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Neonatal Dermatology

Summary & Participants

Many parents worry about how best to care for skin problems in their infants. Learn basic ways to take care of your child’s skin.

Medically Reviewed On: July 18, 2008

Webcast Transcript

ANNOUNCER: Bringing your newborn home is cause for celebration. However, many first-time parents worry that they are ill-prepared to care for their baby. And skincare is often one of their concerns.

LAWRENCE F. EICHENFIELD, MD: Bathing actually has some very good benefits for babies. It gets rid of crud on the skin. It removes stool and urine on the skin, which can be irritating. It may remove antigens or allergens that are on the skin. We generally use mild soaps. Regular bathing is reasonable. On the other hand, that doesn't mean that you bathe a child four times a day because the more bathing that you do, actually the drier the skin becomes. So probably bathing every other day is perfectly reasonable.

ANNOUNCER: If the skin is dry use a moisturizer.

LAWRENCE F. EICHENFIELD, MD: We generally stay away from those that are heavily fragranced, and most people will use baby lines of lotions.

ANNOUNCER: There is no formal schedule that parents must follow when it comes to washing their baby's hair.

LAWRENCE F. EICHENFIELD, MD: You could probably do it once a week or twice a week and that would be fine, or you could do it with each bath. Some people will use the same soap that they're using on the skin or there are some specific baby shampoos.

ANNOUNCER: A baby's umbilical cord area generally doesn't require any special care.

LAWRENCE F. EICHENFIELD, MD: Soap and water is all you need to do to care for the umbilical area. Parents should keep an eye out for any signs of redness or anything that might be an infection.

ANNOUNCER: Infants can develop skin eruptions in the first few weeks of life.

LAWRENCE F. EICHENFIELD, MD: These sets of bumps are things that have been called neonatal acne, and in some cases, it's actually neonatal acne. In many cases, it's not acne at all. It's actually a distinct entity, and they are just superficial pus bumps.

There is really no need to treat them. We just watch them go away over time. If it's a more severe case, it's appropriate to go see your physician.

ANNOUNCER: Cradle cap, a version of seborrheic dermatitis, can develop on a baby's scalp.

LAWRENCE F. EICHENFIELD, MD: It presents with either sort of scaly, waxy, yellow, occasionally pinkish area. It's a very mild form of dermatitis. There are several ways you can treat it. Number one, you can just use moisturizers or a little bit of oil. If there is a lot of whitish scale, you can pull off that scale very gently, either by soaking it with water or by putting some baby oil and then a soft toothbrush and sort of debriding or very superficially pulling off the scale. For more severe seborrheic dermatitis, we'll generally use anti-inflammation medicines such as over the counter one percent hydrocortisone just for a few days, which is highly affective at taking care of the cradle cap.

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