Baby Heat Rash On Face

A baby's skin is soft, tender and delicate. Parents try their best to protect their baby's skin from rashes and other damaging conditions. However, babies are prone to many skin conditions that gives sleepless night to parents as well as babies themselves. They suffer from different types of acne, cradle crap, diaper rash, milia, baby eczema, baby yeast infection and heat rash. During summers, heat rash in babies is a very common occurrence. We shall concentrate more on baby heat rash on face in the following paragraphs. This will help you understand the cause, symptoms and treatments for this common skin condition affecting babies.

What Causes Baby Heat Rash
Baby's skin is very sensitive and any change in the environment will lead to skin problems. Summer is a season that makes a baby prone to rashes. Mother's often get worried when they see a red rash on their babies face as who would want to see tiny bumps appearing on the delicate skin of their child. These heat rashes are commonly known as 'prickly heat' or 'summertime rash'. Medically speaking, it is called Miliaria rubra.

The cause of heat rash on face is plugged sweat gland pores that leads to eruption of tiny red or pink bumps on skin. In summer, the baby's body heats up and tends to sweat. When the baby begins to sweat a lot, it causes his pores to get clogged that blocks sweat in the pores. Also, babies have smaller skin pores than adults that contributes to their clogging. Hot, humid climate is the main cause of baby heat rash. If you see heat rash occurring in winter, it may be because of the layers of clothing worn by the baby or fever. When the clothes begin to rub against the skin it causes the appearance of these red bumps. It is said about 1 to 4% of baby's suffer from prickly heat or heat rash.

Symptoms of Heat Rash on Face
Before one thinks of treatment, it is important to identify heat rash correctly. A heat rash consists of small bumps on skin that causes the surrounding skin area to appear red. You will find the rash often appears on body parts covered by clothes like trunk, groin and armpits. In case of face, it appears on the forehead generally, especially if the child is made to wear caps and scarfs. It may appear on the side of the face and neck, where the child rests his/her head while sleeping on the pillow or the mother's shoulder. If you use a magnifying glass, you will find there are no hair follicles covered by the heat bumps. Thus, indicating it is not a case of folliculitis. Let us now go into the details of how to treat heat rash on baby's face.

How to Cure Baby Heat Rash
There are a few baby heat rash remedies that you can try at home. First and foremost, you need to cool off your baby. You can do so by dipping a cotton cloth in a solution containing one teaspoon baking soda and a cup of cool water. Then place the cloth on the baby's rash for about 5 to 10 minutes for about five times a day. This will help prevent itching and reduce the rash. You can even apply a thin coat of calamine lotion on the skin to ease irritation. Another effective baby heat rash treatment includes application of Aloe Vera gel. This will help sooth the irritated skin of your baby. You can even apply salicylic acid pads on your baby's skin to unclog the pores. Antihistamine and hydrocortisone cream too helps prevent the constant itching and helps your baby fall asleep.

You should change their clothes into something light and cotton. Do not make the baby wear synthetic clothes in summer as it will lead to prickly heat. Cotton is a breathable clothing that will help keep your baby cool and dry. You should avoid taking your baby outdoors on a hot day. Keep the infant well hydrated and continue breastfeeding him. You too should avoid wearing synthetic, woolen or abrasive fabrics. When you hold your baby in your arms, your clothes cause skin irritation leading to heat rash.

Baby heat rash will disappear in a few days. However, if you find the baby heat rash on face does not go away after a few days or appears worse than ever, visit a doctor immediately. In summers, keep your baby cool and dry. Keep a calamine lotion at hand as it will help get rid of dry skin as well as heat rash. Hope the above information has been helpful for you in understanding prickly heat affecting babies.