If your newborn’s skin looks red, scaly, or itchy, she might have a food allergy or eczema. Here’s how to tell the difference and treat both conditions.
Baby Food Allergy Rash
Food allergy and food intolerance are often used interchangeably, but they’re very different. An allergy is an immune system response that causes a severe, often immediate reaction. Hives, lip swelling, vomiting, diarrhea, and wheezing may all be signs of an allergy. When a baby has an intolerance, he’s missing the enzyme needed to break down a protein into digestible parts. This causes a milder reaction isolated in the digestive tract, like gas or cramps.
Symptoms of allergies and intolerances can occur when babies begin solids but also during exclusive formula-feeding or breastfeeding. (Breast milk contains proteins from the foods that a mother eats, and most formulas contain milk or soy, which are common allergens.)
If your pediatrician suspects a food allergy, she may refer your child to an allergist who can perform skin prick tests and/or blood tests to confirm a diagnosis. Treatment usually focuses on avoiding trigger food, but it’s important that a doctor guides that plan. If you take food out of your child’s diet that he isn’t truly allergic to, this can actually make him more likely to have a reaction the next time he eats it.
Baby Eczema Rash
Many newborns get small pimples on their face, but eczema is a more widespread rash that looks red and scaly, and may it be itchy. It starts on the face, arms, and legs, and later appears in the folds of the knees and elbows. A baby with eczema is more likely to go on to have other types of allergic conditions—a progression experts refer to as the atopic march. In fact, approximately 37 percent of young kids with moderate to severe eczema also have food allergies. Experts believe that food allergies may play a role in causing eczema in some children.
To treat affected skin, your doctor will likely recommend that you bathe your baby with a hypoallergenic, fragrance-free cleanser and moisturize frequently with a fragrance-free cream. He might also prescribe a topical medication to help heal affected skin or an antihistamine to control itching.
Sources: Sakina Bajowala, M.D., an allergist at Kaneland Allergy & Asthma Center, in North Aurora, Illinois; Jackie Eghrari-Sabet, M.D., founder of Family Allergy & Asthma Care in Gaithersburg, Maryland; Crystal Y. Pourciau, M.D., assistant professor of dermatology and pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital, in Houston.
Parents Magazine
