Womb to Bloom - Maternity & Beyond

Before your little one’s infant days are behind him, you’ll have identified, and treated more rashes than you care to count. The good news is that most common infant rashes are nothing more than mere nuisances, and are easily treated at home.

Diaper rash is caused by prolonged skin contact with urine and feces, allergic reactions to baby wipes, or diapers rubbing against your infant’s skin. If your infant gets a diaper rash, it’s important to keep him dry by changing his diapers frequently.

Don’t use baby wipes during your infant’s diaper changes. Instead, place an absorbent towel under your baby’s bottom, use a spray bottle filled with lukewarm water and mist it on your tykes diaper area. When you’re done, gently blot the area completely dry with a clean soft cloth.

Apply a generous layer of diaper ointment, or Vaseline to your baby’s bottom. When my youngest twin would get a diaper rash, I found that mixing diaper ointment with Vaseline helped it heal faster. There is no need to remove and reapply a fresh layer of ointment after each diaper change.

Diaper rash is very uncomfortable, but it’s easy to treat and doesn’t require the intervention of a doctor unless the rash turns into blisters, or worsens after a few days of care. This indicates something more serious, and will require the treatment of a medical expert.

Cradle cap causes scaling and flaking in infants’ scalp due to skin cells that grow faster than they can fall off. Cradle cap isn’t contagious, nor is it serious. Cradle cap commonly occurs in babies before 3 months of age, but can appear in later stages of infancy as well. Cradle cap may look painful, but it rarely causes any discomfort to your infant.

Treatment for cradle cap includes frequent washing of your baby’s hair with a mild shampoo, putting a little oil (baby, vegetable, olive) on the scaling, and brushing the loose flakes away with a soft brush. Once the condition has improved, continue to wash your baby’s hair on a regular basis to prevent cradle cap from coming back.

Hives is an allergic reaction that causes small red bumps or welts to appear on an infant’s body. Hives can be triggered by things such as lotions, sunscreens, perfumes, detergents, soaps, foods, medications, pets, pollen, etc.

If your infant gets hives, you can apply a cool compress, and dress him in loose fitting clothes. If there is severe itching associated with your infant’s hives, you can talk to his doctor about using an over-the-counter antihistamine.

To prevent hives from reoccurring, try to identify what triggered the allergic reaction. Did you give your infant a certain type of food? Did you change brands of lotions? Did you recently wash your baby’s clothes in harsh detergent? Once you pinpoint what caused your infant’s hives, you can take measures to keep it from happening again. hives will generally disappear after a few hours and only requires medical intervention if they are accompanied by breathing difficulties, or vomiting.

Baby acne is characterized by small pimples on your infant’s chin, cheeks, or forehead. Baby acne can appear on your infant as early as three weeks. Even though baby acne feels dry to the touch, avoid using lotion, or oil on the affected area, as this only worsens the condition. Keeping your infant’s face cleansed with plain water is all that’s required to treat this common skin condition in babies.

Although diaper rash, cradle cap, baby acne, and hives are a hassle to deal with, they are easily treated, and pose no long-term problems to your tyke.