Newborn babies react very strongly to a variety of stimuli, unlike adults. The reaction is especially pronounced in the first months of a child's life. Seborrheic dermatitis in infants is considered the main sign of skin damage by an allergen.
At the very beginning, an allergic reaction appears on the baby's head. Almost always, newborn babies develop a milk crust, which has a high density. She does not pose any threat and does not need treatment, which, as a rule, the doctor warns about even in the maternity hospital.
Causes of disease
Cause the development of seborrheic dermatitis in infants can be several different reasons. The main experts include the following.
- Very often, doctors say that seborrheic dermatitis in infants develops due to excess maternal hormones, from which he has not had time to get rid of after birth. In this case, due to the large amount of hormonessebaceous glands are activated. They produce several times more than usual secretion and provoke the formation of crusts in the child.
- Seborrheic dermatitis of the scalp in children may begin to appear in those children who have a hereditary predisposition to pathologies of allergic origin. In this case, an individual treatment regimen is selected. This should only be done by an experienced technician.
- Seborrheic dermatitis in infants occurs when the child's body is affected by an infection. Some medicines have a bad effect and are undesirable to take at too early an age.
- Dysbacteriosis can provoke changes in the condition of the skin of the face and head of the baby. Pathologies of the digestive system also affect. Because of this, seborrheic dermatitis of the scalp develops in children.
- Experts call the most common cause of the development of this pathology in children - the effect of the yeast fungus Malassezia furfur on the child's weak body. This fungus has the ability to multiply very actively directly on the surface of the skin.
In most cases, all signs of seborrheic dermatitis disappear on their own in about 2-3 months after the onset. But in more severe cases, this pathology can be very difficult and not disappear for several years. In this regard, treatment should be started immediately after the appearance of the slightest symptoms, even if seborrheic dermatitis is not considered a serious disease.
Factors affecting developmentpathology
The main factors that can increase the activity of the fungus include the following:
- the sebaceous glands produce too much secretion, which is common in newborns;
- excessive sweating;
- the baby has too many maternal hormones;
- baby has weak immunity;
- there are diseases of the digestive system that provoke malfunctions of some organs;
- hereditary predisposition in a newborn.
Disease symptoms
Symptomatic seborrheic dermatitis occurs in most of all newborns. Pathology has its own characteristic features, which include the following:
- In the case of seborrheic dermatitis in the baby's scalp, small scales begin to appear on the baby's head. As a rule, they are localized initially in the parietal zone. In the same place, a shell-like layer is formed, which in its appearance can resemble a hat. Scales that appeared due to seborrheic dermatitis on the head of an infant may be gray or yellow.
- After the head, the crusts begin to gradually move to other parts of the body. You can notice their appearance in the neck, face and behind the ears. Such formations are quite rare, but still worth remembering about them. It is worth noting that seborrheic dermatitis can begin to develop in the armpits, groin, buttocks.
- Skin may or may not haveinflammatory processes. Scaly formations do not turn red, which usually happens with the development of atopic dermatitis. Photos of seborrheic dermatitis in infants will allow you to roughly determine this disease.
- The affected areas of the skin do not itch. This is another difference from atopic dermatitis. Despite the fact that the child has seborrheic dermatitis on the head and other parts of the body - it is not a pleasant sight, but still it does not bring any discomfort to the baby.
Duration of manifestation of the disease
Formations in the form of crusts begin to appear in the baby two or three weeks after his birth. The peak of the development of the disease falls on the period from one to three months after the birth of the crumbs. If you do not treat seborrheic dermatitis in infants, then the crusts should disappear on their own by about a year of a child's life, but this is at best. If the disease has an advanced form, then the scalp can heal even up to 4 years.
How to get rid of signs of pathology
In infants, seborrheic dermatitis on the face and other parts of the body is treated in two different ways. First of all, you need to provide proper and regular care for the skin of the child. The second stage of treatment is the use of special drugs for drug therapy.
How to properly care for baby's skin
You need to take care of the baby's skin very carefully and carefully. There are some rules that must be followed without failevery day, especially if the child suffers from seborrheic dermatitis.
- Chose clothes for a newborn only from natural fabrics. Synthetics should be avoided.
- If diapers are used, be sure to maintain a certain distance between the body and the surface of the diaper. It is important to ensure that there is no tightness.
- To prevent the development of seborrheic dermatitis, it is necessary to regularly arrange air baths for the baby.
- Carefully monitor the temperature in the room where the child is. The maximum temperature should not exceed 23 degrees.
