Baby has red face
Rosy cheeks in a baby: Causes and treatments
There are many potential causes of rosy cheeks on a baby. Most are harmless and quickly respond to medical treatment.
Share on PinterestMaarten van de Voort Images & Photographs/Getty ImagesSome babies naturally have cheeks that are slightly redder than the rest of their face. The cheeks can also turn red when a baby cries or smiles, due to increased blood flow to the area.
However, if the cheeks seem unusually red for a long time, this may indicate a health issue.
This article explores the various causes of rosy cheeks on a baby, as well as treatments and when to speak with a doctor.
Several conditions can cause red cheeks on a baby.
It is important to note that the conditions listed below may cause rosy cheeks in infants of any skin tone or color, but the appearance of rosy cheeks may be harder to detect in babies with darker skin.
Anyone unsure of whether their baby may have rosy cheeks due to a condition requiring medical care should consult a pediatrician.
Possible causes of rosy cheeks include:
Fifth’s disease
A mild virus, known as parvovirus B19, causes an infection called Fifth’s disease.
Some people call the condition “slapped cheek syndrome” because it causes very red cheeks.
Some babies later develop a rash on the chest or neck. Other symptoms include cold-like symptoms, such as a runny nose or fever, which often appear a few days after the rash.
Fifth’s disease usually goes away on its own, while it causes mild symptoms in children.
In some adults and very sick people, the condition may cause more severe symptoms, such as joint pain that lasts for weeks.
Learn more about Fifth’s disease here.
Teething rash
Teething sometimes causes a red rash on the cheeks and chin. This happens when a baby drools and the drool dries on the skin, causing redness, irritation, and chapping.
The rash is usually harmless, but severe rashes might crack open and bleed, increasing the risk of acquiring an infection.
Parents can reduce the risk of teething rash by removing drool from a baby’s cheeks and face, and applying a mild moisturizer.
Learn how to recognize a teething rash here.
Chapped skin
Dry, irritated skin from dry air or intense cold can appear chapped and red. Chapped skin looks similar to a teething rash.
Areas of the skin that come into contact with cold air, such as the cheeks and lips, are more vulnerable to chapping. Babies with eczema or dry skin are also more prone.
Chapped skin can be itchy and painful, but it is not dangerous. Frequently applying moisturizer to the affected areas can help.
Eczema
Eczema causes dry, scaly patches of skin, but it is not just dry skin. The condition is a complex disorder that causes the skin to become inflamed.
Inflammation of the skin sometimes occurs in response to certain triggers, such as irritating soaps or foods.
Eczema on the cheeks may look similar to red or scaly patches.
Babies may also develop eczema elsewhere on the body.
Severe eczema can look very dry, and may even crack open and bleed. The condition also increases the risk of contracting skin infections.
Learn about the best eczema creams for baby here.
Skin infection
When bacteria or other dangerous pathogens get into the skin and multiply, it can trigger an infection. This usually occurs when a baby has a cut, such as from a scratch, injury, or dry skin that cracks.
Sometimes, a skin infection can appear with no clear explanation.
One type of skin infection, cellulitis, affects the deeper layers of skin. It can cause bright redness and swelling. Sometimes, red streaks appear as the rash spreads.
It is possible to contract an infection in both cheeks, but an infection is more likely if one cheek is red.
The following are treatment options for the medical causes of rosy cheeks:
- Fifth’s disease will resolve on its own. Because it is a virus, it will not respond to antibiotics.
- Dry, chapped skin usually responds well to moisturizer. Moist air may also help relieve this symptom in babies, for which a person can use a humidifier.
- Eczema may also improve with moisturizer, though it is important to avoid products that irritate the skin. Prescription and over-the-counter medications, such as hydrocortisone, can reduce inflammation.
- Skin infections respond well to antibiotic treatment, but it is important to use the right one. It is also important not to reuse an antibiotic.
Discuss symptoms with a doctor before using any of these remedies.
Consult with a healthcare professional if:
- a rash cracks open and bleeds
- there are signs of infection, such as red streaks coming out of a rash, a fever, swelling, or a very fussy baby
- eczema symptoms do not get better with home treatment
- redness or a rash does not clear up within a few days
- a baby develops a rash following an injury or illness
Unless the baby has eczema, severely dry skin, or a skin infection, red cheeks usually go away on their own, with or without treatment.
