Baby Rash

Updated on March 11, 2008
C.M. asks from Manasquan, NJ
27 answers

My 5 month old son has a rash in the folds of his neck, it is red and irritated. Is this common? I think it is because he has a double chin and rests his chin against his chest. He does a lot of drooling and sweating. What should I put on this to help? When I put baby powder on it....it gets clumpy and look gross. Please help.

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So What Happened?

Thanks for all the suggestions. It is starting to look much better. I've been alternating between the Balmex and Aquaphor. It's almost all gone now and I'm making sure that the area is dry and clean. :D

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R.S.

answers from New York on

My son had the same thing...the baby powder made his rash worse so I was just always washing the FOLDS (I know this is icky...lol) and when he went to bed I put aveeno cream and if it was really bad I put a little bit of BALMEX and for some reason it would go away until the next huge drooling episode...lol...but until the drooling stopped he always had a huge rash:).

Good luck!

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T.N.

answers from Utica on

This is very common, especially in hot or humid weather. The drooling and even the milk if he isn't getting it all in his mouth can run down and get into the baby jowels (O:. All of my kids had it to some extent and the doctor told me to use A and D ointment for it. Like I saw someone else had said it is like a case of diaper rash. I hope this helps, and I want to say congrats to you on the baby. Enjoy this time it goes by way to fast!!!

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K.J.

answers from Albany on

Hi. My son has the same issue with the double chin and he gets a little rash. I would put some desitin (original works better for us than the creamy kind) on it after bath and let it sit overnight. Then, you can wash it off in the morning. That's what I would do. Hope this helps!
K.

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H.M.

answers from New York on

my almost 9yr had the same problem when she was a baby wash dry it make sure it is dry really well and put diaper oinment in it it will work my dd was so was so bad that it would bleed

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Q.F.

answers from New York on

just like with diaper rash, you can use aquaphor. it works wonders on just about any kind of rash/dry skin! sometimes my husband uses it for his chapped lips (he works outside, so during the winter, it gets REALLY bad) and he says that it works just as well on his lips as on the baby's butt lol. good luck, hope it works.

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D.S.

answers from New York on

Hi C.,

My daughter had the same issue. It is basically a yeast infection caused by trapped moisture in the neck. Talk to your doctor as he/she can give you an ointment that helps clear it up fast. It is common for babies to get this rash but it can be hard to clear up on its own without an ointment. Once I started treating it, it went away quickly and I just quickly treated new outbreaks. It went away for good around 7 months. I would hold off on baby powder as you don't want the baby to inhale the dust of the powder. Until you see a doctor, I would recommend in the meantime using diaper cream. Good luck!

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D.G.

answers from Albany on

Hi C.! I think your sons rash is common and the best thing would be to try to keep it dry by wearing drool bibs and changing them often and also keeping it clean and drying the area completely each time. Maybe he could spend more time on his tummy holding his head up or other ways that make that crease unfold more often. Hope this helps! : ) (is he sweating because he is too warm or just because he is a baby and sometimes they sweat? if it's the latter I guess there isn't much else you can do about that one!)

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E.Y.

answers from Utica on

wash and dry the area really well. try some aquaphor ointment to it. If that doesn't help in a couple days call your doctor for a prescription ointment.

Hope that helps!
E.

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S.S.

answers from Rochester on

Sounds like it is from drool & sweat...one of the little guys I did daycare for had that problem. We cleaned the area and used A & D ointment on it and it cleared up. Kind of like when they get diaper rash from the moisture.
Good luck, S. S.

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J.F.

answers from New York on

You can try to use some aquaphor baby cream. It is almost like vaseline. This cream will keep any of his drool and sweat to get to rash. It worked for my daughter. It will also help with the redness and irritation from the rash. Did you check with the babies doctor? It could be eczema as well. Hope my advice helped you out in any way.

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D.G.

answers from New York on

You are probably right to think that his double chin, drool and sweat is causing the irration. The best thing to treat it is to keep the area clean and as dry as possible. Put on a thin layer of Aquaphor Ointment or plain Petroleum Jelly on his neck periodically throughout the day after you clean and dry his neck area. The irratation should start to clear up within a couple of days.

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J.G.

answers from New York on

Try some balmex or desitin. Diaper rash ointment works great on those types of things. Once my daughter and I were playing outside and it was so windy she had gotten windburn on her cheeks. It even worked on that really well!

