Contents
What are the differences between baby skin and adult skin?
The stratum corneum, which constitutes a natural barrier, is practically non-existent in babies, resulting in great fragility.
Babies’ skin is very permeable and absorbs much more than adult skin. Indeed, the surface of a baby’s skin is very large in relation to its weight (five to ten times more than in adults). As a result, the concentration in the baby’s body of whatever is applied to his skin is much greater.
Hence the need to be very careful about what is applied to babies’ skin, and the need for specific products: a product that is completely harmless to adults can thus prove to be particularly dangerous for infants.
Cradle cap
These yellowish and scaly patches, a little oily, settle on the scalp and the eyebrows, and sometimes also on the whole body. Don’t worry, they have nothing to do with hygiene! They usually appear from three weeks and disappear between the baby’s 3 and 6 months. They can sometimes spread to the face, to the folds of the neck, even to the seat area. They are due to the proliferation of a yeast normally present on the skin. If it grows in excess, the phenomenon becomes inflammatory. The solution: above all, do not rub the cradle cap, even if it looks “dirty”.
What to do?
– Coat the plates with sweet almond oil and massage to gently peel off these scales. Follow with an emollient shampoo.
– Repeat this operation every two days until the crusts disappear. If your child really has a lot of it, the dermatologist will prescribe a low potency topical corticosteroid and / or antifungal cream.
Le sudamina
Those are small water blisters transparent on the surface of the skin everywhere on the body and on the face, which can appear as early as two weeks. In question : your baby is sweating. The perspiration is retained in the stratum corneum, the upper part of the skin, because the sweating mechanism is not yet developed for the first few weeks. The phenomenon appears especially in summer, when it is hot and humid.
What to do?
First, do not cover your little one too much and favor natural materials such as cotton. We must ensure dry your skin well, without rubbing it, after the bath. If there are small blisters in the folds, you can apply a drying and sanitizing lotion.
Diaper rash or red plaque of the seat
This condition affects the convex areas of the buttocks and thighs. It is the prolonged contact of the skin with the stool and urine contained in the diaper that can cause skin irritation. Very common (almost one in two children has it), diaper rash mainly occurs between 7 and 12 months, when the baby’s skin is still fragile. The irritation can lead to superinfection with a fungus that usually lives in the digestive tract, the “candida albicans “. Coming down through the anus, it causes a reaction in the skin. If your child suddenly has severe diarrhea, such as when babies have gastroenteritis or teething, they may also suddenly have a diaper rash.
If the erythema does not go away after two or three days or if it spreads, visit your doctor.
What to do?
You can apply a light coat of water paste (treatment rich in thermal water which forms a protective shield between the epidermis and the acidity of the stool), healing cream or zinc-based treatments, on the lower and upper buttocks. This ointment will form a film which then protects the child’s skin from friction with the diaper.
Do not hesitate to consult if the affection spreads or does not disappear after two or three days. It could be a superinfection, for example, and it requires antibiotic treatment.
Eczema
Characterized by red patches covered with small vesicles, eczema or atopic dermatitis often occurs in flare-ups, (we speak of chronic disease) between 2 and 6 months, and causes very strong itching. It is a disease that is frequently hereditary: at least one of the parents has already had eczema but also allergic rhinitis (the famous hay fever) or asthma. Who says chronic disease says regular outbreaks, with between the outbreaks phases of remission where the rashes subside, even if the skin remains quite dry. It’s hard to see your little end scratching until it bleeds when it comes to falling asleep! These patches are often associated with dry skin. Before two years, the lesions mainly concern the face, thorax, legs and sucked thumb. Embarrassed, the child may be restless and have poor sleep. But don’t panic, this disease is not contagious. Around 10 years old, Baby’s skin matures. Usually the eczema disappears.
What to do and when to consult?
From the first suggestive symptoms, you can go to see a doctor or dermatologist who will prescribe corticosteroids if the eczema is proven and it becomes too painful. These applications, which will quickly calm the itching, will be gradually spaced, to be stopped after a fortnight and relayed by a emollient cream.
Above all, avoid washcloths, perfumes and soaps which are too aggressive. Prefer showers rather than baths and do not wash your child every day, because water attacks the natural barrier of the skin.
Impétigo
In principle, impetigo, these yellowish scabs surrounded by a red halo, often located around the mouth, rather affects older children, from 3 years old. But your child can very well infect his little brother by kissing him, so beware! In toddlers kept in nurseries, it occurs in epidemics and looks more like large blisters that break easily to give way to scabs.
Impetigo is due to contamination by a bacterium, staphylococcus in 80% of cases.
What to do?
Treatment is based on an antistaphylococcal antibiotic drug, an antiseptic and a local antibiotic. But above all, stricter hygiene measures are essential! So we don’t skimp on hand washing, neat brushing of nails and more frequent change of clothes. Of course, kissing ban for a few days …