Baby's skin is tender. It is difficult to imagine a newborn covered with rough bristles. But, oddly enough, this happens. This issue is not adequately covered in medicine, so many mothers are lost and scared when faced with this.
Babies often cry. A child who does not know how to speak cannot explain the cause of his discomfort, so mothers may think that the baby is cramped or allergic. But one of the causes of discomfort can be stubble in newborns. She appears in the 2-3rd week of life and quickly disappears, but while she is on the baby’s body, it gives him a lot of unpleasant sensations. A photograph of the bristles on the back of a newborn shows how this phenomenon looks. Short, hard hair is visible on the baby’s body, and the skin is irritated.
Prematurity
The most common cause of bristles in newborns is considered prematurity. The fact is that even in the prenatal period, the fetal body is covered with thin cannon hairs - lanugo. This hair falls directly into the amniotic fluid, and the baby even sometimes swallows it. There is nothing wrong with that, then they are displayed together with meconium. At the end of pregnancy, the hairs completely fall out. Therefore, the vast majority of babies born on time are born with smooth, delicate skin. In premature babies, the hairs have not yet had time to fall out, so the baby may be more “fluffy”. By itself, this delicate and delicate fluff is not a problem. True, sometimes the hairs stick together or curl under the influence of fleecy clothing adjacent to the body. In this case, the baby may experience itching and irritation on the skin.
Myths and Reality
Bristles in newborns are observed if the hairs are too thick and stiff. Sometimes they can’t even break through the pores and therefore cause severe skin irritation. Invisible but disturbing stubble becomes an occasion for myths. Sometimes the older generation, with any anxiety of the baby, may remind of the so-called "poker". That is what was called the annoying stubble on the skin of the baby. If the hairs are not visible, but there are suspicions that it was they that caused the unpleasant sensations in the child, you can anoint the skin with baby cream or even breast milk. From this, the bristles noticeably stand out on the skin, if this problem really exists. The bristles in newborns in the photo look rough and stiff.
Where does the stubble come from babies born on time? They also have this, although less frequently. This is already due to the individual characteristics of hair growth and structure. The tendency to the appearance of bristles is genetically determined. If one of the parents had it, then the child's probability of its occurrence increases. Unfortunately, folk wisdom is not always wise. Sometimes mythical explanations are found for very real phenomena. For example, there is an opinion that the bristles in a newborn appear if the mother did not like cats. Or if she ate fat or snapped seeds.
Such reasoning for a modern person sounds very naive. They are based on associations: for example, lard may have a skin covered with stiff bristles, which means that such bristles will be transmitted to the child. However, this has nothing to do with real causes and effects. More scientific is the assumption that stubble is atavism, inherited from our ancestors, who had a much thicker and tougher hair growth. This is a temporary phenomenon. Although it is useful to know how to remove stubble in newborns. Photos of babies a little older usually show that children no longer face such a problem. Hair falls out without a trace.
Doctors advice
Official medicine answers the question of how to remove stubble from a newborn, rather ambiguously. Pediatricians do not approve of alternative methods of treatment, but there is no special treatment for this case. The best in the presence of bristles in newborns is good hygiene. The baby will benefit from herbal baths. After swimming, it is recommended to lubricate the problem areas with baby cream. It is important which tissue touches the baby’s body. It is necessary to select bedding, T-shirts, diapers, sliders from non-fluffy fabrics. The villi can give the child a lot of unpleasant sensations, because the hairs on his body can twist, stretch and even break out, clinging to the fabric.
There are folk remedies, how to remove stubble from a newborn at home. They are more diverse. Usually, all the procedures described do not bring a stable result the first time. They need to be repeated several times.
Honey pellets
You need to take half a teaspoon of thick honey and three drops of aloe juice. In a water bath you need to heat up and mix the solution. After this, it must be cooled, rolled up a ball from it. A lump needs to be rolled in the bristle area. Honey, due to its stickiness, causes adhesion of hairs. In newborns, the hair on the body does not have roots, so their extraction will not be a painful pulling out, similar to hair removal. They should easily come out of the pores. It is only important to consider that honey is an allergenic product, therefore, it is not suitable for all children.
Flour spools
The same can be done with flour. A couple of drops of breast milk will be enough for a teaspoon of flour. The main thing is that in the end a lump is obtained. The mechanism of its action will be the same - you need to roll out their hair. It is important to consider that in the case of honey, and in the case of flour, the procedure should not last longer than 10 minutes. If not all hairs are removed, it is better to repeat again.
Olive oil
A place of concern for the child can be massaged with olive oil. It softens the skin and helps the hairs break through painlessly. This is best done after bathing, when the skin is steamed.
Steaming
The baby is bathed in water a few degrees above normal. It is necessary to add a decoction of herbs to the bath. For the child’s skin, a weak chamomile or hop decoction, calendula, or string will be useful. After bathing in the skin of the child, until he has time to cool, you need to quickly rub the cream. The baby should be wrapped in a large bath towel and rubbed into different parts of the body - arms, legs, back - in turn. All this is done before bedtime. In the morning, the baby's skin is wiped with a napkin moistened with warm herbal decoction.
Softening and Wrapping
You can use not only baby cream. As a softening agent, bread soaked with milk, or tortillas made from flour, water and eggs, are suitable. The dough is applied to the area on which there is bristle. After this, the baby is wrapped in a cotton swaddle and left with this compress for 20 minutes. Then you need to bathe the child, and the first 5 minutes of bathing occur with the attached diaper. Then it is removed, and water procedures continue. To wash the child only with children's means. After the bath, the skin needs to be lubricated with baby cream or breast milk. This will relieve irritation.
Precautionary measures
Here parents are already inspired by the ways how to remove stubble in newborns. But it’s always important to understand what you don’t need to do. Any procedures can be done for a short time and if they do not cause discomfort in the child. If the baby screams and resists, perhaps it is unpleasant and painful. After all, to the end we do not know what the child feels at this moment. You can try to interrupt the procedure and distract the baby, play with him, and then try again. If this time he reacts negatively, perhaps this method simply does not suit him.
In no case should you pull out or shave off the hairs on the child's body. Tearing out the hair is painful and injures the skin. Shaving also causes tiny wounds, moreover, it does not solve the problem at all and can even aggravate it. If part of the hair remains inside the skin, then it can again break through it, causing irritation. All these manipulations lead to rashes and redness. And in children with weakened immunity, they can lead to infection.
It is also important to ensure that the baby does not overheat. Overheating of the body causes increased secretion of sebum. And it, even in the absence of coarse coarse hair, can lead to sticking of the gun and irritation on the skin.