2 Month Old Rubbing Face

You need to make sure you discuss this with your doctor next visit. If she has sensitive skin, you might need to use a different soap or lotion to keep her from having allergies.

I would also suggest Eucerin lotion. Also, I'd ask my pediatrician to make sure she's not allergic to something.

Good afternoon!
Don't feel bad about the mittens-it is better then a raw face! Mittens are great in addition to Eucerin cream. My little one has sensitive skin as well, and Eucerin cream works wonders (try aveno unscented for babies too.)

K., i have a 10 mos old daughter who has been scratching her face for months. she only does it when she's tired though. i tried keeping her nails trimmed, but at one point i had to put little booties on her hands. we have learned to read her "sleepy" signs better now, so she doesn't get that tired most of the time. if we put her to sleep as soon as she lets us know she's tired, it seems to help a ton. as far as treating it, i used aquaphor. i also used lanolin (they gave it to me at the hospital to put on my breasts). hope you figure it out!

There is a lotion that I use on my kids for eczema called Eucerin. Very thick lotion. You can find it at Walgreens in the beauty section.

I am having the exact same problem with my 3 month old. My son has also given himself spots on his hands where he has been sucking on them. I will be interested in the responses of other mothers who have some suggestions on what to do to help with the redness and what I can do to try to get him to stop.

i would recommend a good mosturizer for her face. I like Baby Aveeno, but Eucerin and the thick Nivea cream is also good (we use it on my 3yo Ezcema). I would also say to put the mittens on her hands. It is better for them to have them on and protect her face then have it rubbed raw.

I highly reccommend Aquaphor - buy the tub - you'll find this stuff handy for sore noses (when anyone in the family has a cold), chapped lips (for the whole family) and especially for baby and even older kids faces. Often I find that if I slather it on her at night - the problem is gone in the morning! Also, this is great for their bottom's too!

My daughter has exema on her face, I have found that keeping it moisturized (I use my face stuff - Aveda hydrating lotion - it's mostly all natural) every day, particularly after bath helps a lot. Also, something I noticed is - her skin may look fine, but if you touch her checks, they are rough - and I have learned that means I better get the lotion on. When I miss it and it gets red, I have to use the Aquaphor.

Before Elidel was recalled for use on Children, she had that as a prescription - guess what? It worked really good, but the Aveda lotion and Aquaphor work a lot better - and don't cause cancer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good luck! - And I would talk to the pediatrition or nurse. Just to be on the safe side!! And, if you are breastfeeding, just rub the milk on her face - you will be AMAZED. (Don't do that with anything else though...)

Aquaphor! It is a great product. If nothing else, it will help heal her up. I have a 3.5 yr old and 10 yr old, and still use it on both. Especially in the winter months. If we are going to be out in the cold air, like running errands, they both get it on cheeks, lips, and noses!
Target has it with the lotions and Walmart has it sometimes with the baby stuff close to the pharmacy. It comes in tiny tubes all the way up to the big plasctic tub/jar.
My kiddos all went thru this phase too.
Happy holidays to you!
Stace

I used Aquaphor on my child. It's not water based works great on cheeks, both sets, lips and anywhere else. I think it is made by eucerin. It's been a while though, cuz my kids are older. I know it comes in a round tub and it is awesome.

You could use Aquaphor. It is made by Eucerin, but it is for babies. The hospital NICU uses and recommended it to me for my sons.

Do you have a humidifier in her room? Cold or Warm humidifier it doesn't really matter but it truly helps with dry skin. My 10 month old had very dry skin and putting lotion on it didn't seem to help, it sometimes made it worse. Every time she takes a nap or goes to bed we have the humidifier going. Hope this helps. :-)

HI K.,
My daughter who is now 2 1/2 had this exact same problem when she was a baby. She has literally rubbed the skin off of her face, and mittens didn't work because the fabric would rub too and it was awful...anyway! It turns out she had several problems all rolled into one. She had eczema, but the outbreaks were caused by various allergens in the air and on people. I had to stop using soap with fragrance or perfumes on myself because she was breastfeeding and the scents would irritate her skin. Then, of course, I had to use special soap on her without fragrance as well At first, I used plain unscented Dove bar soap. Then I discovered Aveeno made a fragrance free baby soap, which we really liked and still use today. I also switched detergents, and I now use the hypo-allergenic fragrance-free All...I thinks it's called Free and Clear, but most brands now make a fragrance and dye free variety. After I bathed her, I immediately put a fragrance free lotion all over her, while her skin was still damp. Cetaphil worked quite well, but Eucerin is good, too. Basically read the labels, and do not use anything with alcohol, as it dries the skin.

Now, for immediate relief of the rash, the dermatologist prescribed an ointment called Desonide. It works wonders. We still keep a tube on had in case she eats something or touches something that gives her a rash.

In cases like this where the child is really sensitive, you may want to look into possible food allergies as well. We have found that my daughter cannot drink cow's milk, and can only have a limited amount of dairy in her diet, or she does get rashy. Also, no eggs or peanut butter.

Now, since she is only 2 months old, food allergeies are probably not a problem yet, but if you are breastfeeding, look into some things you might be eating, and if she is formula fed, look into switching formulas. But this is all if none of the other stuff works. Try eliminating all fragrances first and keeping her very moisturized, ad see if you can get that Desonide ointment prescribed.

Good Luck!

