Diathesis at an early age occurs in many babies. Its most typical manifestation is skin lesions on the child's cheeks. Why can a baby's cheeks turn red, can this be prevented and how to act when redness has already appeared?
Symptoms
Diathesis on the cheeks is manifested by reddish spots of various sizes. They, as a rule, itch a lot and give the baby great discomfort. This can disrupt the infant's sleep, as itching gets worse at night. Symptoms become more pronounced if the child is in hot and dry conditions. Also, redness can increase with the introduction of complementary foods.
Symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, rash on other parts of the body, diaper rash can also join the manifestations on the skin of the cheeks. At the age of 1 to 3 years, diathesis can also manifest itself as a cough, sore throat, stool disorders, nausea, and a rash on different parts of the body. In children over 3 years of age, diathesis on the cheeks is rare.
Kinds
Damage to the cheeks during diathesis can be:
- Dry - cheeks are red, flaky, itchy, crusty.
- Weeping - the cheeks become covered with severe itchy blisters, which burst and leave weeping wounds.
Causes
Redness of the cheeks is a manifestation of diathesis due to the tendency of the baby's body to allergic reactions. Such a tendency can appear with a genetic predisposition of the baby, excessive consumption of allergenic foods by a pregnant woman, infections during gestation and many other factors that can affect the immune system and digestion of the baby.
In infants of the first year of life, diathesis on the cheeks is most often provoked by food in the diet of a nursing mother, an allergy of crumbs to milk or lactose, the beginning of feeding with juices and store purees. Babies 1-3 years old have red cheeks after eating red vegetables and fruits, citrus fruits, and cereals. In children over 3 years old, redness of the cheeks may appear when eating chocolate, seafood, fish, peanuts, pickled and salty foods.
How to treat?
In some cases, the redness of the baby's cheeks goes away without medication, provided that allergenic products are excluded from the diet of the mother and toddler. However, most children have to prescribe therapy, which includes not only diet, but also drugs.
Babies are prescribed antihistamines, drugs against dysbiosis, antibiotics (if an infection has joined), various local remedies. The child can be bathed in herbal decoctions, make lotions, lubricate the cheeks with various creams and ointments.
Diet
Nutrition of a child with diathesis should be given maximum attention. The toddler's menu should not contain foods to which the child had a reaction in the form of red cheeks. Other allergenic foods should be given to the baby very carefully, recording in the food diary.
Possible strong allergens, with which it is desirable for a child to get to know later than peers, include:
- Cow's milk (whole).
- Cereals containing gluten.
- Red fruits, berries and vegetables.
- Citruses.
- Nuts.
- Cocoa.
- Mushrooms.
- Seafood.
Very carefully, the following products are introduced into the baby's diet:
- Chicken.
- Fish.
- Orange vegetables and fruits.
- Bananas.
- Legumes.
- Cheese.
- Eggs.
- Dried fruits.