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B.Y.

answers from New York on

Try a little vaseline to block the wetness, put away the powder. The same thing happened to my son, from drooling. Just try your best to keep the area dry. If all else fails, ask your Doctor. I am sure as quickly as it came is as quickly it will go.
Good luck

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J.I.

answers from New York on

you should probably take him to the pediatrician, does it smell? if so my guess it's probably residual milk/formula getting caught in the folds under his neck, and then giving him a rash. we used budreaux's butt paste and it works miracles.

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K.M.

answers from Syracuse on

Hi C.. My 11 1/2 month old still gets a rash around his chubby little neck sometimes. I make sure he gets a bath at least every other day, and I put Johnson's baby lotion on his neck. Never powder. I've read not to use powder on a baby's neck when they get that rash, but I can't remember why. It had nothing to do with the baby inhailing the powder dust though. Anyway, he likes when I dry his neck and put the lotion on. It tickles and he laughs. Also you should try keeping a velcro cloth bib on him whenever he is awake. That will help catch the drool.

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K.S.

answers from New York on

Sounds like a yeast infection, which is common in dark moist areas...just like in the neck folds. I would call or see the doctor. After it clears up just try to keep it clean and dry as much as possible....even though its hard with all that drool! No worries though...common occurance.

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J.M.

answers from Syracuse on

when my first son was young, he had a double chin and drooled sooo much. i had to keep bibs on him all the time. it helped with stuff getting under his chin. try that,if that doesnt help call the doctor and aks what they recomend.

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J.F.

answers from New York on

Keeping his head a little leaned back (I was holding my daughter on my lap leaning on the boppy so that I could easily support her head) blow on the rash for as long and as often as both of you can stand it. For the night put Aquaphor Baby on it. Make sure that his cloth don't rub it. Good luck!

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J.A.

answers from Rochester on

First, make sure the area is kept as clean and as dry as possible and avoid baby powder. The rash may be a yeast infection and baby powder will only irritate it. Call the pediatrition and ask for advice or bring your son in to the doctor's office to have a look and maybe he needs an antifungal cream/powder to the area.

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J.B.

answers from Glens Falls on

Hi there,
My 7 month old has what sounds like the same type of rash. I asked the pediatrician about it and it is in fact from drooling and friction. She advised hydrocortisone cream (over the counter) and it works great. Also, after his bath try to make sure it is as dry as possible. I hope this helps!
~J.

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G.C.

answers from Rochester on

i went through the same thing with my daughter. and yes baby powder just seems to make the situation worse... we had to go with a yeast cream, becasue it was always wet, she ended up getting a "yeat infection" but the doctor gave us "athletes foot cream" (don't laugh) it woked well and she has grown into her neck and we have no more problems with this.

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K.A.

answers from Syracuse on

My daughter has the same thing. So I put a bib under her chin and it help with the drool. If he is drooling a lot try wipe every so often. When my daughther got it really bad i put some Vaseline so some to have as a barrier. Don't worry it will go away. Just make sure that its dry and use some thing to keep moisture away from the skin.

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C.B.

answers from New York on

Try some cod liver oil. Also, a probiotic, helps keep away fungal infections.

C.

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Y.S.

answers from Syracuse on

Hi C.,
I know this sounds crazy because you think you do this already, but make sure you pull down all his folds. With my first daughter I thought I was cleaning up under her neck good but that wasn’t the case and the same thing happened. Try cleaning, and drying his neck real good and see how that works. He may whine because babies don't like it when you pull the folds of their neck down but it has to be done. If you have to put something on it try diaper rash cream just a little and see how that works. If it’s really bad see you pediatrician to see what he or she recommends.

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M.B.

answers from New York on

hi C.,
i don't know what other advice you've gotten but Caldesene powder is great. it doesn't leave that gross look like you described. hope this helps

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S.R.

answers from New York on

This may sound crazy, but one of the things that work for us is Aquaphor. It looks like petroleum jelly but it isn't. It will protect his skin. I would put it on after a bath. It is expensive, but it works, anywhere there is wetness, especially diaper rash. Powder can sometimes make it worse if you do not have a protectant on his skin. Also, take him to the doctor and have him checked out, the doc may see something else, like a yeast infection on his skin, which is common in folds.

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E.T.

answers from Rochester on

A nurse at Strong Hospital in Rochester told me to use balmex or another type of diaper rash cream. She said that you should not use powder that close to your baby's face. It can get in to their lungs.

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