Dry and Bumpy Patches on My Baby's Arms and Legs

It sounds like eczema to me. That is what it was for both my kids. I have prescription cream for both my kids because the one sold over the counter is not strong enough. You could try hydrocortisone cream on those areas. The 1% in the stores is usually mild enough but if you want talk to the doctor to be on the safe side. Also try lotioning the baby up 2-3 times a day with a thick lotion like Aveeno. That stuff is great.

My 3/yo daughter has this exact "condition" which is nothing more than a form of dry skin. She has very tiny raised bumps on her torso & arms. The Dr. said it was not an allergic reaction to anything I was eating (I was breastfeeding at the time). She also had patches of red marks on her leg and back when she was a baby & yound toddler. The Dr. said that it was psoriosis and both could be treated by applying either eucerine lotion or just vasaline to her skin directly after a warm bath.

I hope this helps :) Good luck.

-M.

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned, but extra virgin coconut oil is a great remedy for many skin ailments. It cleared up my son's baby acne after 2 applications, his eczema after 3 applications, his dandruff after 1 application. Good luck :)

Hi, I agree that if it is bumpy it sounds like Keratosis pilaris. My daughter has it, it comes and goes, sometimes the area is redder than at other times. It doesn't bother her, she is 8 and she has never complained that it bothered her. The only thing I've been told in terms of a cream is nicknamed "prom cream" because it's uncomfortable to use and the girls use it for prom so their arms look good in their dress.
Good luck and enjoy your new baby girl.

I disagree with the eczema idea. I have eczema and would never describe it as "bumpy." I would think it's Keratosis Pilaris (my son has this). Research it on the internet. Not much can be done for it--she will most likely outgrow it.

I'm not an expert, by any means, but it sounds like it may be baby eczema. Both my children have it, but it's not a big deal. We've seen countless doctors and all the advice comes down to this - after bathing them (not too long in the bath - just long enough for the skin to become moist), cover the skin with Eucerin to hold in moisture. The bumps never really go away, but they are not bothersome to the boys.

My son gets these patches on his legs mostly and I've always attributed it to a mild case of eczema. It doesn't seem to bother him (he's not scratching or anything), so I've tended to ignore it. There are some different lotions out there though that you could try. Aquafor makes a paste for babies that seemed to help alleviate my son's dry skin in the past. It's sorta like A&D ointment, but thicker and more hydrating. You can also call your pediatrician and the nurses should be able to give you some other ideas.

Hi K.,
My daughter is 15 months old and has had something similar for most of her life. The pediatrician says it is eczema and recommends Eucerin cream and 1% hydrocortisone cream for really bad patches. I would ask your pediatrician about this one first before you use it. I use Dove unscented soap also, as baby wash can be drying.
Good luck!
C.

It will eventually go away. It's usually impossible to figure out diet etc. My daughter had this too. Several kids in my extended family have also. Sometimes it lasts as long as 3 years, other time it goes away before they're one. It's very common-don't worry! Don't get too into experimenting with creams etc. Let her skin be itself. Plain unscented hypoallergenic lotion is fine once in a while or coconut or olive oil if she's uncomfortable. My doctor recommended taking away milk, but I didn't want to go down the "special needs" diet road and deprive her of valuable fat, protein and calcium, so we just waited it out. It does pass. Good luck!

My son has that. The doctors have told me its just baby ecsema. My daughter also gets a rash that comes like that that comes and goes, I have linked it to the soap and shampoo we were using when we bathe her. I have found a great place that has naturally made soaps, shampoos, etc that I have been buying my stuff from that now do not bother my daughters delecate skin. And the natural dry skin lotion I get from this same company has helped my sons dry skin a great deal! I was using eucerine on his dry skin problem like the doctors have told us to do, but it never really worked and so we stopped wasting our money on it. But this stuff is awsome! And I buy many other natural household products from them now, like household cleaners, and so much more. I decided to go with this companys products because they were all natural and if my kids should accidentally ingest any of them, they wouldnt get poisoned, worst case scenario would be just a little upset tummy.

But it sounds to me it is just baby ecsema... or if it comes and goes, it could be an allergic reaction to the soap or shampoo you use on her duing her bath. Sometimes they tend to dry out the skin (even the baby formulated ones) more than we expect.

