baby acne

[LucyG]

I'm not sure if this is the appropriate forum for this question, but I'll try it here. I knew that newborns often get pimples, but now that my 18 day old baby has them on her cheeks and forehead, I want to know more! How long should I expect them to last? Is there anything I can do other than keep her face clean with mild soap and water? They look terrible! I cut her nails, so she can no longer scratch herself. I had read that keeping the nails short helps the acne. Any other advice? Have many of your babies been through this?

[etwahl]

I only know what I've heard, and that is that it's normal. But I had to respond, because I admit I'm a little worried about the fact that everyone says babies aren't so beautiful in the beginning, and after reading Rachel's post about that rude jerk, I can't help worrying about people making comments about my baby like "why does your baby have acne, or why is her skin so bad, or your baby looks odd, etc."

Yes, I'm a freak for worrying about that already :)

Tammy,
Mom-to-be Mar 8, 2003!

[Momof3Labs]

Colin had baby acne (most, if not all babies, do). It lasted a couple of weeks, if I remember correctly, and you should do nothing except keep your baby's face clean (don't wash with soap multiple times a day, though - that can be irritating - a clean, soft, damp cloth wipe is usually plenty).

Tammy - no one should criticize you for those normal baby rashes! Colin had several in his first month, but then they all disappeared. It really is no big deal!

[C99]

Nate's came in bursts -- he went thru one spurt at ~2 weeks and another around 1 month, which is clearing up now.

[brubeck]

Both of my babies had acne that lasted about 3 weeks. My daughter just had a few pimples but my son had such a red, raging face that my ped said it was mild eczema. Apparently anything to help the redness woudl make the pimples worse and anything to help the pimples would make the redness worse so she just said plain hot (not too hot) water on a clean washcloth twice a day. It did work, but it took SUCH a long time to clean up!

Apparently one of the big reasons babies get acne is from hormones in Mom's milk. But then why is this only temporary? I dunno. What made me feel terrible is that I have struggled almost my entire life with acne and I was scared I passed this on to my kids. I had been hoping that it was regressive since no one else in my family has this issue. Here's to hope!

[etwahl]

I know what you mean about worrying about passing down the bad stuff to our babies. I have eczema and allergies (severe sinus problems) and had acne as a teenager. I've always had oily/sensitive skin and just hate the thought of my child having to go through the skin problems I have!

Tammy,
Mom-to-be Mar 8, 2003!

[brubeck]

At least I know to put my son on Proactiv the minute he starts up with the acne again later in life! :-)

The allergies can be helped significantly if you breastfeed for the first few days and baby gets colostrum. Even if the baby is bottlefed (or not latching), you can pump the colostrum out and feed it to them. My hubby has terrible nasal allergies (he has to take prescription medication every day) and his mother is now feeling incredibly guilty that she didn't breastfeed him because his allergies are the worst in the family. So far so good with my kids, and they both had all the colostrum they could eat until my milk came in!

Unfortunately I don't know anything to help with the skin issues, only that you aren't supposed to irritate it. Maybe your ped can help you out with this issue. Ask at one of your first few visits.

[LucyG]

Thanks for the helpful responses! Tammy, if it makes you feel any better, my husband and I still think the baby is beautiful (and most other people seem not to notice, or are too polite to say anything)!

[sweetbasil]

DS had a huge outbreak just before he turned 1 month...the pictures prove it. I remember saying, "but he was such a pretty baby, wasn't he?" and being so sad about it. But it cleared up within 3 weeks, and hasn't happened since. Before the outbreak, we put major baby lotion/moisturizer on him, and we cut down on that from the elbows down for several weeks, which probably helped. His little hands were really dry and flaky for the first month, so probably our efforts to overcome that resulted in the acne....

I know that's not fun, though, so I'm sorry you're having to deal with that right now. It'll be all cleared up soon! :)

[mcmorfit]

Little 11 day old Lucy has acne as well. But the amazing thing about newborn skin is the it changes very rapidly. Case in point, she had a HUGE pimple in the cute fat creases in her neck, then by the afternoon it was gone - why can't that happen to me?

From all that I've read it is very normal and nothing to worry about.

Ellen
Mamma to Lucy C. 02/27/03