Acne vs. Eczema

Shelby has had the worst baby acne ever since she was born. Her little cheeks and chin have been red and bumpy. I figured any time it should go away, but it seemed to get worse spreading down below her ears, around the back of her neck, and even some on her back and chest recently. So, I started looking up baby acne on the internet. (Babycenter.com is a very helpful website. I've used it a lot starting with Autumn.) Everything I could find tended to agree that at this point the acne should be subsiding or gone. One of the articles, though, mentioned the possibility of eczema and that the incidence of an infant having eczema is higher if a parent has it. The light bulb in my head clicked on. I have eczema. I'll occasionally get an itchy spot that flares up, but it never occurred to me that her red bumps and my itchy spots could be the same thing. To test my theory I liberally applied my sensitive skin lotion to her little cheeks last night and this morning you could immediately tell a difference. The bumps were smaller and her skin was less red. I went ahead and applied some more this afternoon to really get around the back of her neck and she looks 100 times better. Her skin has much better color to it and looks less red and irritated.

I just feel bad now for not thinking of it sooner because I know just how badly eczema can itch. There were times I'd hold her up against my chest and she'd be upset and turn her face from side to side. I thought she was looking for her pacifier for comfort, but now I wonder if she was uncomfortable and itchy. Anyway, I'm hoping it is something she will grow out of.