10 Tips to Keep Your Baby’s Skin Healthy

Few months after birth, many babies suffer from different types of skin issues. Such as dry skin, baby rashes, eczema, birthmark, or oily spots that appear in dandruff. 

Here are the most common issues and how to deal with them:

1. Eczema 

Eczema is known as a red rash, and usually, it appears in the form of irritated skin and condition of dry on the face, scalp, elbows, and knees. 

Gentle moisturizers and safe soaps for the child’s skin may help reduce skin itchiness. 

But if the condition of eczema on the skin worsens, you should consult a specialist. 

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, most children who develop eczema clear up gradually by age 4.

Possible cause of Eczema: 

Heredity:

Genetics and immune system dysfunctions can be factors that contribute to eczema in children. 

Difficulties related to skin permeability and environmental symptoms are the reasons that can cause such skin conditions and irritations.

Related illnesses:

The risk is higher if the parents have previously had asthma or hay fever. 

This supports the theory that other diseases increase a person’s likelihood of experiencing eczema.

Allergies:

It is a known fact that eczema is a condition that mixes dry skin with sensitivity. 

The early symptoms of eczema in children can be noticed through the dryness of their skin and the rash usually appears and spreads to the face, legs or arms. 

And this sensitivity can be transmitted through breastfeeding, as the mother’s food habits may be responsible for eczema.

Treating the Eczema in Children:

Treatment becomes easier if a careful examination is performed by a skin specialist.

The specialist will physically examine the rash and analyze a detailed medical history to ensure that the child has any diseases that may lead to the occurrence of this rash.

Initially, a dermatologist may recommend mild preparations that can control eczema.

Your dermatologist may also advise you to apply low-steroid creams regularly. Depending on the results of these treatments, your specialist may conduct a test to find and verify the cause of the allergy.

Fortunately, the disease can be controlled because it is not contagious.

Medicines and treatments are prescribed based on their potential to control itching, reduce inflammation, prevent new lesions, and treat infections and inflammations.

The most important part of this process is keeping the child’s skin moist

All things considered,

Some parents may prefer to use some kinds of home remedies that help control the situation!

Home Remedies For Eczema:

Here are some tips and tricks while dealing with eczema:

• It is necessary to have a clean, bright, dry, and cool atmosphere in the house. 
• If needed, a humidifier can be installed at home as it will prevent the leather from drying out.
• Immediately after the bath, moisturizing cream can be applied to the skin.
• Creams containing very low cortisone are available over the counter from pharmacies. 
• Avoid using baby tight clothing and garments made of synthetic fabrics.
• Olive oil, aloe vera oil, and coconut oil are safe alternatives to apply to affected areas. When applied gently, these oils will soothe the itchy area and reduce symptoms. They contain healthy fatty acids that improve the condition of the skin and reduce the symptoms of eczema.

2. Diaper rash 

Diaper rash is a skin irritation that appears around the diaper area, and is usually the result of two main reasons:

• The first is known as (contact dermatitis), and it usually appears if wet and moist diapers come into contact with the skin for long periods, which leads to the appearance of the diaper rash. 
• The second reason for the diaper rash is due to bacteria or fungi that infect the diaper area and lead to the appearance of a rash on it. 

Whatever the cause, the diaper rash annoys the child and leads to discomfort, which calls for immediate treatment to solve this problem.

What can parents do to prevent diaper rash? 

• Change the diaper often. 
• Leave your child bare-bottomed for short periods for the skin to dry well. This measure helps prevent or treat mild cases of diaper rash. 
• When you change the diaper, gently wash the area with lukewarm water and mild baby soap, rinse, and dry completely. 

• Apply unscented petroleum jelly or zinc oxide cream to the diaper-covered skin to protect and moisturize it. You can use baby ointments that work as a barrier, such as Aquaphor, Desitin, or Balmex.
• Some kinds of wet wipes can dry out your baby’s sensitive skin. If you use them, choose unscented, alcohol-free wipes. 
• Avoid talcum powder.

Natural recipes for treating diaper rashes:

Oat Bath 

Oats contain proteins that act as a natural barrier on the skin, in addition to a type of compound called (saponins). 

