From heat rash and dry skin to cradle cap and eczema, a baby’s skin is sensitive and needs careful attention

Your brand new baby looked perfect at birth with smooth, soft, unblemished skin.Within days this perfection is marred: spots appear on her face, hotly followed by a rash on her neck and then, maybe at a later date, the inevitable angry red nappy rash spreads across her bottom. Don’t despair, these are all normal skin problems for babies.

Common skin problems that babies develop:

Milk Spots (Milia or Miliaria): spots often develop when bacteria, which quickly establish a ‘base’ on the skin, invade the pure, healthy skin of a newborn baby. Frustratingly, this often happens just when friends and relations are calling for an early ‘viewing’ of the new arrival. Sometimes tiny septic spots appear but they should all settle quite quickly without any treatment.

Nappy Rash (Ammoniacal Dermatitis): All babies are likely to get this at some stage – red patches with small lesions around them. With any luck it will just be sore around the nappy area where the skin is in direct contact with urine. In severe cases, blisters appear on the skin leaving the surface broken and open to infection. Baby wipes are as effective as soap and water when you’re cleaning up and they’re less irritating to the skin. Once you’ve dealt with the mess, allow your baby’s skin to dry thoroughly before you put another nappy on and use a barrier cream to protect the skin. If the rash doesn’t heal over after a few days, or becomes infected, consult your health visitor.

Dry Skin: Babies often have ‘dry’ skin, because their oil-secreting glands aren’t fully developed, so the natural water in their skin dries out more quickly. Emollient creams, whisked up in the bath water, help to restore moisture to the skin – ask your health visitor or pharmacist about special children’s formulations and other moisturising creams to use during the day.

Eczema: This skin condition often runs in families who have a history of asthma, hay fever or, of course, eczema. It affects 1 in 30 infants and can start when they’re around three months old. The underlying problem is dry skin, which becomes itchy, irritated and inflamed. Scratching causes more damage and infection can then set in. The face, the creases in the neck, the skin behind the ears and the back of the knees are the areas commonly affected. For more information, have a look at ‘Eczema in childhood’. Do remember though that sometimes, what appears to be eczema behind the ears, can just be a sore spot caused by excessive ‘dribbling’ when your baby’s teething.

Dermatitis: This is eczema triggered by an allergic reaction to something like animal fur, a plant or other substance. Hence it’s often described as Contact Eczema. You’ll need to identify the cause of the reaction so consult your GP who can give you advice about treatment.

Cradle Cap (Infantile Seborrhoeic Eczema): This is a mild eczema of the scalp, which affects babies. It’s comparable to dandruff in adults. Ask your health visitor about special shampoos to soften the scales that develop on the dry scalp. Coconut oil also helps, if you leave it to soak in and soften the skin.

Heat Rash: Babies don’t have effective sweat glands and if they overheat because they’re wearing too many clothes or have too much bedding on top of them, they have no means of controlling their body temperature. A heat rash of small, reddish, pinhead-sized spots can then develop. This will settle as soon as the skin is allowed to cool properly and bathing with tepid water can also help. It’s worth mentioning here, that recent research has shown that when babies overheat, the risk of cot death is increased, so it’s important to keep an eye on your baby.

Sun Rash: (Solar dermatitis) Too much sun can result in a red rash, hot skin and sometimes blisters. More significant burns will also give rise to flu-like symptoms including fever, chills and headache.

• Use a cool flannel to apply compresses to the skin. This allows for cooling relief
• Give plenty of fluids to limit the possibility of dehydration
• Do not break the blisters that may form
• Give paracetamol to control pain and an after sun soother to cool the skin.

Consult your doctor if you’re concerned about severe sunburn. But remember, prevention is always better than cure. Babies have particularly sensitive skin and you should keep them well shaded from direct sunrays whenever possible. If they’re crawling and will inevitably be in the sun some of the time, use high factor sun creams, a sun hat and keep as much of their body as possible protected with clothing. For more information, have a look at our article ‘Safe in the sun.’