Causes of a skin rash in newborns – types of rashes, symptoms and treatment

The content of the article

• What is a rash?
• Hormonal rash in newborns
• Allergic rash in a newborn
• Infectious rashes in newborns
• How to treat a rash
• All over the body
• On the cheeks
• On the neck
• On the forehead
• On the stomach
• In the perineum
• On hands
• Around eyes
• Neonatal rash in newborns – photo

If a red rash appears on the body in a newborn or infant, problems with children’s health are not ruled out. The task of parents is to respond to alarming symptoms in time, consult a pediatrician, and exclude the development of scarlet fever and chickenpox. After the diagnosis, the attending physician will tell you how to completely get rid of childhood disease and its potential complications. It is necessary to treat symptoms comprehensively, but to begin with, it does not hurt to determine the etiology of the pathological process.

What is a rash?

These are rashes on the upper layer of the epidermis, which are of a bacterial, viral or infectious nature. They arise under the influence of a provoking factor, become the cause of itching, swelling, redness of the skin. In fact, this is one of the manifestations of allergies, which, in the absence of timely treatment, can make a “healthy allergic person” out of a once healthy person. The rash looks disgusting, violates the homogeneous structure of the skin, creates favorable conditions for the development of purulent, infectious processes.

Hormonal rash in newborns

Microbes do not always become the main cause of skin rashes, hormonal changes in the body of the infant are not ruled out. For example, after the birth of a baby for another 2-3 weeks, an excess of estrogen predominates, which leads to the entrainment of the mammary glands and the appearance of characteristic rashes on the skin. The phenomenon is temporary, but noticeably scares young parents. Outwardly, it is a profuse acne that has a dense content, similar to signs of acne. However, the pus is not liquid in its consistency, it resembles a whole grain of white.

Hormonal rash in newborns is also called neonatal, acne, three weeks. You can get rid of characteristic rashes without medication, you need to wait time – several weeks. To remove pimples, a decrease in the concentration of female hormones in the children’s body, estrogen, is shown, which are precisely the main cause of the pathological process.

Neonatal pustulosis of newborns, which implies hormonal “dermal bloom” in children of the first days of life, is often localized in the upper part of the body – on the head, neck, face and back. Therefore called cephalic. In order to get rid of unpleasant symptoms, it is necessary to observe adequate rules of personal hygiene of the baby. The disease in this case disappears on its own for 2-3 days.

Allergic rash in a newborn

The reason for such rashes is the effect of a provoking factor, which may be a food allergen, household chemicals, caring cosmetics. In addition, external stimuli are not excluded from household, natural, chemical origin. In all cases, the rash in the baby looks the same, causing itching, burning, internal discomfort, emotional instability. This unpleasant symptom characterizes at once several diseases presented below, therefore differential diagnosis is obligatory. So:

1. Food allergy. It often appears on children’s cheeks due to the penetration of an allergen into the digestive tract. Infection can enter the body of a newborn along with mother’s breast milk.
2. Contact allergy, also called household allergy. Appears with direct skin contact with external allergens – potentially dangerous substances. To provoke such an allergic reaction in a newborn may be, the smell of paint, animal hair.
3. Drug allergy. Red rash becomes a side effect of prolonged conservative treatment of the newborn and not only. Against the background of a weakening immune system disease, a newborn organism is not able to withstand partial intoxication of the body from tablets.
4. Hives. This is a complicated form of an allergic reaction in which the red rash is small, plentiful. Prone to blistering. Externally, the rash resembles a nettle burn, hence the name. Anaphylactic shock, Quincke’s edema becomes a complication for a newborn patient..
5. Prickly heat. The rash in the baby appears in the folds on the skin due to impaired sweating of these zones. The foci of the pathology are the groin, back, armpit area, neck. The main task of parents is to restore the heat transfer of the newborn, dress the baby according to the weather, remove the rash.
6. Diaper dermatitis. It occurs in contact with wet diapers, since liquid feces and urine irritate sensitive skin. First, irritation appears, and then – diaper rash and sores. Parents need to follow the rules of personal hygiene of a newborn baby.
7. Atopic dermatitis. A common skin disease in which a rash appears in a newborn. The foci of pathology are the cheeks and chin, legs and arms, children’s buttocks. The rash itches, makes the newborn nervous, irritable.

