Baby Acne or Rash?? « Back to Group Discussions

[Abraisme]

Coralie had what I thought started out as baby acne, but now I'm not sure that the majority of it is acne..  Some of it clearly is, like little zits on her forehead and chin, but the rest looks really rashy to me.  What do you guys think?

[Jaimee]

That looks like a rash to me.  My first guess would be eczema b/c, well, that's what most baby rashes are.  But it certainly could be viral- especially if it spreads quickly and then goes away in a few days.  Eczema commonly shows up around the 2 month mark and is indicative of a food allergy or contact allergy.  One of the more common causes of contact allergy (besides detergent, which you would see all over her body) is irritation from the skin coming in contact with spit up, breastmilk, etc. while sleeping (like she's pressed up against a wet spot while in a carrier or face down in the bed).

[birdhappy85]

That's what my baby's acne kind of looks like right now too around her cheeks and neck to a lesser degree. DH and I have remarked how it looks rather rashy but I just figured it's a bad case of baby acne. She was unfortunate enough to inherit my Scandinavian skin that pinks up easily and is kind of blotchy looking if irritated. I thought maybe the combination of the two resulted in rashy looking acne? Hmm. She tends to sweat a lot when lying skin-to-skin too, so maybe that has made it worse. Hers started several weeks ago. My midwife said it will go away soon. Crossing my fingers.

Coralie's chin does look pretty rashy, though.

[Abraisme]

Yeah, I'm thinking that it looks more like a rash now.  The baby acne started a couple of weeks ago and it's slowly progressed into this.  My midwives didn't seem concerned at her 6 week checkup, so it's probably nothing major to worry about.  I will make extra effort to keep her face dry and clean, she does spit up a lot, so it could be that.  The rash is only on her face, so it's probably not detergent.

[Jaimee]

I would give her probiotics, too.  The mw's are probably unconcerned b/c if it is viral it will pass quickly and if it's eczema that's pretty common in LO's and tends to go away after a few months without intervention as their systems mature.  But my take on the eczema is that it's there for a reason and could be prevented if the trigger(s) are identified and removed.  Though, admittedly, this is much easier said than done.

[LunaLady]

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Edited by LunaLady - 6/29/12 at 4:34pm

[Abraisme]

Like Joanie mentioned, Coralie does have super fair, pink skin, so it looks irritated really easily.  My DH is very, very fair, and it looks like Coralie got those genes (DS and DD1 have olive skin like me).  Her little eye lashes are nearly clear, which kinda sucks for her if they stay that way (dh has very blond eye lashes too).

I do have some baby probiotics, I need to get better about giving them to her.  The instructions say to rub it on my nipple before she nurses, which I have to think about in advance..  Anyone know of a better way to give them?

[Abraisme]

I already don't eat eggs because they bother me..  I mean, I don't eat anything with eggs in it at all.  I think the next major culprit is dairy, which I could cut back on.  We're really close to having enough raw goat milk to support our family, so that'll be good.  I got a yogurt maker for Christmas, which I'm excited to try out!

As for now I'm going to wait a little longer and see how things go.  The rash doesn't seem to bother her and everything else seems fine (poop, mood, etc).
 

Originally Posted by LunaLady 

Eggs give Rhyko this rash for me. Started when he was about 7-8 weeks old. I cut out eggs for the last five weeks and have slowly been reintroducing them in the last few weeks and he has a bit of a flare up, but nothing like it was before. It looked just like Coralie's face does.

I also put Soothing Cream by Episencial and that seemed to help it to clear up when I quit eggs, too.

[LunaLady]

I can't eat dairy, either 

[Jaimee]

Originally Posted by Abraisme 

I do have some baby probiotics, I need to get better about giving them to her.  The instructions say to rub it on my nipple before she nurses, which I have to think about in advance..  Anyone know of a better way to give them?

Do they contain soy or dairy?  If so, you may end up exacerbating the problem.  As for administering them, I just coat my pinky and stick it in his mouth.  Very easy.
 

[Abraisme]

Yes, they do contain dairy and soy.  What were the probiotics that you recommended?
 

Originally Posted by Jaimee 

Do they contain soy or dairy?  If so, you may end up exacerbating the problem.  As for administering them, I just coat my pinky and stick it in his mouth.  Very easy.
 

[Jaimee]

Pharmax Neonate HLC.  I buy them from Professional Supplement Center online b/c they ship for free and include an ice pack.  However, I just re-ordered myself and they are out of stock for 10-14 days!  Ugh!  Nicole ordered from another place and had a coupon for a great discount (mentioned in the gas thread a while back), but they do not ship with an ice pack.

[jbk21]

Originally Posted by Jaimee 

Pharmax Neonate HLC.  I buy them from Professional Supplement Center online b/c they ship for free and include an ice pack.  However, I just re-ordered myself and they are out of stock for 10-14 days!  Ugh!  Nicole ordered from another place and had a coupon for a great discount (mentioned in the gas thread a while back), but they do not ship with an ice pack.

I got mine form PSC like you recommended- and you had also mentioned they were out of stock then as well but a couple of days later I got some- so I think they restock faster than they estimate :-)  I was wondering about the ice pack issue though because on the bottle it says they are fine at room temp for 3 months.  So maybe it's okay?

[Jaimee]

Oh!  I didn't see that on the bottle!  I always assume probiotics need refrigeration, especially since the site indicates it should be shipped with an ice pack.  Though maybe that's b/c during the shipping process temps could get above room temp during warm months.  Probably, though, some of the bacteria are lost if not refrigerated, but plenty survive to make the product effective still.  Hmmm... and great to know that they must restock quickly!  I cancelled my order last time they were out of stock, but decided not to cancel this time.  Hopefully mine will arrive quickly like yours b/c I'm almost out!  How have they been working for Dylan, J?

[jbk21]

Yeah they shipped much faster than I expected :-)  I was pleased!  They are working great!

[Jaimee]

You were right!  They shipped today!

[jbk21]

yay!!!

[Abraisme]

  How much do they cost, if you don't mind me asking...?
 

Originally Posted by Jaimee 

You were right!  They shipped today!

[Jaimee]

From Professional Supplement Center they around like $22 with free cold shipping.  Other sites might be a bit cheaper, but don't have free shipping or if they do, it's not cold shipping.

[Abraisme]

Thanks
 

Originally Posted by Jaimee 

From Professional Supplement Center they around like $22 with free cold shipping.  Other sites might be a bit cheaper, but don't have free shipping or if they do, it's not cold shipping.