White spots on newborn's face

Many mothers have found that their newborn babies have a lot of white spots on their bodies. These white particles look like pimples. But experts tell you that this is not acne. The white grains on the face of a newborn are likely to be miliary rash. Milia is a common disease in newborns. But mothers don’t need to worry even if they find milia, because milia will disappear automatically after a period of time.

Causes of miliary rash in newborns

Milia are caused by the accumulation of sebum due to the incomplete development of the baby's sebaceous glands. Once the epidermis of these small bumps falls off and the accumulated dead skin falls off, the milia will be cured.

They often appear in the first week after birth and are distributed on the face, head, and intertriginous areas. There are four typical types of prickly heat in clinical practice:

1. Miliaria vitiligo (milliary crystalline): transparent blisters the size of a needle tip, with no red halo around them and easy to break. Generally no symptoms. It is absorbed within 1-2 days, leaving only slight scaling.

2. Red miliaria is common in the armpits, elbows, forehead, trunk, etc. The skin lesions appear in batches, appearing as densely arranged needle-sized papules and papulovesicles, surrounded by a red halo, accompanied by a burning and itching sensation. There is mild desquamation after the rash subsides.

3. Miliaria purulenta (pustular miliaria) often develops from miliaria rubra and is prone to occur in skin folds and the head and neck. The lesions are densely packed papules with pillow-sized shallow pustules on top. Bacterial culture was negative.

4. Deep miliaria: It is common in the neck, trunk and other parts of the body. The lesions are dense, noninflammatory papulovesicles that coincide with the sweat pores and increase in size with sweating.

What to do if your newborn has miliary rash

The cure for neonatal milia is time—you don't have to do anything. After a while, they will heal without treatment.

It usually disappears on its own within a few weeks after birth and does not require treatment. Do not put any oils or ointments on your baby's milia. Also, don't squeeze the milia to make it go away faster, as this may leave scars.