Dry skin and eczema may require ongoing management. While these conditions can make the skin feel dry or itchy, they are not dangerous.
These conditions may make the skin more vulnerable to infections, so it is vital to monitor for signs that may indicate a worsening rash or infection.
A skin infection can spread without treatment, but most infections clear within a few days with antibiotics.
Parents and caregivers do not need to panic about red cheeks in a baby.
However, if the redness does not go away, spreads, or causes distress in the baby, it is important to speak with a doctor.
Seeking prompt care can prevent infections from worsening.
Red Cheeks In A Baby: Causes, Treatment, And Prevention
When you see your baby with rosy cheeks, you might worry something is wrong. While it's true that red cheeks in a baby can sometimes be a sign of a medical problem, in most cases, it’s not a health emergency.
To help you sort out the cause of your baby's red cheeks, here's a look at some of the most common possibilities.
You'll also find treatment options and tips to help you prevent this problem in the future.
Table Of Contents
- Potential Causes And Treatment Options For Red Cheeks In A Baby
- When To See A Doctor
- How To Prevent Red Cheeks In Your Baby
- Caring For Your Baby’s Rosy Red Cheeks
Potential Causes And Treatment Options For Red Cheeks In A Baby
Exertion
Have your cheeks ever gotten red while you're exercising? It's a typical response to physical activity.
Babies can experience this same thing, especially if the room is warm.
If your baby's cheeks are red after breastfeeding or while playing, they're probably starting to work up a sweat. It could also be that they’re trying a new skill (such as crawling) and pouring a lot of energy into their movements.
What To Do
To treat this redness, give your baby a break from the activity to help them cool down. Also, if they're wearing extra layers of clothing, consider removing one.
The good news is red cheeks caused by exertion typically go away on their own.
Teething
When babies are cutting their teeth, they often drool more than usual. This drool can irritate their sensitive skin and cause a rash around their mouth, chin, and cheeks.
This rash is red and bumpy and might be accompanied by other teething symptoms, like fussiness, chewing on things, and a low-grade fever.
What To Do
To help clear up your baby’s teething-induced drool rash, you'll want to keep their face as dry as possible.
Use our Cleansing Wipes to quickly clean up any drool or spit-up you notice. The gentle formula helps moisturize your baby's skin, protecting it from irritation.
You’ll also want to use a gentle cleanser when washing your baby’s face. Our Soothing Cleansing Gel is a great option. The fragrance-free, EWG Verified formula is designed for babies with sensitive, rash-prone skin.
Eczema
Eczema is a common skin condition in babies.
While you can find these patches of red, itchy, dry skin anywhere on their body, they’re often on a baby’s cheeks, elbows, and knees.
Other symptoms of eczema include scaling, crusting, and oozing skin. Your baby might also have trouble sleeping because the itchiness is so bothersome.
What To Do
If your baby has eczema, you can try home treatment options to help soothe their eczema-prone skin. A great place to start is with our NEA Certified Eczema Bath Time Set.
In the set, you'll get:
- Stelatopia Cleansing Gel
- Stelatopia Cleansing Oil
- Stelatopia Emollient Cream
The emollient cream helps lock in moisture and create a barrier to protect your baby's skin from further irritation. Applying it after cleansing and bathing will help hydrate skin and prevent future eczema flare-ups.
Note: Babies with eczema typically outgrow it, so you might notice it improving on its own over time.
Dry Skin
Dry skin can be another common cause of red cheeks in a baby.
This is especially true in the winter when the air is drier and colder. Spending too much time in the bath can also cause your baby's skin to dry out.
In addition to red cheeks, you might notice your baby's skin feels dry to the touch instead of smooth and supple. It might also be visibly flaky or cracked.
What To Do
A humidifier can help add moisture to the air and prevent your baby's skin from getting too dry. Look for one specifically designed for babies. You’ll want it to have a filter to remove any harmful toxins from the air.
You'll also want to apply a safe, gentle moisturizer to their skin to help lock in moisture. For example, our Nourishing Cream with Cold Cream prevents water from evaporating, helping your baby's skin stay soft.
Fifth Disease
Fifth disease is a virus that typically causes a bright red rash on the cheeks. It gets its name because it's the fifth most common childhood infection.
The rash usually starts as two red spots on each cheek and then spreads to the rest of the body within a few days.
It eventually turns into a lacy, red rash that can last several weeks.
