As a parent, it will be your job to look out for their health and ensure they develop healthily. You should look out for certain skin conditions that could be cause for concern but know that most of the time, skin conditions will pass naturally.
It is likely that at some point, your child will go through some form of acne. They may go through prepubertal acne. It can be broken down further into different categories: neonatal acne, infantile acne, mid-childhood acne, and preadolescent acne. Different types of acne could leave scars, with others going away in their own time. You should visit a doctor or dermatologist for more specific information when acne comes into play.
With that in mind, we have put together a shortlist of some skin conditions you should look out for and how you can handle them. Let’s get started.
Psoriasis
Psoriasis is a chronic skin condition that can appear in children and adults but can appear different in each individual. The most typical appearance of psoriasis is that it will look red, scaly, and quite thick in general. The scaly aspect is also known as plaque and can vary in size and scale from individual to individual. For example, the plaques may be spread across the whole body for one person, and another may have it concentrated in one spot.
It is important to know that there are different types of psoriasis that can occur in children, such as flexural psoriasis and nail psoriasis. You should be aware that psoriasis is a long-term skin condition, but treatment options are available. For example, you can use ointments or creams to help clear up plaques of psoriasis. Alternatively, your child’s doctor may recommend you go for some special light therapy and prescribe more powerful medication to help treat more intense cases.
Chickenpox
One of the more common skin conditions that will afflict most children is chickenpox. While you can get chickenpox at any age, it is more common in children. You will be able to tell if your child has chickenpox if you notice spotty rashes that are itchy for them. They will be located anywhere on the body and are known to appear in three different stages. You should note that new spots can pop up while others are scabbing over.
The first stage will be seeing small sports appear. They could be anywhere, including inside the mouth, which is less than ideal. To begin with, they may stay in a small area before spreading out across the body. The colour of these sports will be red or pink but will also depend on your skin tone.
The second stage will see the spots become blisters. This happens after the spots start to fill with fluid and could become itchier before bursting. The last stage of chickenpox will see the blisters turn into scabs. They could vary in shape and size, with some leaking fluid.
There may be other symptoms of chickenpox aside from the spots, such as spotting a high temperature or noticing a loss of appetite. Most of the time, chickenpox will start to go away after a couple of weeks without needing to visit a GP. However, you should visit a GP with your child if the symptoms still persist after this time or if there is more general discomfort.
