Baby skin rash
a common skin condition in newborn babies.

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A Baby skin rash or skin condition is very common in newborn babies.

Most parents worry when their baby gets a rash or pimples.

By recognizing these baby skin conditions you can save yourself a lot of worrying. Don't get alarmed if your baby all of a sudden develops a rash.

Most baby skin conditions are quit harmless and very treatable and others eventually correct themselves.

 

The most common skin problems in young babies.

 

Baby skin rash, Erythema Toxicum.
Photo credit Derma Album

Erythema Toxicum.

This skin rash is the most common in newborns and affects up to 80% of all babies before they are 5 days old.

These harmless flat red blotches disappear within a few days. The cause of the rash remains unclear.

Apparantly the rash has something to do with the newborn's adjustment to the outside world.

 

Milia.
With this baby skin condition the infant has pearly white pumps on the nose, chin and cheeks. The pumps are blocked pores with trapped skin flakes. They will clear up on their own in the first few weeks of baby's life. Milia found on the roof of the mouth are called Epstein Perls.

 

Heat Rash or Miliaria.
This baby skin rash affects mostly babies in warm climates. It is caused by blocked sweat glands that get irritated and form thin walled blisters (miliaria cristallina). Try not to overdress your baby and keep him in a cool and comfortable environment and the heat rash will settle within a few days. Visit our page with heat rash pictures where new moms can see a heat rash looks like. Why are babies more prone to heat rash and how can we treat a baby with a skin heat rash?

 

 

Baby with acne on the face.
Photo Courtesy .The Bluford Family

Baby Acne or Acne Neonatorium.
With baby acne you can see red or white pumps on the nose, forehead, chin and cheeks. It usually appears in the first 3 to 4 weeks. Newborn acne is caused by maternal hormones in the baby's bloodstream stimulating the sebaceous glands (sebaceous gland hyperplasia).

This baby skin rash ultimately disappears without treatment usually before the baby is one year old.
There are a lot of acne products to stop infant acne on the market containing vinegar. Click here to see how you can stop infant acne from getting worse.

 

 

Cradle Cap or Neonatal Seborrhoeic dermatitis.
On baby's scalp there is a yellowish, patchy, greasy, scaly skin rash. This is called cradle cap or neonatal seborrhoeic dermatitis. It may also effect eyebrows and around the nose. Usually when a baby gets to be 8 to 9 months of age it is quieting down.

Infant cradle cap is a noninfectious and non contagious baby skin rash which affects about 50% of all babies. Read more about Infant cradle cap.

 

Baby skin eczema.
Eczema is the inflammation of upper layer of the skin, called the epidermis. Baby eczema can either be mild or moderate which can be managed using emollient oils, soaps and other topical methods. The symptoms of eczema include itching, redness, cracking, flaking and sometimes bleeding of the skin. In most cases eczema in children subsides when they reach the age of 5 or 6.

 

Diaper Rash.
However careful and often you clean your baby at some point your baby may develop a baby skin rash in the diaper area. Red pumps and patches in the diaper area will usually disappear after a few days of home treatment. In some more severe cases medical attention may be required. How to treat diaper rash or irritant diaper dermatitis? Fortunatly most cases of diaper rash clear away after a few days of home treatment.

 

Hives or Urticaria.
Hives are caused by an allergic reaction to medication, food or insect bites. You can see raised blotches with light centers. Hives are very itchy and can appear all over the body. What do baby hives look like? Baby hives look like raised pink or red spots with pale centers (wheals) on the skin. Hives are usually diagnosed based on the history and body examination.

 

Bed Bug Rash.
The bite of a bed bug can cause a nasty and very itchy baby skin rash. Very often bed bug bite symptoms are mistaken for flea or mosquito bites. The saliva of the bed bug can cause an itchy and swollen baby skin rash. It is very important you recognize the early symptoms of bed bug bites to prevent an infestation in your home. Learn how to spot a bed bug rash and how to treat it.

 

Impetigo.
A common skin infection with crusty yellow sores. This is a contagious skin condition cause by bacteria like staphylococcus or streptococcus and can occur everywhere. It is important to keep your infants nails short because every time he scratches the impetigo he can start a new spot of impetigo touching another part of the body. Treatment with topical antibiotic ointments will help but oral antibiotics are faster and more reliable. Impetigo Rash or school sores is usually very treatable but can pose a huge risk for newborn babies.

 

Molluscum Contagiosum.
This baby skin rash resembles acne. The pimples with a depression in the middle are caused by a virus. This virus is contagious through direct contact or handling contaminated objects like a towel.

 

Roseola.
Roseola Infantum or Exanthem subitum (meaning sudden rash)is a childhood viral infection causing a baby skin rash all over the body. A Roseola rash appears as light pink to red slightly raised or flat spots. It is often confused for measles. Sometimes babies get a high fever for 3 to 7 days.

Roseola Infantum or Exanthem subitum.

 

Complications of roseola can be seizures and very rare encephalitis.

Typical for a Roseola Rash or Exanthema Subitum is the sudden rash that follows when the fever drops.

 

 

Baby birthmarks

 

Not only a baby skin rash is a great concern for parents but also a less common skin problem like birthmarks. There are two types of birthmarks:

• Red birthmarks are vascular (blood vessel) birthmarks.
  
• Pigmented Birthmarks. Usually birthmarks are not treated until school age unless they cause problems with breathing or vision.

 

Stork Mark between the eyebrows.
Photo Courtesy Growling Frog

 

Stork Marks or Salmon Patches.
Stork marks are dilated small blood vessels (capillaries), affecting 30 to 40% of all newborn babies.

They appear most often on the nose, between the eyebrows and the chin. These flat pink patches fade away in the first year of life.

 

 

Strawberry mark or Infantile Hemangioma.

 

Strawberry marks or Infantile Hemangioma.
Strawberry marks are harmless tumors present at birth and growing rapid in the first year.

Hemangiomas are a result of fast dividing cells of the blood vessel walls. Children with more than one hemangioma may have also internal lesions in liver or lungs.

 

 

 

Café au lait spots. (light brown stains)
These spots are hereditary pigmented lesions often with an irregular border. Most of the time they are not present at birth. Some diseases like fibromatosis or tuberous sclerosis may be accompanied by 6 or more caf au lait spots.

 

Mongolian Blue Spots or Dermal Melanocytosis.
These bruise like birth marks occur more often in dark skinned babies. They are blue grey spots of 2 to 8 centimeters wide and you find them mostly at the back, spine or shoulders. They are caused by pigment producing cells in a deeper layer of the skin and cover a flat area with unclear edges. The spots will fade over the years. Sometimes Mongolian blue spots are mistaken for bruises and child abuse.

 

Port Wine Stains.
These are flat red or purple marks are caused by a malformation of tiny blood vessels and they are not cancerous. Port wine stains don't fade but become darker and grow along with the baby. Sometimes port wine stains are associated with venous malformations like with the Klippel-Treaunay Syndrom.

 

Congenital Melanocytic Neves.

A mole present at birth or shortly after caused by a cluster of pigment cells. The risk of turning into a cancerous mole is higher in children with a giant (larger than 20 cm) congenital melanocytic nevus (MCN). If you are not sure about a baby skin rash or the rash doesn't clear up on it's own always check with your health provider. All birth marks should be checked by a doctor.

 

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