Tiny, raised bumps on torso- 16 month old

[Jaimee]

My 16 month old just developed tiny, raised bumps on his torso- nowhere else.  They are flesh colored and honestly difficult to see unless in the right light.  But they are definitely there, all over his torso.  My first thought was some sort of contact allergen, but we haven't changed detergents or bath soap and he hasn't been shirtless to be in contact with anything else.  It's not eczema as my older dd had that and it looks nothing like eczema bumps.  They aren't hives as they are not white and do not appear to bother him.  They don't come and go and he has no other symptoms of an illness.  Any ideas what they might be?

I've been putting lotion (calendula cream) on them and that doesn't seem to do anything.  Thoughts?

[physmom]

Are you talking about keratosis pilaris? If so DD has that too (on her cheeks and legs).  It's genetic and we haven't found anything yet to help with them.

 

[Jaimee]

I have never heard of that before, which is odd considering how common it apparently is and the fact that it is even more common in people with eczema!  I'm not convinced that's what it is though.  The bumps don't look quite like any of the pictures I've seen online, but since he's so young maybe it would look different?  It also doesn't make sense for it to show up after the winter, now when it's getting more humid here.  It literally appeared over night three days ago... would that make sense for KP?  I couldn't find any info quickly online talking about how it emerges.

[physmom]

Originally Posted by Jaimee 

I have never heard of that before, which is odd considering how common it apparently is and the fact that it is even more common in people with eczema!  I'm not convinced that's what it is though.  The bumps don't look quite like any of the pictures I've seen online, but since he's so young maybe it would look different?  It also doesn't make sense for it to show up after the winter, now when it's getting more humid here.  It literally appeared over night three days ago... would that make sense for KP?  I couldn't find any info quickly online talking about how it emerges.

DD has had it on her cheeks since birth but on her legs it basically appeared overnight (I think she was older than 1 when that happened?).  I had never heard of it before until I met DH (who also has it).  It's very common but not that noticeable and is normally in places where people aren't going to be looking that often (upper arms/thighs etc).  For DD it will show up more if she's recently taking a bath or if her skin is dry (can happen in the summer too).  What you described sounds a lot like DD's (can't notice them right away but in the right light, small and limited to only certain parts of your body etc).  Maybe you could ask around in your family to see if anybody else has them since they're genetic.

[crunchy_mommy]

It kind of sounds like heat rash to me (which both DS & I get frequently)...

[iris777888]

I'm thinking heat rash too.

[Jaimee]

Heat rash for three days that doesn't go away, doesn't bother him, and is flesh colored?  My experience with heat rash has been red, irritating bumps that go away once the skin has been soothed.  Plus, it has actually been quite cold here the last couple of days.  I am leaning toward KP since eczema runs in our family, but I can't shake the idea that it could be some sort of pre-illness rash.  I examined him just now and it's on his legs and neck, spreading up onto his lower cheeks.  What the heck??

[crunchy_mommy]

Yeah I doubt it would be heat rash if it's on his legs, face, etc.

[Lula's Mom]

Oooh I bet I know exactly what it is: molluscum contagiosum.  It's very common in little kids.  All 3 of mine had it at some point.  If you Google images of it, you'll see some really freaky cases where they are huge or red and infected looking... my kids never looked like that.  They looked like this.  Just little flesh-colored bumps, pink at the most.

There are all kinds of treatments at there.  I never found any of them to work.  What works is getting the little waxy core out- it's like a tiny pearl inside the bump.  If you get that out (and wash your hands after each one- it is a virus, so you could spread it if you touch the core and then another area of skin)- then that bump will go away and not come back. My kids hated me to pop the cores out, but I hated them having all those bumps more.  YMMV!

