Baby drool rash is common, but it can drive to several obstacles at the epidermal level, around the mouth. Luckily, treatment is normally very simple.
The baby droll rash is better recognized in the medical profession as perioral eczema or perioral dermatitis. Perioral eczema or perioral dermatitis is a skin inflammation around the mouth that can spread from the nose to the throat of the baby.
Babies drool a lot and, sadly, as we will discuss in later lines, this can produce inflammation in the oral epidermis of the baby. If your infant has a reddened area around the mouth and you desire to solve his clinical picture, keep reading.
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Baby Drool Rash: Causes
Can baby drool cause a rash? The answer is yes they can. As scientific researches show, saliva is a complex secretion presented in the primary salivary glands in 93% and the smaller ones in 7%. This liquid is dry when it leaves the glands, but it soon comes into connection with microorganisms, parts of cells from the oral mucosa, and food traces.
In common, a human being produces on average between 500 and 700 mL of saliva every day. Babies also synthesize it and in their early stages of growth, they drool and permit it to come out of their mouth because they do not understand how to swallow it. While we swallow every four minutes, they do so approximately four times an hour.
Even so, the Healthy Children organization explains to us that drooling in babies has many clear physiological purposes, among which we observe the following:
- Helps moisten and soften food.
- It promotes the action of swallowing in babies.
- Keeps the infant mouth moist.
- Allows expulsion and cleaning of food waste from the mouth.
- Shield baby’s teeth.
However, some cautions may show an associated health dilemma. When your baby has a fever, shortness of breath, mouth ulcers, or bluish skin with lavish drooling, it’s time to consult a doctor quickly.
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Baby Drool Rash: How To Treat It?
As essential as saliva is in the physiological functions of the infant, seldom too much of it can create problems. As researches show, liquids like saliva and water are drying to the skin. This makes the epidermis more sensitive to external irritants.
This occurs in the appearance of perioral erythematous lesions, which can produce discomfort and crying. In customary, the following precautionary actions are useful to avoid the problem:
- Wipe the baby and clean the oral area when required. This should be made by contact and not by friction, although it will only make the baby’s pain more serious.
- Avoid sudden shifts in temperature where you live.
- Avoid using towels and clothes made of wool, as they are often vexatious.
- Maintain excellent nutritional and hydration status in the baby.
- Keep the enclosing areas free of dust.
- Do not give the baby acidic foods – such as oranges – that, when in contact with the lesions, increase the annoyance condition.
Besides, various portals specialized in the health of babies suggest different repairing and moisturizing creams for the babies. These creams have regenerative features and fight irritation and inflammation of the skin.
Until what stage of the baby’s development drooling is normal?
First of all, it is important to indicate that the eruption of baby drool rash is not directly linked to the exit of teeth. This can develop at any time of growth, as it is a direct response to salivation.
On the other hand, it is common for babies to drool extensively from 12 to 18 months of age. As the National Library of Medicine of the United States shows, drooling is expected in infants and in those who are starting to walk.
Unluckily, if the event of unnecessary salivary production extends over the years or appears in adults, we will be facing a clinical picture described as ptyalism or hypersalivation. Some of its reasons are the following:
- A condition of the upper intestinal tract.
- Immoderate parasympathetic stimulation.
- A side effect of certain chemotherapy or drugs.
- Infectious illnesses, such as gonorrhea.
As we have said in earlier lines, baby drool rash is common, but if it is followed by other alarming symptoms- inflammation of the epiglottis, the inability to breathe, or mouth ulcers – it is time to visit the doctor essentially.
A treatable problem
As you may have read along these lines, drooling in babies is a common issue that also has various biological functions. As a direct outcome of this, a slime rash may develop around the mouth, but this is easily treated with creams and changes in some habits.