Drooling is the common phenomenon in babies and toddlers, especially when the baby is teething. Drooling is a term used when the saliva flows out from the mouth. Majority of babies and toddlers drool, some to lesser extent while some may drool profusely throughout the day. You often come across babies with drool rash who have excessive saliva coming out from mouth.
Drool rash is the skin irritation with redness, tiny bumps most commonly noticed on face. If saliva runs out in large amount, he can have drool rash on neck as well as on chest too.
What Causes Baby Drool Rash?
There is hardly any child who may not have suffered from drool rash during his or her infancy. Drool rash is nothing but skin rash caused due to excessive saliva seeping out from mouth. It is the irritated skin with mild redness and tiny eruptions mostly on the side of mouth and the chin.
Majority of drool rash in babies occurs at the time of teething. Due to saliva drooling from mouth, the skin remains constantly moist and friction, rubbing against pillow and other toys which the child puts in mouth can irritate the tender skin.
Drool rash is not harmful except for minor discomfort; however the only worry is when the rash gets infected. The condition is called impetigo. The common organism responsible for it is staphylococcal bacteria. Small yellow crusts develop on the rash area. It can then spread to nearby skin. Sometimes the lesion may bleed. Impetigo is a contagious disease. However, with antibiotic treatment it is completely curable.
Natural Remedies For Baby Drool Rash
Drool rash is easy to treat at home unless it is infected and the child suffers from conditions such as impetigo. Drool rash is generally not painful. However, the child may cry if the tender skin is rubbed against some rough surface. So it is necessary to take prevent such thing to occur.
- Keeping it clean helps the healing process. Wash the area with warm water at least two times in a day. Pat the area dry instead of rubbing with a cloth. Rubbing will irritate the skin. Use a soft clean cloth or an absorbent material to gently clean the area. Apply witch hazel which is a natural soothing agent.
- The other natural home remedy for drool rash is aloe vera gel. Aloe vera gel encourages healing as well as also protects the rash from infective bacteria. A thin film of petroleum jelly will also become a barrier against the moisture which results from drooling saliva. Usually apply any cream at night when the child is sleeping, especially when you will not be there to dab the drool. Take precautions that the cream does not get into the mouth.
- You can also apply coconut oil on the drool rash. Coconut oil acts as a lubricant which becomes a barrier between the skin and drool. Secondly coconut oil has antibacterial properties; therefore applying it over the rash will prevent secondary infection.