uproar of hormones in the mother. These patches get cured on their own within a few weeks. It is extremely rare for these patches to become permanent.
Mongolian Sspots – commonly found on the dark skinned babies, these flat rashes which appear to be like bruises, are caused by pigmentation. Sometimes, when the baby’s development is occurring in the womb of the mother, the pigment is not able to reach the epidermis because of which these marks may be formed. However, by the time a child reaches schooling age, these marks have all disappeared.
Eczema and Cradle Sap – though different from each other, both these are forms of rashes. The cradle sap is an oozing rash which appears on the scalp of the baby and eczema can occur anywhere on the baby’s body.
References:
"The skin." Darmstadt G and Sidbury R. in Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics, 17th edition. Behrman R, Kliegman R and Jenson H (eds.), Saunders: 2004.
