Do parents need to treat the flaky skin some infants are born with?
Flaking skin is a normal and temporary finding. No treatment is necessary. If the skin seems excessively dry or there’s a little bit of cracking, which sometimes can happen in the skin folds, then, a moisturizer may be helpful. What is infant acne? Neonatal acne is the acne that typically appears in the first few weeks of life. It is very common and it’s caused in the same way that teenage acne: by hormones. It’s caused by male hormones called androgens, which are actually quite high in both male and female babies at around the time of delivery, and then tend to diminish over time. As those hormone levels decline the acne tends to disappear. If the acne seems to be lasting longer or is particularly severe, meaning that somebody’s seeing lots of red bumps or scars, then you’d want to talk to your doctor. What is erythema toxicum? Erythema toxicum is a common skin rash and not a cause for any concern. It typically shows up in the first few days of life as little red blotches on the skin,
