What Are The Pimples And Spots At Birth?

Pimples: Most of the rashes and blemishes that appear on your skin during the first months disappear after a short time without leaving a trace.

Parents expect their newborn to have a rosy appearance, with a rounded face, and smooth, beautiful skin. On many occasions, the real image of the newborn differs from what we usually see in photos:

for example, it may have some white dots on its face, or some reddish or bluish spots, which are variants of normality and they practically never need medical treatment.

1. Miliary Acne

Miliary acne, or milia, is quite common in newborns. About 40% of very young babies have it. They are white or yellowish pimples that appear on the nose and chin, although they can also appear on the cheeks.

They do not have any impact on the baby’s health, they are not painful or contagious, and they usually disappear without any treatment around three weeks of life, although they can last one or two months.

The cause is the obstruction of some follicles of the baby’s delicate skin: small pockets form in which remains of skin are trapped.

It is not recommended to put any ointment or use unique soaps. It is always better to wait for them to disappear on their own, and if you have doubts about their appearance, go to the doctor or pediatric nurse.

It is entirely inadvisable to burst the pimples, since, in addition to the risk of infection that this action entails, some scar could remain.

Another similar case is Epstein pearls, which can appear on the palate or gums. These are bumps identical to the previous ones that do not require treatment either.

2. Neonatal Acne

It has an appearance similar to adolescent acne and is limited to the face of the newborn. It affects approximately 20% of babies, mainly boys. The origin could be in the passage of maternal hormones to the infant.

Unlike infant acne, which appears later and can persist for a long time, neonatal acne appears throughout the first two weeks of life and usually disappears within two to three months.

It would be advisable to go to the pediatrician if these lesions become superinfected or ooze. It would probably be necessary to apply some antibiotic ointment to prevent their proliferation.

3. Pink Signs

The nevus is a pink or salmon-colored spot, also called hemangiomas. They are frequent in the newborn, and we can see them on the eyelids, forehead, nose, neck.

• They can become more visible when the baby cries or his body temperature rises.
• In 99% of cases, they disappear during the first year of life, except those of the neck, which may take a little longer.
• They do not require special care. They have been popularly baptized with such curious names as “stork peck” or “angel kiss.”