Rash behind knee - any advice?

[Anonymous]

My LO has a rash behind one knee. I think it’s just heat rash from some clothes - his grandmother put him in a fleece onesie the other week when it was 75 degrees and he got a little rash. Everything but the spot behind his knee cleared up. It doesn’t seem to be bothering him much and we’ve mostly been trying to not put pants on him. The colder weather is making no pants harder, so I was wondering if anyone had tips for clearing it up.

[Anonymous]

Ugh, we are having the same issue. This always happens to my daughter in the winter time. My approach is generally to treat any dry or itchy skin with Aquafor, and then to go pants-less in the evening and overnight. We just put an extra blanket on her bed so that she has warmth if she needs it. But the combo of the Aquafor and exposure helps to at least keep it in check.

It also helps to dress her in natural fibers when possible, and to make sure they are wearing looser pants and not skin tight things.

Even with all this, though, we still deal with these rashes all winter. Our pediatrician has said it's just how it is with some kids -- sensitive skin. Ours also had eczema as a baby although we are very fortunate that it seems to have cleared up on its own with a little more vigilance around post-bath moisturizing. But we assume we'll be dealing with skin issues for a long time as our child is just prone to them (and I was, too, as a child).

[Anonymous]

Thank you! I have pretty sensitive skin, so I’m assuming this is just something we’ll have to deal with. I’ll try aquaphor, too.

Have you ever tried cortizone? I’m hesitant to use it if he’s not itchy, but the pediatrician recommended it for a previous rash on his leg.

[Anonymous]

Vaseline and use cotton cloth only.

Use hydrocortisone only if it is angry red, persistent, and/or very itchy. You want to avoid broken skin and infection.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you! I have pretty sensitive skin, so I’m assuming this is just something we’ll have to deal with. I’ll try aquaphor, too.

Have you ever tried cortizone? I’m hesitant to use it if he’s not itchy, but the pediatrician recommended it for a previous rash on his leg.

Yes, we actually got a prescription from the pediatrician for something much stronger than what you can get OTC. It's hugely helpful! I save it for things that are causing discomfort though, because I am trying to teach myself not to fuss over ever little skin issue or I'd drive myself crazy. So if she complains about a rash or I notice that she is scratching at it, I'll do a little cortisone a couple times a day until it goes away.

[Anonymous]

Might be fungal. Maybe a little athlete's foot cream?

[Anonymous]

Thanks guys!

[Anonymous]

How old is he? Was this his first time wearing fleece?

My DC gets a similar rash after wearing fleece pajamas. We finally figured out that he's allergic to the flame retardant that is required to be put on fleece (polyester) pajamas. So cotton only for him, even though it's not as warm.

[Anonymous]

My two year old is also prone to these rashes. I have crap skin so sadly think he hit it from me. Aquaphor first, hydrocortisone second, pediatrician video call if it isn’t cleared up by then (once he needed antibiotics).

[Anonymous]

Try Aveeno oatmeal bath to soothe the itching and inflammation, then aquaphor as others have said. Cortisone if those don’t help alone.

My daughter has always been a rashy kind of kid, and the oatmeal bath was a lifesaver for those unidentified, not-eczema sorts of skin irritations. Helps with mild eczema, too, especially that itchy back-of-the-legs kind she always got in the summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Try Aveeno oatmeal bath to soothe the itching and inflammation, then aquaphor as others have said. Cortisone if those don’t help alone.

My daughter has always been a rashy kind of kid, and the oatmeal bath was a lifesaver for those unidentified, not-eczema sorts of skin irritations. Helps with mild eczema, too, especially that itchy back-of-the-legs kind she always got in the summer.

Not OP, but thank you for reminding me of the Aveeno oatmeal bath! I'm one of the PPs whose kid is very prone to these kinds of not-quite-eczma level irritations (hello, yes, we are a family of pale redheads!) and I had totally forgotten about this product until you mentioned it. Such a life saver when the weather is like that and my kid always has something weird happening on her skin.

[Anonymous]

OP again! Thanks for all the recommendations!

The fleece allergy is nteresting. He's 11 months and has rarely had rashes like this - a couple diaper rashes and some irritated skin from grass, but nothing like this. It's sort of raised and red, but not dry like eczema - kinda looks like mild poison oak.

For the aquaphor - did you guys mean the diaper rash treatment? Or the regular aquaphor? One had zinc (that's what I bought), and one had something else. Zinc seemed like what I was looking for, but obviously I'm new to baby skin rashes.

[Anonymous]

I would use regular aquaphor but I don't think the zinc would hurt anything.

FWIW I have very sensitive skin and the fleece jammies look like a horror show to me. I actually think my baby would be fine in them because she has her dad's skin but I would never, personally. So I just use cotton jammies and a warm sleep sack. If your guy has sensitive skin I would definitely try to stick to cotton as the first layer at least overnight.