Does your newborn have a rash that looks like tiny white or yellowish bumps encircled by redness? Or no bumps, just a blotchy skin breakout of redness? It’s likely erythema toxicum, a very common and harmless skin breakout condition.
Erythema toxicum causes a newborn rash in about half the babies born at full term. Usually the redness, aka erythema, occurs on the face, chest, arms and legs.
This skin breakout condition generally appears within a couple of weeks after birth and may last a few days. And this newborn rash can seem to move around, appearing and disappearing in various spots.
The cause of erythema toxicum isn’t fully understood. What is known about the newborn skin rash is that:
- not cancer
- not contagious
- your newborn does not feel sick
- not associated with other health problems
- not a skin infection because the absence of bacteria, virus, fungus pathogens
- the fluid in the bumps contain eosinophils, commonly found with allergic reaction or allergy
Erythema toxicum caused skin breakout does not require medical treatment and this rash skin condition will go away on its own.