Hope that helps hun.

D. L.

Your description of your daughter's condition sounds exactly like what my 3yr old daughter has had since she was about 5 months - Keratosis Pilaris. She also has dry, bumpy skin on her arms (mostly on the upper back side) and legs. Her pediatrician diagnosed it and said that it's a common, hereditary condition, and there's not much that can be done about it. We haven't been able to get "rid" of the bumps, but regular gentle exfoliation and lotion seems to help. Apparently the bumps are caused by blocked hair follicles in the dry skin. My husband has this same thing on his arms, and says he's never been bothered by it. If this is what your daughter does have, here is a website which I've found informative: http://www.keratosispilaris.org

Good luck! I know how hard it is to see unidentified bumps on your baby's skin.

I work with a wellness company that has a wonderful skin therapy lotion that will work for this and this is 7 times better than eucerin and not sticky or oilly like Eucerin. My friend had a child that got some red rash like skin around neck that was sore and itchy and gave her this to use. She said it was helping and that was 3 days later. Let me know if you are interested in this. Provide me with your phone # and time zone and I will give you a call.

sounds like eczema to me. we used Eucherin (the original kind in the white tub) and it helps my son out a lot. water will make eczema worse so if she is having a bad itch day try to avoid putting her in the tub. sweat also activates the itch and/or makes it spread. so keep that in mind during the heat waves!

Hi K., congratulations on the birth of your daughter! As for those patches...they sound like excema, which is a type of skin rash that anybody can get. Remember your daughter is adjusting to not only your breastmilk, but her whole new environment, and sometimes that stress can cause a rash. You can treat it with an over the counter medication, just read labels carefully. You could also see your pediatrician the next time it flares up so he can confirm what it is and give you a precription. I am not in the medical field, but I am just relating information based on what we experienced with our daughter.
Best of luck to you and your little family.
W.

Sounds like excema which my doctor says can be caused by food allergies.

This very well could be excema. Have the baby checked by a dermatologist as pediatricians don't always recognize it. If it is, they will give you cream to treat it. My son's excema popped up for years during change of seasons. Anytime he rolled around in the grass, it was instant breakout. Have her checked but don't panic.

Might be a form on Exema.....after bath put baby oil on them. Maybe have the doctor look at them as well. My daughters docter when she was little said that it may be a sign of asthma....though I'm not all that sure about that.

K.,
Try Aquaphor, by Eucerin. It is sold in the lotion aisle pretty much everywhere. Not only was it recommended to me by my pediatrician, but also by my mom and several friends. My son used to get dry patches on his cheeks and arms and my daughter used to get a horrible rash on her chin and a dry patch towards the top of her diaper. This took care of it so quickly, it was amazing. I also recommended it to a friend of mine that used to get dry itching bumping skin around her lips. Her doctor had prescribed 3 or 4 creams that didn't work, she tried this and it went away.
Good luck!

All of my children got those. The doctor told me it was related to eczema. I have experimented with MANY lotions, but I find Aquafor lotion on the patches to be the best. If it persists, or spreads, take your baby to a dermitologist, just be wary of steroid cremes. They work, but they can have some odd effects. Such as temporarily lightening my daughter's caramel colored skin.

Pure speculation from your description . . . could be eczema. Eczema is sometimes allergy related but not always. I had eczema when I was growing up and my kids have eczema also.

1 thing you can do right now is buy Eucerin lotion and apply it twice a day to the dry patches. That should help fairly quickly. If that doesn't seem to help you may need a prescription ointment from your Doctor.

Don't drive yourself crazy trying to figure out what causes it. It may just be the way your daughter's skin is.

Good luck!

make sure not to bathe her too often. a couple times a week at her age is plenty. make sure you are using baby wash on her skin. she could have eczema. have you addressed this issue with the pediatrician? bath and body has some baby bath products which looked good when i was in there the other day. some of them were for eczema. look up more info on the internet on eczema this may help. bottom line talk to her doctor and if he or she seems to be of no help go to the dermatologist.

My daughter has eczema and keratosis pilaris. Its probably one or both. Both are harmless but eczema can cause itching. Ask your pediatrician for a cream you can use.

Soudsn like excema. Most doctors recommend aveeno 24 hour moisturizing lotion or eucerin for it.