Proper use of cosmetics
- Depending on the type of skin of the child, you need to individually select all cosmetics. It is best to choose those products that have a hypoallergenic base.
- Do not use shampoos, bubble baths or other detergents that are perfumed.
- After the end of water procedures, it is important to ensure that the skin is completely dry. But at the same time, in no case should you rub the baby. Drying the skin can only be done with gentle blotting movements.
- With seborrheic dermatitis of the scalp in a child, special attention must be paid to eliminating the manifestations of the pathology. In order for the scales to be removed easily and not leave marks on the surface of the skin of the head, you must first lubricate them gently with oil, which has a vegetable or mineral composition. Ten minutes later, you can start washing your hair. It is important to massage the baby's scalp with light movements. You can use a brush for this massage.
Means for the treatment of the disease
As a rule, medicines for the treatment of seborrheic dermatitis are used very rarely. This can be explained by the fact that if the irritant is initially eliminated, then there are chances that the pathology will soon pass without any intervention. If there is too much damage, then the doctor should pick up medicines that will help:
- eliminate the inflammatory process;
- eliminate fat, keratinized areas, peeling;
- restore baby's skin;
- prevent the development of various skin diseases.
How the degree of skin damage affects treatment
The treatment of seborrheic dermatitis will be affected by the degree of damage to the child's skin. Depending on this, the specialist will select gels, shampoos or creams. With their help, it will be possible to eliminate the inflammatory process on the skin, dry it and kill the fungus.
After the primary lesions of the skin are eliminated, special cosmetic products called emollients will be used for treatment.
Types of drugs to treat disease
The following types of medications may be used during therapy:
- Baby oils that make scales softer. These oils include peach, almond, olive, jojoba and primrose oils.
- To eliminate crusts, you can use specialcleansing gels, creams, foams. You can use them for a short time. After applying the scales do not need to be combed out. They are easily washed out during bathing with running water. Some products of this type help to tidy up the sebaceous glands, and they begin to produce less secretion.
- The pharmacy sells special shampoos against seborrhea. You need to rub them into wet hair until the shampoo turns into a thick foam. Leave the product on the hair for five minutes, then rinse. Experts consider Friderma to be the most effective shampoo and most often prescribe it.
- You can treat seborrheic dermatitis in a child by applying a cream. It is applied to the head and body of the baby twice a day. The cream does not need to be washed off. Such funds are aimed at normalizing the work of the baby's sebaceous glands. Also helps to kill pathogenic microbes.
Use the above remedies for the treatment of seborrheic dermatitis in a newborn child can be no more than twice a week. In each individual case, the doctor determines the duration of the course, taking into account what degree of damage the child has.
Folk remedies
In order to eliminate the unpleasant signs of this disease, after consulting a doctor, you can use some of the remedies offered by traditional medicine. They should be applied exclusively to the surface of the scalp with seborrheic dermatitis of the scalp in the baby, and then covered with a special cap or bonnet. Leave the remedy for thirty minutes. Thenthe head is carefully combed with a comb with rounded teeth. After such a procedure, it is advisable to thoroughly wash the child's head in order to remove the remnants of the remedy and combed out scales.
Some medicinal plants can be used to treat seborrheic dermatitis. For the treatment of children, it is allowed to use sage, calendula, oak bark, a variety of herbal preparations. With their help, you can easily remove the crusts not only from the surface of the head, but also from the face.
What not to do with crusts
In no case should you remove or, even worse, rip off the formed crusts on your own, without the use of special tools. Such a procedure will not help eliminate them, and they will reappear very quickly. In addition, there is too much risk of infection in open wounds. Before using any drugs or traditional medicine against seborrheic dermatitis, it is imperative to consult a specialist.
Possible Complications
This disease can cause serious complications:
- Crusts can begin to spread not only on the head, but also far beyond. The child becomes very moody, constantly crying because the crusts itch, there is also redness, burning and a rash. In this case, seborrheic dermatitis can become atopic.
- Infection can get into the affected areas of the skin. This process is very dangerous, because the inflammatory process begins to develop rapidly. Soon todermatitis can be joined by a secondary infection. The affected areas of the skin begin to become covered with pus. In most cases, this is observed exclusively in the inguinal, axillary or gluteal regions. In this situation, it is impossible to get rid of the disease without the use of various medicines.
Although seborrheic dermatitis in most cases is considered a non-serious disease, you should not delay visiting a doctor after the first signs of pathology appear. The sooner the use of special means to eliminate crusts is started, the higher the chances that the disease will disappear sooner, there will be no complications and the child will feel fine.
