7 month old with red cheeks. Allergy or teething?

[Koalamom]

My ds has had red cheeks that come and go for the last few weeks. When he is fussy and holding his mouth like teething, his cheeks are red too. I am wondering if we are dealing with an allergy here of just teething red cheeks?

[kjbrown92]

Could be either. Can you do a food journal and see if you notice a pattern? Is it one-sided or both sides? Changes in sleep? Any other changes at all?

[firewoman]

There is a childhood disease called fifth's disease that is also referred to as "slapped cheek disease". It is a mild viral disease that resolves itself easily in most cases but can cause fussiness. It could be that or it may just be dry where you live causing babies cheeks to red and teething causing the fussiness.

Has baby been around any school aged children?

[kjbrown92]

For fifth's disease, the slapped cheek wouldn't last for 3 weeks though, would it?

[zoe77]

My son gets red cheeks also, I'm suspecting food allergy/sensitivity. I've heard some people say it's due to teething, but that only makes sense if they are drooling a lot and the moisture is irritating the skin. I can understand the drooling causing a rash around the mouth, but not the cheeks. I just read Is This Your Child by Doris Rapp, MD. and she shows a picture of a child with red cheeks and it looked just like my son. Like big red circles on the cheeks.

I've noticed him get it right after eating something and he almost always gets the red cheeks after nursing (sometimes only on one side).

Good luck. This food allergy stuff sure is frustrating

[firewoman]

Sorry! Totally missed that it has lasted for three weeks. Nope it wouldn't be Fifth's Disease.

[Koalamom]

We have done alot of allergy elimination and have cut out all the stuff that was causing issues- skin rashes (just not ever on his cheeks). Now that his body rashes have cleared, his cheeks are red. I have only added in flax oil as a new thing and that is what helped clear his body rashes up. But before then, we used ground flax so I don't think that flax could be an issue. When the redness goes away, he is never "teething" like chewing on his fingers. But when his cheeks get red, he is also chewing on his fingers. That is why I wonder if it is teething related.

I just remembered that he has been eating alot more lately since he is jumping at our food we are eating. But it all the same food that we have been eating all along that he would be getting through the breastmilk, and I am pretty careful about what he eats.

[FireWithin]

What is your pendulum telling you?

It could be the flax oil. He is getting a more concentrated form that the whole seed or the ground up seed.

DS2 gets red cheeks from citrus and tomatoes.

[kjbrown92]

And some kids don't react through the milk, only on direct ingestion (that's how my DS was with soy).

Also, for some people it's a salicylate sensitivity, right?

[balancedmama]

My children have both had red cheeks from allergies, but more in a blotchy, obvious way. Like where the point of contact with the food is. DD will also get KP on her cheeks if she has whey protein.

As far as teething, both of my kids got red cheeks from teething simply because they were drooling a lot. Especially after naps, when they might have drooled a bit on their sheet and then slept on that spot.

[2xy]

DS1 got red cheeks from tomatoes when he was a baby. And it would also make him red at the other end.

[Koalamom]

I have noticed something that his cheeks are very red after diaper changes. My baby is very squirmy and can crawl well. I realized he has been getting into the wipe and likes to chew on them. I usually get them away from him quick but he still gets one to his mouth alot. And they are from Seventh Generation, but they have citric acid and soy in them, and those are some allergens. I am going to switch to cloth wipes and see how that goes.

I just don't know what else to cut out of our diets as we eat a very limited diet.

Another thing I noticed it that his cheeks are redder after naps (not from laying on them) and out bedroom smells bad like mold. Our house we are renting is very old and had water issues leaking and flooding the bedroom. Te landlord replaced the carpet and aired the room out, but it smells like it was not enough. Perhaps that could be it.