Need Recommendations to Cure 1.5 Month Old's Heat Rash

Updated on July 27, 2012
J.W. asks from North Charleston, SC
6 answers

Hi Moms,

My1.5 month old has what appears to be heat rash and it just won't go away. During his 1 month well child check I mentioned he had heat rash and she didn't comment on it (it's on his cheeks). I have since kept him dressed only in a onesie in the house for a week straight in the air conditioning (68-71 degrees depending on the day) and he still has the heat rash and it's slowing moving down to his back. My next step is to take him back to the pediatrician but wanted to see if I could some recommendations to spare him of the car trip.

Thanks in advance!

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So What Happened?

Thanks Ladies!
WIth just a few responses I now think my baby may have 'baby acne' since it has not cleared up yet. Looks like we need to see the pediatrician to confirm and hopefully give us a prescription. Thanks again for all the advice!!!

More Answers

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J.M.

answers from Chattanooga on

Heat rash is usually more common in areas that are covered with clothes, or in creases... Where sweat isn't allowed to flow freely. (I know a lot about heat rash, since my DD has overactive sweat glands, which makes her REALLY prone to heat rash...)

If she has a rash on her cheeks, but not on her chest, neck, armpits, back... pretty much anywhere people sweat a lot, but is usually covered, I doubt it's truly a heat rash. It actually sounds a lot like an issue my DD had, around that same age... She had little bumps (some were red, some were just bumps... sometimes the whole area would get a little red, but sometimes just the bumps...) that were mostly on her cheeks, but over time it spread down her chest a bit and onto her back. While it looked JUST like the heat rashes she gets now, it turned out that it was CRADLE CAP! I had the flakes and such under control on her actual scalp, but somehow it spread down to her body. I asked the pediatrician about it, and she prescribed a mild steroid ointment that I put on my DD 2x a day. It cleared up the rash within a week... It tried to come back every once in a while, so I would still have to use the ointment about 2-3x a month to keep her skin clear. She DID outgrow it around 4-6 months. :)

Like LittleEsmom said... It could also be baby acne or eczema... They look very similar, and are very common in babies.

THAT SAID... IF you still think it's heat rash, and are looking for ways to prevent/treat heat rash...

1. Dress your DS in loose fitting clothes. Heat rash is caused when the sweat gland gets clogged, usually because the sweat is held against the body by clothing. Loose clothes will allow the skin to breathe. I actually don't have my DD wear any clothes at all, other than underwear, when we are home... she only gets dressed if we have company coming over or we leave the house.

2. Before getting him dressed, use a large makeup brush and brush him down with a cornstarch (not talc... talc can get into his lungs and cause issues) based baby powder. The powder will help absorb the sweat, allowing his pores to breathe.

3. Throughout the day, like maybe at each diaper change, wipe him down with a cool cloth. This will not only help lower his body temperature and slow down the sweat, but it will also help clear any sweat away from the glands, preventing the buildup that will plug them up. After the wipe-down, re-apply baby powder again.

4. If he already has heat rash, some baking soda in his bath water will help a lot!

2 moms found this helpful
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M.S.

answers from Portland on

Try giving him a bath in baking soda water, or since he's so young, then maybe try using a washcloth and bathing him with it. My pedi said to do this with most skin irritations and it seems to work pretty well. I don't really have any other ideas, sorry, I'm sure other moms will though!

2 moms found this helpful
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R.K.

answers from Appleton on

Cool water baking soda baths and baby powder. With the heat wave we have had this summer Sweetie Pie will just feel better.

I seriously don't know what it is about baking soda baths but when in doubt if your little one has a skin irritation give him a baking soda bath in cool to slightly warm water.

I'm 57 and I use baking soda baths when my skin is irratated or I have bug bites.

1 mom found this helpful
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A.A.

answers from Tulsa on

Hydrocortisone cream twice a day should cure a heat rash, but with a baby that small it could be a number of things. They are just coming out into the air after being underwater for 9 months, this can do a number on baby skin! I would take him in to be SURE that is what it is before doing anything yourself. My son would get a heat rash under his chin on and off last summer (4-6 months old), but never on his cheeks. It's always been somewhere that is kept hot due to skin on skin contact or covered by a diaper, etc. Baby acne is very common on the cheeks, so is ezcema. I would highly recommend at least a call to the ped before you try a treatment.

1 mom found this helpful
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L.C.

answers from Atlanta on

Something I have found that works wonders on heat rash is "monkey butt powder" that's the real name. It come in baby monkey butt powder and ladies monkey butt powder and regular. I have a heat rash that
Comes up under my breast at times when it's hot. This always clears it up. You can find it in most pharmacy and also places like ace hardware. Try it I don't think it will hurt.

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N.J.

answers from Los Angeles on

Right at 6 weeks my lil' broke out with an awful rash on his face--I thought maybe baby acne, but was pretty confident it was a heat rash in combination with a fabric irritation. I went ahead and tried as a last attempt the california babys Candella cream for his face. It was like magic cleared up in three days. I just put it on him once in the morning and once at night. During the day I just made sure he was cool and had a piece of clothing/blanket between us. To this day anytime the rash starts I put a little of the cream on him and it's gone the next morning....my next stop was going to be a visit to the peds office so it was definitely worth it for me!..

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