She might have eczema. I'd take her to the pediatrician.

If the mittens help I would do that. Otherwise try baby lotion for dry skin. I would looke for one that is not water based (water should not be the first ingredient.) You cold also try vasoline on her face I would read the packaging first.

My daughter did the same thing..I could not get her to stop, but I did start using Eucerin lotion. It really helps with the dryness/redness. You can buy it at walmart - I recommend the cream that is in the tub. It is not cheap, but well worth it.

Hi, K.! My son did this also when he was your daughter's age....We used Aquaphor, but out pediatrician prescribed cortisone in it. So, we would take the prescription to the pharmacy and they would mix it for you. We still use it today.

Later on we also found out part of the problem was that he is allergic to dogs, and we had 2 at the time. So, she may also have an allergy. But, Grant still gets the
little eczema spots, and we don't have dogs any longer...

I kind of have the same advice as every one else: use dye free, fragrance free laundry detergent (and no dryer sheets), we couldn't use the little mittens either because he would just rub his cheeks raw with those. We finally took big cotton pads (like the sterile bandaid kind) and tape them to his cheeks so they could at least get healed. He looked awful, but it helped...

Good luck!!
A., mom to Grant 2yrs now!!

hmmmm I don't know how to stop this... my son had very dry skin and would scratch till he bled. We would give him benadryl to stop the itching. Also, have you tried any Arbonne baby products? They have a baby oil that helps dry itching skin. I use it on my kids all the time. All of Arbonnes products are botanically based so they are great for the little ones. If you want a sample of the baby products just let me know. I am an Arbonne consultant and have some samples available.

Good luck

C.

I never had this problem with my child, but my suggestion would be to call the peditrician. Could be something she is allergic to, not sure.

Hope she gets relief soon.

There are a few reasons why your 2 month old would be rubbing her face. When my son rubs his face (then and now) it's because his nose is getting stuffy or he was starting to teethe. Yes 2 months is a little early, but it's not unheard of to get teeth that early. My son's face is also a lot more sensitive than the rest of his skin and with the cold weather his cheeks have gotten chapped. Try bag balm or I've been using potato cream (my MIL sends it from Idaho) I also saw something in the baby isle at Walgreens specifically for babies' chapped skin. I'm sure you can find something like that anywhere. Good luck!

Hi K.,
Just happened to come across your situation.
I have read all the responses and seem like everyone agrees on Eucerin, Aquaphor and a few others.
I have used all those products myself as well as on my children and they worked but never cured the problem. I also was an Elidel user.
I recently have started using products by Melaleuca.
They are a wellness company. They do not use harsh or harmful chemicals in any of their products. They have a lotion called "Renew" I personally think this lotion is the best thing hands down on the market today, that you could buy without a prescription. My 2 yr old son has eczema and I have I dont know what on one of my forearms. It itches so bad I make it bleed because I rather feel pain that the irritating itching.
Since using this product 3 mos now the eczema has gone away and my arm is much better and the feel of the skin is much better (used to feel like leather from scratching so much).

In fact in the catalog I have here it says Renew quickly helps restore the moisture your skin has lost outside. A clinical study showed Renew produced 5 times the improvement in skin hydration versus Eucerin, the leading dermatologist recommended lotion.

You can go to www.melalueca.com/renewinfo
to check this out for yourself. I also try to sign up customers with this company, but this is not what I'm trying to do. I really wanted to give you another alternative that is out there that most people don't know about.

I will personally will never use another lotion again.
Normally you have to become a member to get this product at a good price but I recently found that people were selling some Melalueca products on ebay.

Just wanted to give you another option, I hope this info is usefull. Any other question you can email or call me.

T.

Since she only does it when she is tired or upset, definitely try to swaddle her tightly when you put her down. The security of it may help her, too, like the pacifier. To heal her skin for now, I swear by A&D ointment. It can be bought at walmart, etc. and not only does it moisturize, it heals. A&D ointment will work for eczema, diaper sores and most little things because it is vitamin A and vitamin D in an ointment. Your little one is most likely going through a phase, but once you find out what her issue is, you will be all set. It could be security, or maybe she is going to bed when she is too tired.

jenn
mom of 5

I'm thinking she has some sort of allergy. Does she have eczema? If her skin itches, she will rub it. Food allergies can cause eczema and itchy skin. Is she on formula or is she breastfed? If she's on formula, try soy. If she's breastfed, cut dairy out of your diet. Milk is a common food allergy. Have your pediatrician do a blood test to check for allergies at your next appt. It is a simple procedure.

I second what everyone is saying about Aquaphor. It is sticky and nasty, but works wonders. It will make your sheets and clothing greasy, so I only used it on my daughter when I was putting her to bed or for naps. I didn't want it on my furniture and clothing.

Hi K.,
If her face is dry it could be Excema. When my baby had excema the docotr recommended Aquaphor Healing Ointment or Eucerin lotion. The first one is wonderful. If the rubbing is do to tiredness then perhaps try to get her to sleep before she gets too tired (over tired). What I read once was that once a baby starts to yawn or rub their eyes that means they are over tired and you need to have them go to sleep before that happens. I really hope some of these help. It's so hard to see your baby uncompfortable. Oh ya, if mittens don't stay on try socks. My daughter had chicken pox at 7 months of age and socks were the only thing to stay on.
Good Luck
N.