The idea that their newborn could have acne at such a young age may raise many frightening questions about what they may have did right and wrong.
Many parents will lose sleep over the thought that this is the same acne that teenagers put up with but luckily, it isn’t. Baby acne, as it is known, is quite different.
Baby acne is usually apparent on a babies face, especially around the bridge of the nose, in the form of a rash and lesions, which may look worse than they actually are, particularly when a baby is crying, flustered or is being otherwise fussy.
While it can be present at birth it will usually start showing up 3 to 4 weeks after birth coincidently the time a baby is likely to be most hard to please adding to a parents concern.
Though you may not have heard of it, baby acne is not uncommon, approximately 1 in 5 babies will suffer from baby acne, or acne neonatorum as it is sometimes referred to.
The condition is caused by a stimulation of oil glands by hormones remaining from the natal period. Hormones, which have been transferred from mother to child via the placenta naturally.
What many people don’t know however is that neonatal acne will more often than not clear itself in just a month or two. Despite this or perhaps because of the lack of knowledge, treatments for baby acne are available. Antifungal treatments are said to be quite effective as are topical tretinoin, a form of vitamin A available in a gel form, or benzoyl peroxide, an organic peroxide. As baby acne does not normally require any treatment however it would certainly be advisable to consult a pediatrician before purchasing any of these treatments.
Baby acne is an ordinary stage of infancy that is difficult to prevent after it has cleared the likely hood is a child will not experience acne again until they begin the process of becoming an adult.
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