help - DD, 1 month old has taken an allergy...very long

[suzi2]

On Monday she started getting littl spots on her face. I ignored it thinking it was the 'baby acne' stage! By Tuesday she was spotty and rashed over a lot of her face - especially around her eyebrows - most of her neck and some of her chest. The rash/spots stopped at the nexkline of her sleepsuit. So I figured it was a contact allergy. Tried to think back and came up with the most plausible idea being that we had used a muslin to burp her that my mum had washed in different powder.

On Weds it was even more angry. Went to the HV who agreed it was a contact allergy and gave dermol. reluctantly tried a bit over her eyebrows but they seemed to get worse.

Today it's still very bad. I had a skin clinic appointment for myself and cheekily asked the nurse there to take a look at her. She suggested loads of moisturiser. I'm terrified that will make it worse though. She also said it was a concern to take an allergy so young and that i should get gp to refer her so they can deal with it there.

Tonight she has more patches appeared on the back of her neck - where my hand holds her for feeding. So now I;m confused too as I haven't been touching anything and have been careful to wash my hands.

Basically I'm all over the place and for some reason, really worrying about her and getting upset about it as I feel so bad for her. I don't know whether to try all the moisturisers - is moisturising an aggressive rash normal/necessary? I'm going to see the HV tomorrow and then try and get them to get me into the doctors (otherwise it's a 2 week wait). But is there anything more the doctor can do in a baby so young?

And the other thing now going through my mind... could it just be extreme baby acne? Why would it stop at the vest line then?

Sorry - it's long. Any words of wisdom appreciated.

Is it bothering her?

do you use handcream? what soap do you uswe when you wash your hands? have you treid using no soap?

It's hard to tell if it's bothering her - she's a grumpy sort and doesn't really sleep much at all during the day whilst DS (19 months) is around.

I use various hand washes depending on where in the house I am. I've stopped using moisturiser (cetraben) on my hands since this started in DD incase it was that. But I've been using these things since she was born and she's been OK.

Have you got the baby and child question and answer book? Thats quite useful. How old is she?
You know that you can ring NHS direct if your concerned and they will advise you.
Im surprised that a nurse would suggest moisturiser.What sort of moisturiser? Sudocreme is good for babies skin.

Sorry - meant to say that the nurse did suggest specific moisturisers that we already have at home - I have bad eczema and she assumes I know what she's on about I suppose!

Now the more I google the more convinced I am that it might be baby acne. I'm so confused... the HV or nurse didn't suggest this at all. But it looks a lot like it.

Are you giving formula or Bf? if bf have you eaten anyting different in the last week or so or if ff, have you changed the milk? could it be an intollerance?

Do you have a dog? sometimes the pets saliva or fur can cause these symptoms.

It could be her age but some creams can make it worse, try a small area first.

As long as she is feeding ok and doesnt have a very high temperature then wait til the morning and ask to see the gp. You should get an appointment that day. At my doctors the nurse rings you back and then books you in for an appointment if they think you need it.
Dont be afraid to call NHS Direct, ive called them before when my babies have been unwell and then they suddenly seemed to perk up. Once i took my son to a&e in a panic cos i thought he was choking on his milk but when i gopt there he was happily laughing away. They doc was lovely, he said that because i panicked it probably made my baby panic too. Its better to put your mind at rest rather than worrying about wasting anyones time.

I'm breastfeeding. Can't think of anything I've changed. I'm not worried about her general health really - it's definately 'just' an allergic reaction of acne. I guess I'm just stressing about it all more than anything. Worried it's the start of a vicious cycle of allergies and eczema.

I had severe eczema as a baby and couldnt have dairy products, but i dont have it now. I do get very dry skin in winter still but you cant say for definite that your child will develop it too or have it wen she is older.

my baby had acne,she was covered in spots all on face,neck down to mid chest,it got worse when i ate curry,but it cleared up completely when she was 8wks.I wouldnt worry about it,its really common.If its bothering her then get it checked again and if the skin dries out(my dds spots went flakey at one point)then use oilatum or something,not aqueous cream as dermotoligist told me it makes it worse.

My baby had spots all over chest ,back and face from when she was a week old to about 10 weeks. I took her to my gp and she prescribed aqueous cream . I also used olive oil after her bath . When I met up with my NCT group I found all the babies had spots!! I was however very worried at first being a first time mum !!After about 10 wks the spots/acne cleared up. I would get any rash checked out though to reassure yourself.

Thanks everyone. I'm now getting more convinced that it's just bad baby acne. The cooler and calmer she is, the better it looks - more bumpy than 'angry'. I think it was just because it stopped at her vest line I was thrown... I think I might do nothing to it and see how it is over the weekend.

add some probiotics to your diet as you are breastfeeding and consider giving them to your baby. It will help to protect against your child developing eczema and may help with other allergies. Wash all clothes in non biological powder as residues will be present in clothes after washing.

Lots of babies get a milk rash and some get heat rashes. Your gp probably couldn't recognise an allergic rash anyway. You may be able to get an antihistamine cream to see if that helps. I buy a bite cream that contains antihistamine.