Other symptoms of fifth disease include fever, runny nose, and headache. It can also cause joint pain in older children and adults.
What To Do
If your child has fifth disease, they'll usually recover on their own within a few weeks without medical intervention. However, you can help soothe their symptoms with over-the-counter medication.
Acetaminophen can relieve their fever and pain. And you can also use a cool compress to help reduce the swelling and itchiness associated with the rash.
An Allergy
Allergies can also cause red cheeks in a baby. This condition is usually due to an allergic reaction to something they've come into contact with, such as pollen, pet dander, or certain types of food.
In addition to the red cheeks, you might also notice watery eyes, sneezing, and a runny nose. In some cases, the rash can spread to other body parts, too.
What To Do
If your baby has a severe allergic reaction, it requires immediate medical attention.
However, even if their symptoms are mild, it’s still something you’ll want to mention to their health care provider at your next visit. That way, they can help you learn what is causing the allergy and get a treatment plan established.
To prevent future reactions, you’ll want to avoid allergy triggers. This might mean keeping your baby away from pets or certain types of food.
Since their skin is so sensitive, you may also need to change your cleaning, washing, and laundry products. Switching to gentle, eco-friendly products free of harsh chemicals can help reduce the risk of an allergic reaction.
Contact Irritation
Another common cause of red patches on your baby's face is contact irritation. It happens when their skin comes into contact with something irritating, such as a new laundry detergent, lotion, or soap.
Red patches can also occur if your child rubs their face on something rough, such as the carpet, a man’s beard, or the side of their car seat.
Someone giving their cute cheeks a little pinch can also cause red spots to appear temporarily.
What To Do
Red spots from your child rubbing their cheek on something often disappear within a few minutes. However, if the irritation persists or worsens, you'll need to look closely at what's causing it.
If you recently changed laundry detergents, lotions, or soaps, try switching back to the old products to see if that helps. You should also ensure your little one's clothing is gentle and free from harsh chemicals.
When To See A Doctor
Most of the time, red cheeks in a baby are nothing to worry about, and the redness goes away on its own or with simple at-home treatment. However, there are a few cases where you should call your doctor.
Call your doctor right away if:
- Your baby has red cheeks and a fever over 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit
- The red spots are spreading quickly or appear to be getting worse
- Your child is acting unusually tired or fussy
- Diarrhea or vomiting accompanies the red cheeks
If you're unsure what's causing your child's rash, it's always best to err on the side of caution and call your doctor.
They can help you determine the cause and recommend the best course of treatment.
How To Prevent Red Cheeks In Your Baby
The good news is that you can do a few things to help prevent red cheeks in your baby.
For example, to avoid viral infections, such as fifth disease, wash your little one's hands regularly. They should also avoid sharing cups or utensils with anyone who is sick.
In addition, keep your baby away from anything you know irritates their skin. Instead, select gentle products from a company you trust, such as Mustela, that don't contain harsh ingredients.
Caring For Your Baby’s Rosy Red Cheeks
If you notice red cheeks on your baby, don't panic. Most of the time, it's a simple problem that you can take care of at home.
To help keep their skin soft and supple, choose gentle, quality products. Our Soothing Cleansing Gel and Nourishing Cream with Cold Cream can both help protect your little one's skin.
No matter what’s causing the rosiness to appear, with the right tools, you can keep your baby happy and healthy!
Diathesis, red cheeks - atopic dermatitis?
When children come to an appointment with red cheeks, red spots with peeling on the arms and legs, manifestations of atopic dermatitis, then parents often do not know why their child has such problems.
Most often, mothers in such cases associate the manifestations of dermatitis with "Moscow water", which "does not suit" them.
However, it must be admitted that food allergies are most often manifested in infants and, in the vast majority of cases, the culprit is cow's milk, or rather, cow's milk proteins (proteins).
If the child receives artificial nutrition, then the basis of such mixtures is cow's milk proteins (whey and casein fractions of proteins). Thus, when receiving milk formula, the child receives the corresponding allergen in large volume.
If the baby is breastfed, cow's milk proteins enter the baby's body through breast milk.
Studies have shown that 95% of women have beta-lactoglobulin in breast milk, one of the most allergenic proteins in cow's milk.
However, it should be emphasized that children who are breastfed (naturally) suffer from food allergies much less often, which is due, among other things, to a lower content of such components in breast milk.
