The increased dryness of the skin contributes to the fact that the skin of the newborn baby flakes. Every mommy can face such a situation. How to help your child in this situation. described in this article.
Causes of occurrence
The healthy skin of a newborn baby looks pale pink and quite hydrated. However, this is quite rare. Every day the number of various skin pathologies grows many times over. Doctors explain this by the fact that babies are already born with a fairly high predisposition to the development of dryness.
If the parents of the child also have a tendency to increased dry skin, then these adverse symptoms may also develop in the baby. This leads to the fact that the child's peeling increases in various areas of the skin.
The skin on the face, arms, legs and abdomen can peel off. Usually, this manifestation is detected by moms during daily hygiene procedures.
Various allergic diseases are often manifested by the development of pathological desquamation. In this case, various food allergens usually lead to the development of adverse symptoms.
The peak of the development of this form of the disease, according to statistics, occurs at the age of 3-8 months. It is at this time that babies begin to receive their first complementary foods, which can cause them to develop adverse symptoms.
Doctors note that severe dryness can develop in children who were born later than the due date for their birth. Babies with congenital endocrinological pathologies are also at high risk.
The appearance in a child of separate dry areas on the skin in the first days after birth is not yet evidence of any pathology. This can be explained by the fact that sufficient time is required for adaptation in the external environment, and not in the womb.
If the behavior and mood of the baby does not change, and there are no other adverse symptoms, then this condition may be transient. It may take several weeks to compensate. During this time, parents should choose only the optimal baby care cosmetics. In this case, dads and moms need to wait a bit, and the situation will completely normalize.
Some forms of allergic conditions occur with the development of areas of increased dryness. They can occur in a child on almost all parts of the body.
One of these pathologies is atopic dermatitis. This condition manifests itself in children who have a congenital increased predisposition to it.
Development of adverse symptoms in this case may occur even after swimming in ordinary chlorinated water... Cosmetics that are used to wash a child can also become a cause that provokes the development of adverse symptoms in a baby.
If the baby's skin on the head is strongly peeling, then this is most likely a consequence of the seborrheic dermatitis that has developed in the baby. This disease, according to statistics, is more common in boys. This pathology is characterized by the development of pronounced peeling. The flakes of the skin flake off easily, which looks like the appearance of dandruff. Such peeling can develop not only on the head, but also behind the ears.
This situation is explained by the fact that the child has a pronounced development of the sebaceous glands. In some cases, the baby also has peeling on the forehead, eyebrows, and cheeks. Flakes can be gray or yellow in color. Their severity is usually significant and increases after bathing..
Strong dry air in a baby's room can also cause your toddler to develop a large number of dry skin areas. Maintaining optimal humidity is very important, especially for babies in their first days of life. This will help maintain optimal physiological hydration of the skin.
A decrease in humidity in the baby's room below 40% can lead to the fact that the baby's skin will be severely flaky.
Carrying out the wrong cosmetic care quite often leads to the fact that the child's skin is very dry. The damaged areas become very dry and irritated.
The child may have significant itching. Combing the itchy skin, the baby can introduce a secondary bacterial infection into such microcracks. This will only contribute to dangerous infection and worsen the course of the disease.
A fairly common situation that leads to the fact that the skin becomes dry and cracked is bathing the child in a solution of potassium permanganate. Carrying out such hygiene procedures only leads to the fact that the skin becomes dried out.
The use of children's cosmetics, which also does not have additional moisturizing additives, aggravates the course of this pathological condition.
What does it look like?
Irritated skin becomes drier. Their color can be pale pink or change their color, taking into account the reason that caused the development of these disorders in the child. Typically, such areas become paler.
In some pathological conditions, many different skin scales can appear on dry areas, which are easily peeled off.
Severe itching contributes to the fact that a large number of microcracks appear on the skin. They appear as multiple red stripes located on various parts of the body. Quite often, such rashes appear on the arms and legs of a newborn baby.
How to keep your skin healthy?
Hygiene procedures must be performed correctly. This will help to normalize the moisture content of the skin and prevent the development of dangerous pathological changes. It is very important for every mommy to understand the household chemicals that she uses to wash baby clothes.
All washing powders and fabric softeners must be specially labeled to be used by the smallest children.
Such household cleaning products should not contain any aggressive chemicals and fragrances that could cause various allergic rashes or areas with increased dryness on the skin.
You can also wash products and clothes using baby soap. To remove stains from clothes, special stain removers are used.
When choosing washing powders, mommy should give preference to products that do not contain aggressive chlorine. A large amount of surfactants (surfactants) can also cause various skin rashes on the child's skin.
If there is a strong odor when choosing a product, then it can have an adverse effect on the skin.
Monitoring baby's nutrition is also very important in treating a baby with severe dry skin. Breastfeeding is essential for maintaining healthy skin.
By its chemical composition, breast milk is a unique product that contains all the nutrients necessary for the growth and development of a baby. It also contains all the vitamins and minerals that support the optimal water-lipid layer of the skin.
