Extremely Bad Baby Acne - Please Help!!!

[milipeadsmum]

Hi everyone, am new to this forum but really need some help and advice.
My 4 week old baby has developed the most horrendous spots / rash over her face and chest. It has been there about a week now and just seems to be getting worse. She doesnt seem bothered by it at all and is fine in herself but it is really upsetting me. I can hardly look at her little face without wanting to cry.
It seems classic to what i have read on baby acne, however have been to the drs twice and have been told it is something called milairia rubra (this is a type of heat rash??!!!) and have spoken to my friend who is a doctor and she has shown the pictures to a SHO Paedatrician at her hospital and she thinks its something called erythema toxicum (a basic harmless rash). I am lost as to what it is or what I can do about it.
Her whole face is covered in red angry blotches and clear filled spots and pus filled spots. There are also dry and flaky patches.
Any help would be appreciated!

 

[OmarsMum]

Omar had it at 4 wks, & we had to use steroid cream (hydrocortisone) twice for 5 days. It started as baby acne (white heads) then started to spread & became so flaky & red, it looked like burns.

 

[Helabela]

Sophies just geting over this, its lasted just over a week. Her skin on her forhead has been really dry, we have been putting sunflower oil on once per day and this really helps. With her spots i went to to doctor but he said it should just pass, and it has gotten better in time, he said its something to do with my hormones still being in her body and thats what causes it. As long as baby isnt bothered by it i would just let it pass.

 

[Emma1980]

its very common and goes by the time they are 6 weeks hun x

 

[purpledaisy2]

Omar had it at 4 wks, & we had to use steroid cream (hydrocortisone) twice for 5 days. It started as baby acne (white heads) then started to spread & became so flaky & red, it looked like burns.

Snap, our doctor prescribed this for us too

 

[Nickij]

Jack had a mild case of this - didn't need creams or anything it clears up when he was a few weeks old

 

[Pooky]

Olly had erythema toxicum really badly starting at 3 weeks old. We were sent up to A&E by our GP. Prescribed anti-biotics. That helped but took about a week to show much improvement and a few more weeks till it fully cleared.

 

[daniandbaby]

Hi Kye had this It started at around 3 weeks and I used cetraben creme which the doctor prescribed, One doctor told me it was heat rash and I couldn't wuite believe that so I took him to the hospital and was told it was baby achne. It cleared up pretty much by its self.. I have attached a picture when It was proballt at one of its worst stages... It took around 6 weeks to clear up to only come back again He has been clear of it now since 3 months.

 

[pinky1987]

Hi hun,

My little man is 3.5wks now and i had my first visit from the health visitor this morning and have been told Owen has a really bad case of baby acne, He has had it since birth though, the midwives kept telling me they were oily spots(milk spots) but me and OH knew it had to be something more!
My HV told me that they do just clear up on their own,she described it like- the way we gets spots and things just before a period basically because of hormones. the babies at this age have a dip in hormones because at birth they have a full supply but now they are starting to dissappear and that is what causes it, a reaction to the hormones.

Not sure if i have just rambled on there actually, but i do know how horrible it feels, i even had some comment on him the other day saying "ooo, what are them horrible spots on his face" in a nasty tone, needless to say,i was not impressed!!!!!

They are exactly like pimples, whitehead spots, it's horrible!!!

 

[MikaylasMummy]

are u breastfeeding hun?my sis in law is b/f her 3month old and she was eating heaps and heaps of chocolate and her bubs got pimples all over her face..then she stopped and they completely cleared up..then over easter they came back..hehe..if ur not b/f then a heat rash could also be it mikayla used to get pretty bad heat rashes so make sure bubby is not hot and sweaty much.x

 

[milipeadsmum]

Thank you everyone for your help and advice. Not breastfeeding anymore, was half wondering if it was the formula and allergy but i really dont think it is cuz she is so well. Takes the bottle easily and happily and isnt poorly which im sure she would be if she was allergic.
Unfortunately I think i just have to get used to the fact that it is there and wait in time for it to go. I actually think i would have a minor breakdown if someone made a nasty comment to me about it and I dont normally care what people think. I guess its because im so protective of her!

 

[Pooky]

I have to be honest, I posted on here about LOs spots and everyone said they were normal.. took him to the HV to be sure and she looked horrified and sent me straight to GP for an emergency appt. He sent us straight to A&E. Even there it took 3 paeds to diagnose and prescride the meds.

If you are worried at all then don't take anyone's word for the fact they are 'normal' and will 'clear up on their own' - get them checked out.. especially if you don't see any improvement. It was only my gut instinct that told me there was something wrong that sent me to HV.

I know we are all trying to help but there is nothing like a mother's instinct in these cases.

*HUGS*

 

[milipeadsmum]

Hey Pooky,
I know exactly what your saying....im just not sure if it is this baby acne or if its something more serious?
I have taken her to the doctors twice, both times was it pretty much dismissed as "oh all babies get spots...nothing to worry about....baby acne.....blah blah blah", the health visitor has seen her and she is worse than useless but said the same thing, and my friend is a dr up in london and she spoke to two of her colleagues who are paedatricians, one a SHO and one a registrar, and showed them the pictures of her and explained the symptons, when it started etc and they said it looked and sounded like erythema toxicum which is a harmless rash that will clear in a couple of weeks?!
So what do i do....that is 5 "expert" opinions and no one seems worried! what did they diagnose your little one with and what medication did they give you for it? Any advice would be very much appreciated x

 

[Jchihuahua]

Daisy got lots of red spots on her face that the doctor said were milk spots when she was about 4 weeks. I too was really upset about it. They'd completely cleared up on their own within a couple of weeks.

 

[Pooky]

Hey Pooky,
I know exactly what your saying....im just not sure if it is this baby acne or if its something more serious?
I have taken her to the doctors twice, both times was it pretty much dismissed as "oh all babies get spots...nothing to worry about....baby acne.....blah blah blah", the health visitor has seen her and she is worse than useless but said the same thing, and my friend is a dr up in london and she spoke to two of her colleagues who are paedatricians, one a SHO and one a registrar, and showed them the pictures of her and explained the symptons, when it started etc and they said it looked and sounded like erythema toxicum which is a harmless rash that will clear in a couple of weeks?!
So what do i do....that is 5 "expert" opinions and no one seems worried! what did they diagnose your little one with and what medication did they give you for it? Any advice would be very much appreciated x

If you have already had it checked out like that then you should be OK. As I say my HV and GP all referred me straight away and so it must have been BAD! His face was red but he had these pustules on his cheeks then forehead. Much more than milk spots.