Infectious rashes in newborns

If a viral infection becomes the cause of an abundant rash on the skin, this condition is fraught with serious consequences for the health of the newborn and not only. Additional symptoms are fever, fever, and a disturbance in systemic digestion. Before choosing medications to treat a rash, it is shown to clarify the diagnosis in the newborn. What can this be for an ailment?

1. Chickenpox. The rash is plentiful, localized throughout the body. Each pimple has a liquid content. After an arbitrary opening, the bubble dries up, and the crust disappears, temporarily leaving a stain on the body. A description of a characteristic ailment is known to all parents, since almost everyone had chickenpox in childhood.
2. Scarlet fever. The rash spreads quickly throughout the body; in addition, inflamed tonsils are involved in the pathological process. After eliminating the rashes, noticeable spots remain on the body, prone to peeling. Isolate a sick newborn child for 10 days and urgently treat.
3. Rubella and measles. These are well-known childhood diseases with a profuse rash, which are better to be transferred to 1-3 years of life without potential complications. In a newborn, spots merge into extensive foci, while the patient himself suffers from high temperature, signs of fever.
4. Roseola has similar symptoms to rubella. The rash combines into large foci, while the skin is prone to dryness and peeling. The main causative agent of the disease is a simple herpes virus, conservative treatment is complicated. When pressed with a finger, it immediately turns pale.
5. Thrush. The disease has a fungal origin, and rashes spread to the mucous membranes of the newborn. The activity of a pathogenic fungus can be suppressed only by conservative methods – a mixture of medications will help. Newborn fungal rash is treated with a cool soda composition..

How to treat a rash

If acne, prickly heat, or acne symptoms appear on the skin of a newborn, an urgent need to consult a pediatric dermatologist. Superficial self-medication is excluded, otherwise the manifestations will become even more abundant. After determining the provoking factor and completely eliminating it, the treatment is conservative; alternative methods of alternative medicine can be additionally involved.

All over the body

If a small rash of an itchy nature is spread throughout the body, it is possible that this is prickly heat. For its productive elimination, it is important to control the heat transfer of the newborn organism, to correctly apply the crumbs to the breast during feeding, while in the morning and every evening organize bathing with the addition of a decoction of chamomile, celandine or a series of water.

On the cheeks

This is an eloquent sign of diathesis. Therefore, before removing the rash from a newborn, it is necessary to review your diet and exclude potential allergens from it. The irritant enters the baby’s body with breast milk, causing trouble for mom and baby. To remove unpleasant symptoms, the doctor prescribes light antihistamines or drink a weak broth of chamomile.

On the neck

This may be a manifestation of contact dermatitis, when delicate skin comes into contact with synthetic clothing materials. It is important to exclude the contact of the non-congenital with a potential allergen, in addition to use Sudocrem ointment. The drug is not oily, does not contain alcohol, will relieve inflammation, swelling and redness, while not drying the skin, reducing the skin rash foci.

On the forehead

In this clinical picture, the injured child is not recommended to wear a hat, while it is indicated to use externally a weak solution of potassium permanganate, and inside – drops of Fenistil, children from 1 year of age. It is important that the solution does not get into the ear, moisten the cotton wool and process each wound with high quality. To be treated until the characteristic rash disappears completely.

On the stomach

This is a characteristic sign of atopic dermatitis, prone without timely treatment to the chronic course. The newborn is supposed to give antihistamines and probiotics, according to the age category and the recommendations of the pediatrician, daily bathe the baby in chamomile and succession, while it is necessary to control the nutrition of the nursing mother.

In the perineum

This is a characteristic sign of diaper dermatitis in a newborn. To quickly get rid of the characteristic crotch rash, you must carefully follow the rules of personal hygiene of the crumbs, examine all the folds, use powder and diapers only from hypoallergenic materials, buy Bepanten cream for regular treatment of problem areas.

On hands

When a rash appears on the hands, it is important to rule out a childhood infectious disease. To do this, together with the newborn, consult a pediatrician, undergo an examination, and differentiate the diagnosis. If the appearance of the rash is not preceded by a non-infectious process, the phenomenon is temporary, passes independently after eliminating the allergen from the body. Otherwise, it is shaken to be treated medically, sometimes with antibiotics.

Around eyes

It is possible that this is the result of using wet wipes that contain fragrances and alcohol. It is necessary to immediately abandon such caring cosmetics, otherwise a characteristic rash will soon become commonplace for a newborn. To eliminate the symptoms of allergies, you can use uncooked tea leaves as lotions or a chamomile decoction orally

Neonatal rash in newborns – photo