The first complementary foods can cause various rashes and areas of increased dryness on the child's skin. Parents should be careful when introducing new products. Especially "dangerous" in this case are various vegetables and especially fruits.
In some babies, increased dryness of the skin may manifest itself as a manifestation of allergy to components of cow's milk. In this case, it may also be necessary to replace such fermented milk products with products made on the basis of goat protein.
The nutrition of a nursing mother should also be closely monitored. A lactating woman should always remember that the composition of her milk will contain all the components that she consumed during the day.
Compliance with a diet for a nursing mother is very important.... The use of coffee or too strong tea in the diet of a lactating woman should be limited.
All tropical fruits that do not grow in the region of residence can contribute to the development of allergies in both a nursing mother and her baby. Red berries or fruits also often become a provoking reason for the development of areas with increased dryness on the baby's skin.
Particular attention should be paid to the restriction of sweets in the diet. These foods contain a fairly large amount of various dyes, preservatives or other additives that increase the risk of developing allergic manifestations on the skin.
The nutrition of a nursing mother should be as natural as possible. All products should be selected as carefully as possible.
A nursing mother should consume a sufficient amount of protein products, which are necessary for the active growth and development of her child, as well as for the functioning of his immunity. Doctors are allowed to include green fruits in the diet of a nursing mother.
Optimal skin hydration is not possible without observing the drinking regime. Of course, babies receive a certain amount of fluid during breastfeeding. However, in hot time this may not be enough... In such a situation, the child should be additionally drunk with boiled water. This will not only help keep your baby feeling well, but will also improve the hydration of his skin.
Proper skin care
Carrying out hygiene for a newborn baby is a very important task. The doctors of the maternity hospital must teach how to carry out such care at home, when the mother and baby are still there in the first day after childbirth.
Bathing should be carried out without the use of cosmetics. In some cases, even the use of baby soap is limited. Frequent use of such products can lead to severe dryness of the skin.
After the baby has been bathed, his skin must be gently patted dry with a towel. For this, use only a carefully ironed and soft textile product.
Parents should remember not to rub the baby's skin heavily with a towel. This only contributes to the application of microdamages, which can also become sources for penetration into the skin layers of a secondary infection.
For babies in the first months of life, choose sufficiently soft towels. When choosing such textiles, parents should pay attention to the fact that they are made from high quality natural materials.
The clothing worn by a newborn baby is also very important. Too warm clothes made from "non-breathable" materials, can lead to the fact that the baby's sweating increases significantly. This condition will not only contribute to the development of pathological dryness in the child in the future, but can also lead to more dangerous pathological conditions and even the development of chronic diseases of the skin.
Doctors recommend not using chlorinated water for hygiene procedures. Before bathing your baby, be sure to defend the water or use special filters. They reduce the chlorine concentration and help improve fluid properties.
If the baby has increased dryness of the skin, then after bathing, special medicinal creams should be used. They can be used for both therapeutic and prophylactic purposes. In some cases, you can use several products at once, which help to significantly improve the well-being of a sick child.
Drug therapy
A pediatrician should prescribe treatment for newborn babies with severe dry skin. Parents can use special medicinal creams and ointments on their own, but they must definitely remember that each drug has a number of contraindications to its use. For some diseases, certain drugs cannot be used.
To eliminate increased dryness of the skin, various creams, ointments or lotions are used. These funds not only differ in the form of release, but also in texture.
Ointments
You can use ointments with a fairly pronounced dryness of the skin. When using them, remember that they are slowly absorbed into the skin.
In some cases, it may even take 20-30 minutes for complete absorption.
Creams
Creams are softer in texture and absorb slightly faster than ointments. They penetrate perfectly into the upper layers, and are also well distributed over the skin.
If allergic diseases lead to the development of increased dryness, then creams containing antihistamines are prescribed as medical cosmetics.
Lotions
Lotions are the most delicate in texture. They have a fairly liquid consistency and are absorbed into the skin relatively quickly.
Baby products have a pretty good moisturizing effect. Many of them can be used for a long time, not only for therapeutic, but also for prophylactic purposes. Their regular use allows you to maintain optimal moisture in the skin.
If the baby's skin is dry enough, then special oils can be used. Their nourishing base contributes not only to hydration, but also to nourishment of the skin.
These oils should be used immediately after bathing the baby. These products can be applied to both dry and damp skin.
It is best to apply the oil with massage movements. This massage is usually very well accepted by the baby.
This procedure has more than just a healing effect. It also helps improve the emotional contact between mom and baby. The oil should be applied along the massage lines with gentle rubbing movements. The intensity of the impact should be pleasant and not cause any pain in the baby.
As such oils, you can use not only the products that are sold in the pharmacy. Edible oil products are also good for such a procedure. These oils include olive, sunflower and other varieties.
They are also applied along the massage lines. After applying the oil, wait until it is absorbed. It is better to use oil products that do not have a strong odor. Neutral oils will not irritate a newborn baby.
For information on what to do if the skin of a newborn is peeling, see the next video.