The basis for the treatment of manifestations of food allergies, intolerance to cow's milk proteins, is the selection of proper nutrition.
When a child is breastfed and symptoms of intolerance to cow's milk proteins are noted, the mother is often advised to follow a strict dairy-free diet, when all dairy products are excluded from the diet, including cheese, kefir, cottage cheese, etc., and not just whole milk, as sometimes think. Since such dietary recommendations are quite difficult to maintain, especially for us, the inhabitants of the middle lane, where the culture of dairy nutrition is widespread, it is very important that these prescriptions have a real basis.
However, it is impossible not to admit that there is an improvement in the condition of the child's skin, the work of his digestive tract with the correct correction of nutrition. Hence even such a term as "diet diagnostics" appeared, i.e., when, after the exclusion of certain products, we see a positive result, which confirms the diagnosis, and "diet therapy", when continuing to follow the recommendations on proper nutrition, it is possible to achieve a good therapeutic effect.
One of the frequently asked questions of parents is: "Is it possible to transfer a child with intolerance to cow's milk proteins to goat's milk?"
The answer is not entirely reassuring. In the vast majority of children, when trying to replace a formula based on cow's milk with a "goat" formula, it is not possible to achieve remission and subsidence of the symptoms of the disease.
For the rational nutrition of formula-fed children with manifestations of allergy to cow's milk proteins, therapeutic specialized nutrition based on hydrolyzed (split) components is used. In such mixtures, the protein is divided into smaller components, down to the smallest particles - amino acids. Such therapeutic nutrition should be selected by a pediatrician in close cooperation with an allergist-immunologist.
Another important aspect of the treatment of atopic dermatitis is topical therapy. And it is necessary to start in this case with a basic, long-term moisturizing of the skin with specialized means - emollients.
Atopic dermatitis is treated in stages, i.e. according to the severity of the disease, the "severity" of the drug effect is selected. In other words, we move from the simple to the complex, from moisturizers for the skin to preparations containing anti-inflammatory agents, hormones, antibiotics, if necessary, etc.
Fortunately, usually by the age of 2-3 years, allergy to cow's milk proteins fades into the background, and in 80% of cases, children develop tolerance (immunity) to this product by the age of 5.
However, the calmer the child's early age passes, the higher the chances of not moving to a new stage of allergic processes, and maintaining health for many years.
Therefore, it is very important, if allergic pathology is suspected, to look for the correct cause of such a condition, and to adhere to a healthy lifestyle, the principles of rational nutrition.
Pediatrician, allergist-immunologist, chief physician of the clinic "Sanare" Marinina Yulia Mikhailovna
Redness on the cheeks of a child aged 9 months
04/04/2017
- Hello.
Help, please, with such question. My daughter is 9 months old, redness appears and disappears on her cheeks. Recently, digestive disorders (frequent constipation) began to appear. The child does not sleep well, is often naughty. Could it be an allergic reaction and what? How to treat it? Thanks in advance.
Symptoms may suggest an allergic reaction to a product. The organs of the gastrointestinal tract of a child at this age do not fully fulfill their function, so he may experience a variety of signs of food allergies. These include stool retention, abdominal pain, rash, itching, vomiting, diarrhea. At an early age, children lack some digestive enzymes, so when certain foods are consumed, normal digestion does not occur, which causes allergy symptoms.
The strongest and most common allergen is cow's milk protein. The reaction to it can be formed as a result of several reasons: when the baby is directly included in the diet, when it is consumed in large quantities by a nursing mother, when using mixtures containing this protein, in violation of the rules for introducing complementary foods.
In addition to milk, other foods can cause an allergic reaction: chicken eggs, peanuts, fish, chocolate, strawberries and others. There are rare forms of the disease in which symptoms occur when exotic foods are consumed. To find out the allergen that causes reactions in the child’s body and exclude it from the diet, a doctor’s examination and blood tests are required. If necessary, the specialist prescribes medication for the baby (bifidobacteria, enzymes, sorbents). To improve the well-being of the child, doctors recommend including only fresh and natural products in his diet.
Allergic reaction in infants during the first years of life is almost always the result of inadequate digestion of various foods. Accordingly, the basis of the treatment of this disease is the right diet. A balanced diet of a child is the prevention of allergic reactions, as it excludes potential allergens. When a new product is included in the diet, the reaction of the baby should be carefully monitored, since it can cause a relapse of the disease.