It is responsible for removing dirt and oils from the skin, and oats have anti-inflammatory properties that soothe the irritation and redness associated with the rash, and the method is:

Ingredients: 

• A tablespoon of oatmeal. 
• Water. 

How To Prepare: 

• Add oats to the baby’s bathwater. 
• The child’s body is soaked in water for 10-15 minutes. 
• Pat the body dry. 

The bath is repeated twice a day. 

Related: Sensitive or Irritated Skin: Try These 4 Baby Oatmeal Bath Treatments

Baking soda and water rinse 

Baking soda or sodium bicarbonate balances the pH of the child’s skin, which helps the skin to combat various microbes, such as bacteria and fungi that cause diaper rash, and the method is: 

Ingredients: 

• Two tablespoons of baking soda. 
• Four cups of warm water. 

How To Prepare:

• Mix the baking with the water until blended well.  
• Apply the lotion on the skin. 
• Leave the lotion on the child’s skin until it dries. 

The lotion is repeated once a day. 

3. Seborrheic Dermatitis (Cradle Cap)

The cradle cap is a red, scaly rash that appears in infants on the scalp, eyelids, eyebrows, behind the ears, and to the sides of the nose

Treatment:

If dermatitis persists, do not hesitate to check with your pediatrician. 

After auscultation of your little one, he may also advise you on a corticosteroid cream to apply, possibly alternating with an antifungal. 

If despite everything the scabs do not disappear or become infected, your practitioner may also prescribe an anti-inflammatory or antiseptic ointment and/or a local antibiotic to prevent or cure the infection.

It can be treated with baby oil or shampoo for children, and some creams and moisturizers prescribed by the specialist pediatrician. 

4. Insect Bites 

Children are usually exposed to bites of different types of insects, such as mosquitoes, and others. Especially during the summer time.

Parents have a responsibility to protect the child from these insects that cause painful problems for the skin. 

Among the measures that can be taken into consideration are the following: 

• Ensure that children wear appropriate clothes: Choose clothes that can protect them from various insects, like thick materials, long sleeves, socks, and hats. Besides, it’s recommended to stay away from the blue clothes color because it attracts mosquitoes, and sometimes bees. 
• Use insect repellent: Use a safe amount of insect repellant products throughout the day on children’s clothes and the visible area of their bodies. 
• Getting rid of any stagnant water in the area: because it is a source for the accumulation of harmful insects, such as holes, streams, tall grass, and dense forests. 
• Use mosquito-repellent candles: These candles are used on the condition that they are placed out of the reach of children.
• Keeping the windows of tents tight when camping: Take care to use mosquito netting for infants, especially when camping in the wilderness.
• Put the trash away: by making sure to dispose of the trash away while camping outside; To avoid attracting wasps and other types of insects.

5. Heat Rash

What Are Heat Rashes?

Heat rash in babies is benign lesions that make the child feel hot. Indeed, they appear when the temperatures are high and the air humid (especially in summer).

Heat rash is a small pink or red papule 1 to 2 mm in diameter. They can be topped with a small blister that ruptures quickly. 

These small buttons are often lodged in the areas of the folds of the skin (neck, folds of the ears, behind the knees, folds of the thighs, region of the groin), on the forehead or the scalp, or the areas friction or occlusion of clothing (chest, buttocks).

What Is The Cause of Heat Rash? 

The appearance of heat rash is linked to a problem with the evacuation of sweat when the child sweats a lot (the regulation of our body temperature is done through the skin through sweating). 

They, therefore, occur during high heat in infants in the first weeks because the channels of the sweat glands are not yet open or later in babies or young children on areas of occlusion or friction (bottom of the folds, clothing pressure)

Heat Rash Treatment

There is no need to use any rash cream on the affected area unless a pediatrician told you to do so.

The rash resolves as soon as the baby stops feeling warm. The lesions go away on their own in 2 to 3 days.

Related: The 5 Best Baby Diaper Rash Creams and Ointments

How To Avoid Heat Rash? 

During hot weather, think about: 

• Dress the child in light, loose clothes or leave him naked
• Moisturize and refresh the child, for example use a sprayer
• Change the room temperature if it is too hot
• Do not cover the child too much when he sleeps

When To Worry?

Consult your doctor or pediatrician if:

• your child has a fever or the nodes.
• the buttons do not disappear after three or four days (or even appear to worsen)