Ideally, the skin of the baby should be clean, velvety, a pleasant pink color. However, almost all parents will sooner or later face such a problem as a rash, prickly heat, or diaper rash on the skin of the child. In most cases, such manifestations are short-lived and go away on their own, it is only necessary to strengthen measures for caring for a newborn child. However, in some cases, drug therapy or even special treatment is required to eliminate unpleasant lesions. In order not to get lost and make wrong decisions for the treatment of a rash on the baby’s skin, it’s useful to know what types of rash, irritation and inflammation are most common in children.
A rash is a pronounced change in the color and texture of the skin. The color of the rash can match the color of the skin of the child, be a shade darker or lighter than it, have a bright red color. The texture of the rash varies from flat to scaly and bumpy.
The most common problem in newborns is diaper rash and sweating – irritations that occur as a result of skin contact with feces and urine or due to excess heat and excessive moisture on the surface of the skin. In addition, some infectious and fungal diseases can become the cause of the rash on the baby’s body, which, although they are not serious problems, require immediate, special treatment.
How to recognize the type of rash on the skin of a newborn?
The usual diaper rash (rash on the buttocks and in the inguinal region) appears due to the increased humidity of this area, due to the constant wearing of the diaper, after prolonged contact of the skin with urine and feces.
A yeast rash in the inguinal region appears due to the active growth of a yeast such as Candida. This irritation of the skin differs from ordinary diaper rash in a more saturated red color and the presence of small red seals at the edges of the rash. For the treatment of yeast rash, special medicines prescribed by the pediatrician must be used.
Sweating or heat urticaria occurs when the sweat glands of the skin become blocked. Most often, sweating appears in newborns due to excessive wrapping of the baby, but it can also occur in older children, especially in hot, park weather. Thermal urticaria looks like small red bumps or blisters in the neck, chest, armpits, under the knees, on the back of the child.
Acne on the skin of newborns appears under the influence of maternal hormones. Usually such red bumps with white tops appear on the baby’s face in the first days after birth. No measures need to be taken to remove them, since acne passes by itself during the first month of the child’s life. Sometimes such rashes can be observed at 3-4 months of age and do not disappear up to a year, but they should not cause any concern, neither in parents nor in the baby.
Seborrheic dermatitis is a rash that looks like small red spots of a round shape, covered with a thin scaly crust. Usually, seborrheic dermatitis appears on the baby’s head in the first months of life. A factor provoking such a rash is a yeast like Malassezia furfur. As a rule, seborrheic dermatitis disappears on its own, although in severe cases of damage, medical treatment may be required.
Eczema is a skin disease that can occur due to hereditary factors, as well as be a consequence of more serious diseases, such as asthma or allergies. External symptoms of eczema in young children are dry, flaky skin, which has a dark pink or red color in the lesions. Rash accompanied by severe itching and burning. It is impossible to treat eczema in children on their own, in this case, you need to consult a doctor for help!