[ellemenope]

It really sounds like a roseola rash to me.  My DD had that around 18 months.  She had the slightest fever.  Had we not been scheduled to visit a newborn at the time we probably would not have even noticed it or cared.  But, she had no other symptoms, so we assumed teething.  She was a bit lethargic looking back on it.  Then, she developed the rash about 2 days after the slight fever went away.  It started on her trunk and spread a bit up her neck.  It was just like you described, a very benign looking flesh colored rash. 

[Jaimee]

Definitely not molluscum contagiosum... I just looked that up and these bumps are very tiny, not pearl like at all.  There doesn't appear to be anything inside them either.  No, they look like sporadic, permanent goosebumps.   Roseola, huh?  I might just take him to the ped and see if they know anything (though usually I don't have good luck with that!).

[melon]

DS had some bumps at about 18 months, they were a little reddish, didn't bother him at all, started on his torso, and eventually crept to his neck and legs. I took him to the Dr after about a day. She said it was a virus-type thing, very common, and would spread a little more and go away on its own within 3-4 more days. And that's exactly what it did. I saw it on him once more, a few months later, but not as bad and went away in a day.

I'm not sure how much you can see in these pictures, but this was it:

edit: photos removed

Edited by melon - 5/5/11 at 8:20am

[Just1More]

Could it be yeast?

[Jaimee]

Melon, thanks for the pics!  The rash isn't red at all, but I'm not ruling out a virus, certainly.  On another note, how do you like your Smartipants?

[melon]

LOVED the smartipants. We bought a lot of them used from craigslist, not having a clue about them....

They held up great, and fit my skinny guy really well.

[Jaimee]

Well, ladies, the bumps have mostly disappeared.  I have been coating him in liberal amounts of Weleda Calendula cream after his bath.  I'm not sure if that did it or the weather change or if he had a little virus.  At any rate, I'm happy they were not permanent.  Thanks for all your advice!

[Lisa25]

My son has the same thing, just came out of now where. I have it to on my neck, collarbone, and upper chest. It doesn't really itch. My son did have a fever last week for 2 days on & off, but being that I have it too that would rule out Roseola. Mine are confined right now, but my sons whole torso front & back is covered with what look like tiny little goosebumps. I have had a problem with rashes, eczema, even pattern rashes. I have a cream Im going to try but if you have discovered anything new since your last post that will help me I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.

[Jaimee]

I started slathering him with Weleda calendula cream after his nightly bath and in a few days it was gone!  Well, it was gone everywhere I was putting the cream.I noticed that I didn't get a lot of cream on his neck and there were still bumps there.  So I guess it was some sort of dry skin issue??  Now the weather has officially turned to summer and it's hot and humid... good for the skin.  I haven't seen any bumps since. I hope your issue resolves as easily!

[Boot]

Apparently there are loads of viruses that can cause mystery rashes. I took my dd to the doctor last summer because she got a rash and I knew she might have been exposed to scarlet fever. He said it was just some random virus. Then THE SAME DAY my older child also got a rash that looked totally different. Both rashes went away on their own within a day. 

Having said that, my ds used to get a similar rash to what you are describing in the winter and I think it was linked to food intolerance and possibly a sensitivity to his wool undershirt. He's outgrown it now. 

[amandamomoftwo]

Hi Jaimee! Hello to the rest of you moms here :) I'm new to this forum.

My three-year old had something a bit similar about two months ago. I saw red blotches all over his arms and they spread down to his legs without going through his torso. They weren't itchy and were faint in color (almost invisible). He also didn't have a fever when the rashes showed up. Not even days before the rash. And then I remembered having the exact same rashes a few days before so I suspected that I had a viral infection and must have passed it on to him. Afraid that the viral infection would be worse with him, I took him to the pediatrician and confirmed my suspicion - he had a viral infection! This showed up in his blood works. The doctor never figured out what type of viral infection it was but he was pretty sure it wasn't serious.

So I think what your baby had was definitely a viral infection since it lasted only for a few days :) Viral rashes don't last long and they just go away by themselves :)

- Amanda