toddler zits?

October 25, 2006 7:43 AM

In the past few months our 16 month old son has been getting little zits on his cheeks. They're only there for a few days, then poof, their gone. What the heck causes this, and is it normal?
posted by ducktape to Grab Bag (9 answers total)

My 16 month old son has something similar. Small, reddish bumps, slightly rough like soft sandpaper, that appeared on his cheeks, that comes and then goes. It was more common when he was younger. Our pediatrician said it was eczema, and prescribed Mimyx to treat it when it appeared.
posted by jaimev at 7:53 AM on October 25, 2006

I agree with jaimev that it could be eczema, but I've also seen it caused (in relatives' kids) by mild food allergies. Does it match up with a particular food that day (or even the day before)?
posted by Xoder at 8:08 AM on October 25, 2006

Really common.
posted by chococat at 9:34 AM on October 25, 2006

Eczema isn't fully understood, but there are known links to a variety of allergies. So jaimev and Xoder could both be right.
posted by nakedcodemonkey at 10:44 AM on October 25, 2006

At 16mo. it's most likely not infant acne (caused by hormones). Most likely it's from milk or spit drool. But best to check with the doc and find out if it's eczema, especially if your family has a history of asthma or allergies.
posted by LadyBonita at 10:59 AM on October 25, 2006

My daughter had this while I was breastfeeding, and the doctor drove me crazy asking me to eliminate variouis foods from my diet. Nothing seemed to help and eventually the zits went away by themselves. Don't drive yourself nuts about this; it will go away by itself. If it were eczema, your son would probably have it on other parts of his body. I had eczema as a child, and it didn't look anything like the bumps my daughter had on her cheeks.
posted by Joleta at 11:44 AM on October 25, 2006

My daughter gets those little zit-like bumps on her belly and the backs of her thighs. The dermatologist said it was eczema and explained that the dry skin cells were clogging her pores like acne- I forget the technical term she gave it.

(I've had eczema for years but it's always manifested as itchy rashes, not bumps so I was pretty surprised by her diagnosis.)
posted by Mamapotomus at 1:33 PM on October 25, 2006

I still have a little pockmark on my cheek from one of these baby acne that got really bad. Not sure if it popped or not, but the crater's pretty deep.
posted by anthill at 1:34 PM on October 25, 2006

Google 'Milia'.
posted by Kickstart70 at 5:13 PM on October 25, 2006