in My baby's plate (BLW meals and ideas)

Inflamed cheeks - what might help?

Hello all, We started our BLW journey about a week ago and my LB loves his food. Already chowing down 3 meals a day, eating everything we put in front of him. His favourites are avocado and broccoli! Problem is, he's a messy eater with sensitive skin. His cheeks are very inflamed. I imagine it's because his face gets covered in whatever he's eating, and he won't let us wash it away until all the foods gone 😅 it looks a bit like nappy rash, or the rash they get between skin folds. Am I right in my assumption? And how do I help him? Do I use a barrier cream on his face? Thanks in advance!

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Same issue here! Following for tips...

Does it go away after eating and face cleaned? Or stays and gets inflamed more when eating?

It stays after eating. But gets less red. It's the least inflamed first thing in the morning. It really seems to be due to the fluid or moisture. Separately he did have a reaction to aubergine, which went away completely after about an hour. So I don't think the prolonged reaction is due to the food he's ingesting. But more of a contract irritation. What do you think?

I’m thinking maybe eczema? Or allergy to something My LO has CMPA but got really bad eczema on her face (had it from a few weeks old) and when she drank formula it would get redder. But, aside from that as she suffers with it anyway the cold outside then going into warm houses/nursery/shops etc also triggers a flare up x

Are the cheeks just really red? Not teething flush?

Hey mama. I would put aquaphor on his face before he eats and keep wiping his face while he is eating with a gentle fragrance free water wipe or cotton wool - we’re in the same boat and this seems to have helped xxx

^ +1 to the Vaseline/Aquaphor as barrier prior to serving food! Also that’s so great your LO’s so into food! (My husband’s and my favorite activity these days is watching our 9mo dig into his meals and be completely absorbed!) my baby’s also dealt with eczema on his cheeks mostly from drool ever since he started teething. We were applying Aquaphor for months, but we’ve found the Aveeno eczema therapy nighttime ointment on his face absorbs into his skin better and calms the inflammation as well as protects against irritation from contact with food: https://a.co/d/8a9c1Ws

Hopefully it’s available in the UK or something similar with colloidal oatmeal might work well too! It might take some trial and error to find what works best for your baby. Our pediatrician and allergist also prescribed a 2.5% hydrocortisone 2x/day for a 2 week period (or less if it kicks in sooner) to bring down bad flare-up’s, but we haven’t had to apply it to his face yet since switching to the Aveeno!

We use the aveeno baby dermexa can buy in Tesco or Amazon (I found the night cream better than day - it was thicker) or child’s farm have a derma range too I recommend both x

Thanks all!!

Can’t you just wipe his face with a wash cloth every so often while he’s eating? lol I would just do that. It might not have anything to do with the food and more with the dryness of your home now that it’s winter and the heat is on. But if it started shortly after introducing solids then it could be the food. I would just put Vaseline on it.