[snewsie]

Hello -
Our little Ana has seemed to develop a facial rash since her last picture. I THINK that the photo was taken at about 4 weeks old. It's pretty heavy on her face (appears to be none elsewhere). I know babies can have acne after birth, but I want to make sure she isn't allergic to her formula or something. I want her to be comfortable. Any one have experience with this?? I just want to go to Guatemala and hold her! (woops...see photo a few posts down)

[sassafrass]

I have 3 bios and they all had BAD baby acne. there is really nothing to do about it. But it will clear up and be great.
My Ped. told me the kids with baby acne usually have great skin later and no teen acne.
My kids have great skin now.

Good luck!!

[Dee C]

Hi our biological son had this too. It was only on his face and there were little tiny bumps on the backs of his arms. The stuff on his cheeks looked exactly like adult acne. They would even get a white head on them.. We took him to a dermatologist and he said it was a mild form of eczema. He gave us a mild soap to use and a moisturizing lotion called Eucerin. He gave us a bunch of samples of Elidel and we tried them for a few days but they actually made his face more inflamed. He said the most important thing was to keep the area clean so that it didn't further agrivate them. (our family doctor whom we saw first tried to treat it with amoxicillin. he said that it may be clogged pores from a runny nose being wiped because he had a cold at the time. It could have caused an infection. I think that is what he said. It was a few months ago and I only got hearsay baecause my husband had to take him to the appt.)Now other than a few light marks on his face you can't tell that they were there. I hope I was of some help.Our son had it for about six months before our doctor referred us to a dermatologist so I don't know how long you have to wait for travel but if it is the same thing I think it will be ok till then.

[jillbee]

Hi. Both my bios had it bad, too. It's usually just normal adjustment to the change in hormones. Things generally settle down by eight to nine weeks. Allergies to formula are not as common as most people believe. The rash/acne usually bothers the parents more than the child. I usually tell my patients parents to just cleanse the skin with tepid water or if needed a mild soap such as Basis. With my bios I just left it alone and it cleared up on its own. It's hard to watch and wait from a distance. I hope to hear that Ana's on her way home soon. Keep us posted.

[Bassette]

Another possibility is heat rash. They dress the babies very warmly in Guatemala (probably an understatement) and it is not uncommon for them get heat rash. I bet it was 80 degrees when my son's FM picked him up from our hotel and she added a hooded sweat suit over his long sleeved shirt and pants and then she wrapped him in a thick fleece blanket! He was sweating bullets before she ever walked out the door!

Two sets of clothes, one being a sweat suit, a hat, hood and fleece blankie! Talk about snug as a bug in a rug! *hehe*

I gave her two huge tubes of rash cream in anticipation of the inevitable.

[c.rudman]

I know how being a first time mom makes you anxious about EVERYTHING!!! But my older son had the same acne , too. It is perfectly normal-as I'm sure you're being told-it'll go away.
Actually, sometimes it's healthy for them to get it so young. The thing is, though, my son is almost six now and he still gets it now and then!! Maybe he'll have less problems when he's older. Anywho, good luck bringing Ana home. I'll bet she's beautiful!!!!


Sincerely,

[JeannineW]

Sue,

Does Ana's rash look like acne? Is it small bumps all over her face? If so, I'm with everyone else, it will get better. Newborn skin just seems to go through this period.

One thing to look at if it doesn't exactly look like acne (and I don't think it's common in newborns) is impetigo. I spent several days watching and treating my daughters "diaper rash" last year while we were on vacation. She had never had a bad diaper rash so I just figured that's what it was. She was actually potty trained but wearing pullups while traveling. I figured her little bottom wasn't used to sitting in wet pullups anymore. Turns out it was impetigo. I'm glad I finally found a medical clinic. She was getting better within 24 hours once she was on antibiotics.

Impetigo is much more patchy than acne and the patches look a little like blisters. If you have any doubts, have a ped look at the picture. They could probably tell.

I'm sure it's just acne but wanted to share this just in case.

[snewsie]

Here is Ana's photo...her referral photo skin was very clear - so that's what made me think it may be her formula...

[jillbee]

Oh my goodness!! She is such a doll! It is so difficult to tell from the photo. Do you have a pediatrician here for her? You could show the pedicatrician the photo.

It could still just be hormones. I know my bio, Catie, had clear skin when she was born. She started breaking out after a week or so, then it cleared after about 8 weeks or so. Though my acne caused by worrying about her acne took much longer to clear. Tee-hee

Jill

[c.rudman]

She is absolutely beautiful!!!
It looks as though it could very well be a rash. My YOUNGER son has excema and it looks like that. The dermatologist said just to keep the areas moistened with mineral oil or something similar. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. Though, I'm guessing that's easier said than done!! Anywho, good luck, and congratulations on such a beautiful little girl!!!!!
Sincerely,

[tootsi20023]

I am NO expert, but it does look like eczema to me. Our baby has eczema really bad. We switched her to soy milk and it's a little better. She could be allergic to the protein in the cows milk??? I would talk with your agency right away about this. It's nothing to become alarmed about, but if it is excema your baby could be itchy and somewhat uncomfortable.

[jaeden]

i agre. it looks like an allergy. by her age i would say alllergy to milk base formula. easy to fix, not to worry michelle

[snewsie]

Thanks for the wonderful replies! I think if it still looks like that on her next picture I may ask my agency about it. You are all so wonderful! Thanks
Sue

[lovetoadopt]

Eczema is also an early sign of allergies. My son had it as a baby and now has allergies to dogs, dust, peanuts and ragweed. Just a thought! This is what our pediatric allergy doctor told us.

[snewsie]

lovtoadopt......does it look like eczema to you?