Little Red Dots on Legs & Top of Feet

Updated on March 05, 2008
T.P. asks from Saratoga Springs, UT
17 answers

I have an 11 month old who has little red dots on his legs & tops of his feet. They are in groups. They are mostly around his knees but don't extend up to his thighs. There are a few on his calves & arms but none on his belly or back. They don't seem to bother him. He still crawls. What could it be?

P.S. After reading some responses I thought I'd add a bit more info. Eczema does run in our family. My 5 year old has it & my 11 month old had a few patches when he was younger but these dots don't look anything like what I've normally seen. He also had cradle cap & I've heard that's related to Eczema. He always crawls with pants on so I wondered if it was something irritating in the pants but they are pants he's worn for the past few months & this is a new problem.

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J.L.

answers from Rochester on

Look up hoof and mouth disease. My friend's little boy had it when he was under a year old. Look in his mouth also. Strange I know, but they get the rash on their feet and hands.

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D.M.

answers from Boise on

Could it possibly be hives (uticaria) caused by an allergic reaction? Maybe from something that he crawled through (i.e. carpet/floor cleaner)?

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R.W.

answers from Milwaukee on

It could be eczema. My daughters both have it and that's how it started out. It's not contagious but can make baby uncomfortable if not taken care of properly. I'd ask your doctor to make sure that's what it is. It's not hard to care for and often children grow out of it by age 5 or so. What you can do for now is put a little vaseline on the areas after baths and throughout the day to keep area moisturized and switch to dye free, fragrance free soaps and laundry detergents for baby's clothes, so as not to further irritate the skin. I hope this helps. :-)

1 mom found this helpful
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O.L.

answers from Lansing on

Hi T.~
The only advice I can give you is maybe it is excema. Do the little red dots look like white pimples or irritated hair follicles? If so, it sounds a lot like what my 3 year old son had just as the winter started and it was excema. I got the wonderful advice from my step sister in law to really lube him up with lotion that has no added junk to irritate his skin anymore than it already is. So...I used Aveeno Baby Fragrance Free Soothing Relief Moisture Cream and I saw results almost instantly. After using this for about a week it was almost completely gone. My sister in law said that excema a lot times doesn't show up until winter b/c the beginning of wearing pants and socks irritates the dry skin causing a flare up and you don't see this in the summer b/c they are wearing shorts and sandals. I hope this helps and if the dots don't look like white pimples or just an irritated hair follicle I would take him to the doctor. Good Luck!

1 mom found this helpful

A.W.

answers from Kalamazoo on

It might be excema? If he has been dressed too warmly, it could even be prickly heat from sweating. If it doesn't go away within a week or so, or if he has any other symtems (fever, cold, vomit, etc) call the doc. Could also be scarlet fever from strep throat. My daughter had that once with no other symtems other than the rash. A simple throat culture can test for that. Have you recently changed soap or laundry det?

1 mom found this helpful
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J.K.

answers from Jackson on

Hi T.,

My 6 month old son had little red bumps just like you described. My son's bumps were on both his legs, his feet, around his wrists and the tops of his hands. They were little red bumps (different than what you see with eczema). Eczema is usually more of a red circular patch and the skin is kind of dry or scaly. We had a mild hydrocortisone cream mixed with eucerin that I used on the bumps. It's a prescription cream and it helped them to clear up quicker.

Our peditricain said that this type of bump is typical of either bug bites, a virus or an allergy. In our case, the bumps went away on their own within a 3-5 days.

If they are going away or they get worse, call you pediatrician and have them looked at.

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R.

answers from Milwaukee on

Both of my boys (4 and 1) have excema and it looks just like you describe...same places too...it looks especially bad in the tub...not a big deal at all...lots and lots of heavy lotions during the winter, especially right after baths....and running a humidifier in the baby's room helps to add moisture to the air, too, which seems to decrease the redness. My dr. recommended using an over-the-counter cortizone cream too, which I use occasionally when I notice that they have the "itchies."

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D.G.

answers from Fargo on

my grand daughter had the same thing....we thought they might be bug bites of some sort....crawling babies come into contact with things on the floors that walking people never contact....

be careful about spraying any antibacterial stuff etc on the carpets or floors....a friend of mine did that and her child had a horrible allergic reaction....

do you have pets?....might be fleas or mites of some sort....does anyone else in the family have them....could even be bed bugs....

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P.G.

answers from Des Moines on

Petechiae should always be brought to the attention of a doctor.

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G.C.

answers from La Crosse on

could be hyvs sinc they tend to be in the moest wormest spot neck knees growing area if thay fall a patter =n the def hyves and it could be from eneything shampoo on carpets fur from an animal etc. try corazone 1% cream might help or a lil benadrill defently will help they make stuff that you can rub on the area hope that helps hugs G.

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D.L.

answers from Omaha on

Hi T.!
I have something that should work: Inkomfe. They have a skin bar that is AWESOME for clearing up eczema! Its made with African botanicals, not harsh chemicals and is safe for babies, too. :) The Inkomfe products have had great success in clearing up a ton of skin issues like, acne, eczema, psoriasis, rosacea, most rashes, cradle cap and diaper rash and even stops the sting and itch from bug bites! If you want something that is gentle and effective, this is it! If you contact me, I can even send you a trial size for free. You can try it out and see for yourself with no risk! I hope this helps!
D.:)

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H.G.

answers from Wausau on

They might be the beginnings of an allergy/eczema. If he starts itching the bumps they might break open and oozes a little. My 3 1/2 year old grandson gets the red bumps and itches something awful.

If they continue you need to ask your doctor.

God Bless, H.

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K.A.

answers from Cedar Rapids on

It could be excema. My daughter had the same thing when she was a little over a year, but it was on her back. They didn't bother her and they would come and go. The bumps weren't really red and the doc said it was nothing to worry about unless they get worse. But then recently, she's 2 now, she had an outbreak behind her knee, lower back, and elbow. We thought she might have ring worm b/c it was bright red bumps that formed a circle. Turns out it was excema and they gave a cream for it. Also aveno has an everyday lotion that is for children with excema. I would talk to your doctor. I wish I would have known sooner so I could have possibly prevented the outbreak or at least known what to do when it first sprang up. Good luck :)

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R.B.

answers from Salt Lake City on

Check out/research Hand, Foot, Mouth disease.

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B.R.

answers from Kalamazoo on

Has your baby also been running a fever? Have you had your baby checked for Hand, Foot & Mouth Disease? My kids had something very similar. I thought that it was heat rash, but it wasn't going away so I took them in. If it is HF&M, then your baby will have spots in the mouth as well. It's not as bad as it sounds and is actually pretty common. It's been so long that I don't remember how we treated it. If these spots aren't going away, it wouldn't hurt to have it checked out.

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J.S.

answers from Provo on

I would never mess with anything that looks like a rash or bug bites. Get him to a pediatrician.

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R.P.

answers from Missoula on

It sounds to me that he is having a reaction to something in your home that he is crawling on. It could be the soap you clean your floors with or something on the carpet.

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