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, and in the middle of the red blotch there can be a little bump. No one knows why this rash happens but it's absolutely harmless, it tends to go away in several days, and no treatment is needed.
What is prickly heat?
Heat rash often is called prickly heat but its technical name is miliaria. Nobody really understands exactly why babies have heat rashes, except that the sweat glands in the skin seem to become blocked up. You then get a little leak of the sweat outside of the duct, and that creates irritation or inflammation that results in a tiny red spot or bump about a millimeter or so in size.
Those spots tend to appear in areas where there are skin folds such as in the folds of the neck. They are more likely to happen if a baby becomes overheated. So heat rashes can occur in the summer months in warm climates, or if a baby is a bit too heavily dressed for the surrounding temperature. Sometimes heat rashes can be made worse if parents are applying thick moisturizers or other products.
