baby acne?! advice/help needed

amother

Mon, Jun 01 2009, 9:20 pm

DD was born with THE MOST BEAUTIFUL, smooth skin, at 4 weeks she started getting pimples near her nose by time 6 weeks came around it totally spread to her whole face, chin, scalp and neck. it's very ugly looking pimples with white tips. is this baby acne?

can anyone give me advice on how to get her beautiful skin back?

NotInNJMommy

Mon, Jun 01 2009, 9:31 pm

Other than normal cleaning, I've learned to just wait it out. It's partly due to hormonal surges and other adjustments to being outside the womb. The best thing to do is leave it alone and just proceed as usual.

mommalah

Mon, Jun 01 2009, 9:33 pm

It's completely normal for babies to develop baby acne at around 4-5 weeks. All my girls had it and many others as well. I wouldn't worry about it or try to "fix" it. It'll go away on its own...

amother

Mon, Jun 01 2009, 9:53 pm

seriously? just wait it out?

mommalah

Mon, Jun 01 2009, 9:56 pm

Yup. It's not dangerous or anything.
Am I right in my assumption that you're a first time mom?

mommalah

Mon, Jun 01 2009, 10:00 pm

DrGreene Content

What is Baby Acne?

My one-month-old son's cheeks are very rough. It looked at first like a rash. There are small bumps that are sometimes red and irritated looking, and other times it looks very clear, but the roughness is still there. Is that a rash or is it baby acne? Is there something I can do to treat it?
Beckie Huckle,
San Bruno, California

To many parents' dismay, their beautiful newborn's face breaks out with red bumps. One of the most common causes for red bumps on an infant’s face is baby acne. It tends to occur at about the same age as the baby's peak gas production and fussiness. How attractive! (This all coincides with parents' maximum sleep deprivation.) Parents are often quite concerned both about how these bumps look and about their significance.

In baby acne, these bumps, Beckie, are quickly fleeting evidence of the connection between your body and your son's. During the final moments of your pregnancy, your hormones crossed the placenta into your son. Among other things (such as maturing his lungs), this stimulated the oil glands on your son's skin, eventually giving rise to the baby acne.

Fleshy or red pimples can be present at birth, but typically appear at 3 to 4 weeks of age. They occur predominately on the cheeks, but are also quite common on the forehead and chin. Whiteheads are sometimes present. This condition tends to come and go until the baby is between 4 and 6 months old.

The acne will be most prominent when your son is hot or fussy (increased blood flow to the skin), or when his skin is irritated. If his skin comes into contact with cloth laundered in harsh detergents, or becomes wet from saliva or milk that he has spit up, the condition may appear worse for several days.

Gently cleanse his face once a day with water, and perhaps a mild baby soap. Oils and lotions do not help, and may aggravate the condition. If the acne is severe or lasts beyond 6 months, your pediatrician may prescribe a mild medicine to help.

Otherwise, you can expect that the rash will soon be a memory. The oil glands will disappear, and you won't see the acne again until you turn around once, and he's a teenager. This time the acne will be evidence that his own hormones are turning him into a man.

Alan Greene MD FAAP

dewyt

Mon, Jun 01 2009, 11:23 pm

yep its normal, and you cant really do anything for it. just let it run its course, theyll go away just as they appeared! I was so worried with my first, after the seder night (he was exactly 4 wks old) we went into the hospital as I was freaking out that the pimples were spreading to his shoulder/neck area. now I have my second little boy BH, and he is 4 weeks old, we are once again welcoming the baby acne, and awaiting its departure, as he is beautiful KAH! dont worry about it!

gold21

Tue, Jun 02 2009, 1:42 am

If the acne is severe, the doc can probably prescribe something for it, if you insist on it.

I used to pop my sons pimples. His acne was moderate. You're not supposed to, but I couldn't resist. I'm a mad pimple popping expert lol.

drumjj

Tue, Jun 02 2009, 2:05 am

you should def leave it

leomom

Tue, Jun 02 2009, 2:09 am

Totally normal. Do not pop them or do anything else! They will just go away, as others have said.

Six weeks is about rock bottom for baby skin, then things get better!

When I took a Lamaze class before my first child was born, I remember the teacher telling us that newborns are beautiful to their mothers, but their skin is blotchy, pimply, etc... and then she said (and this is an exact quote): "At three months, that's when you get the Gerber baby."

Inspired

Tue, Jun 02 2009, 5:14 am

amother wrote:

seriously? just wait it out?

Yes. She is a baby. It's normal.

PAMOM

Tue, Jun 02 2009, 6:34 pm

99% of the time, it's the typical baby acne the other amothers are describing. There IS the possibility of staph infection though (very common in hospitals and babies can get it from contact with others, including parents) so it's always good to ask your pediatrician. DON'T pop them--that's a great way to open skin to infection.

BennysMommy

Tue, Jun 02 2009, 6:44 pm

I'll just agree with what everyone else is saying in case you needed more confirmation. Don't do anything. They'll go away by themselves.

canadamom

Tue, Jun 02 2009, 6:51 pm

just my experience: my baby had bad acne at 5 weeks. after about a week, his whole face looked like one big pimple, it was red and disgusting. I went to my dr. who gave me a cortisone cream which basically just dried up his face and whenever I put it on he screamed like as if it was burning him.. In the end I used "clear cream" I got it in the health food store, it's from E"Y and it was Magic!!!! his face completely cleared up in just one day

amother

Wed, Jun 03 2009, 7:35 pm

thanks canadamom I'll try it.

no. I'm not a first time mom, my other one's didn;t have this.

to me she is the most adorable baby anyway...