Infant acne appears in the form of little rashes and bumps on the face, neck and back. This article provides you with some home remedies that would take charge of the condition.
The quintessential infant acne could be an intimidating sight for a first timer parent. The appearance of the acne may be red, bumpy or granular. They may look like a cluster of constellations or may spread across the entire surface area of the baby’s body. With the baby’s skin being so sensitive, a parent may not like to risk the condition further and rely on trial and error methods. Parents are not to be blamed if they hit the panic button too soon. However, what could be done to avert the situation is to employ home remedies to control the condition. Parents may breathe a sigh of relief as baby acne is not a severe condition. It has the potency to vanish all by itself with time. All that home remedies propose to do is to control the condition and make the symptoms less prevalent. Infant acne ceases to continue after your little one has reached 6 months of age. Nevertheless, negligence on your behalf may not be a wise thought for the well-being of your baby. Garner an expert consult when you sense that the acne continues to persist beyond six months of age.
Also known as neonatorum, baby acne is the result of the maternal hormones traveling through the placenta. These hormones stay in the baby’s system and as a culminating effect activate the sebaceous glands. It is due to this very reason that infants have their T zone, that is their forehead, nose and the chin affected by acne.
Safest Remedies to Treat Infantile Acne
#1 – Use lemon and honey to cure baby acne. A teaspoon of honey and lemon juice could be made into a paste and applied on the affected skin area. All you need to do is to leave the paste on the site for 30 minutes and wipe it off with a soft cloth dipped in boiled lukewarm water. Repeat this remedy till the acne has considerably reduced.
#2 – Avoid use of lotion and creams on the baby’s skin as far as possible. This may activate the sebaceous glands and aggravate the condition all the more.
#3 – Use a mild soap to bathe your baby with. Use warm water and ensure that you do not pick or prick the acne on the baby’s face or body. Pricking may worsen the situation as the acne may multiply if they are fiddled with. Avoid giving a hot water bath to your infant. Make sure that the water is warm. Hot water can make the skin dry and scaly. Make sure that after a bath, you do not scrub your little one dry. You need to dab the skin gently to avoid dryness to settle down. Use a soft baby towel to do so.
#4 – Be very gentle with your movements when you conduct this activity. Snip off your baby’s nails with a pair of scissors. When the nails are not chopped off and are not paid attention to, the baby may scratch the surface with the rough edges of the nails further aggravating the problem of acne.
#5 – Mothers must maintain a healthy diet. Include fresh fruit juices and have foods that are not too fatty or deep-fried.
#6 – Apply mothers breast milk on the acne. Pump some milk out, and apply it on the affected area directly with a cotton ball or cotton swab. Leave it on for 10 to 15 minutes and wipe off the traces with a soft cloth dipped in warm water.
#7 – Always wipe of the saliva excretions from around the baby’s mouth. Make sure that they do not stay there for long as the saliva may dry out and form white marks which may lead to the skin surface becoming itchy.
#8 – Blend a teaspoon of vinegar in ¼ cup of water. With a cotton ball, dab the affected skin area. Leave it on for 10 minutes and wipe off the solution cloth dipped in warm water. You may like to use the solution with restraint as an infant’s skin is extremely sensitive and may react to the solution applied in a negative manner.
#9 – Use a mild detergent when you soak and wash your infant’s clothes or bed linen. Any soap residue in the linen or clothes may cause the baby to develop acne or worsen the existing situation of acne.
#10 – When you take your baby out with you, make sure that he is covered well. Exposure to direct sunlight can make the baby sweat and activate the sebaceous glands, thereby causing oil sediments to settle on the skin surface, further leading to acne.
The home remedies mentioned herein, may be applied to have your baby free of acne. However, if the acne does not delineate its intensity towards your infant’s skin, it would be advisable that you visit a healthcare provider without delay.
