Skin Conditions

Kids can and commonly do develop all sorts of rashes, with typical causes ranging from poison ivy, insect bites, fungal infections (such as ringworm) to more now rare cases of German Measles.

Even the most commonly used and trusted items can cause rashes. Many lotions that are meant to soothe rashes contain lanolin — which can irritate the skin of babies who are sensitive to this oily ingredient and cause the rash to get worse.

In a well publicized case, Carter's, a very respected children's clothing manufacturer, ran into a problem with their fall 2007 catalog. There were reports that babies with very sensitive skin were having allergic reactions to the heat-transferred, or tag-less, labels used in the baby clothing.

"It appears that a very small percentage of children can be allergic to one or more ingredients in the labels. The solid, rather than stenciled, background on the fall 2007 labels appears to have produced a more pronounced and noticeable reaction among those children who are most allergic to the ink," the company's announcement said.

Thankfully, a majority of rashes that appear in infants and young children are non-life threatening and usually go away by themselves or with the aid of medications. Creams & lotions may also be prescribed to help soothe an accompanying painful burn or itch.