Within a month or so of being born, babies respond to the facial expressions of the mothers and without thinking about it, the mum starts doing it back! Well, motherhood knows that there is nothing precious as the time spent with her little child after completing all her household works.
Mother Talking To Child
The little smiles,their twinkling eyes,little hands and feets, their meaningless cries and demands occupies the biggest room in our heart!
There is nothing soft and delicate as a baby’s skin. But most of the babies come over some common skin problems. My little cousin got some white spots on his face after two to three months of birth. Her mom get scary and relatives scared her more by asking if this is because genetic factors as his grandma was having vitiligo!
Pityriasis Alba
After having no idea, she went to a nearby pediatrician and she told that this is not at all a thing to be scared about. She pictured the case sheet and sent to me and it was written as “Pityriasis Alba”.
I am a medical student and I go on to discuss about this with my professors and they told me that it is a harmless condition and their causes is not clear. But it is very common to appear after sun exposure.
Well,there is nothing called a problem when we have solution for it! Babies develop a myriad of skin conditions during the first few months of life. They include dry skin, cradle cap, erythema, milia, infantile acne. They can be caused by normal hormonal changes, infection, inflammation and even vitamin deficiencies and immature pores.
Parenthood is a really challenging period but easier with few information and trustworthy advice. And now here I am with a few little information about Pityriasis Alba and home remedies on how to treat it!
Let’s dive straight into the topic.
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1. What Is Pityriasis Alba?
Pityriasis Alba
It is a benign skin condition which is common in children and young adults. It causes multiple round lighter patches on the skin of face. This can lasts for some weeks to year and it is more visible in the summer where the surrounding skin looks more tanner than the affected area. This occurs in a majority of children aged from 3 to 16.
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2. Symptoms
Kids will have whitish round or oval, Irregular shaped patches on the face.They are usually not moist but dry.
They most commonly appears in face but also extends to
Upper arms
Neck
Chest
Back
These patches usually clear up by themselves within months but can take years in some children. They are more visible in sun exposure since the skin gets tan but pityriasis spots dont get tanned.
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3. What Causes Pityriasis Alba?
Sun Exposure
Research has went that streptococcus, staphylococcus aureus or nutritional deficiencies, parasitic infections causes this condition. But no! There were not the reasons behind this common skin condition. There are caused mostlyam after sun exposure.
Iron and copper deficiency has been described in patients with PA. Since, copper is a cofactor for tyrosinase, an enzyme required for the production of melanin, copper deficiency may play a role in the pathogenesis of Pityriasis Alba.
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4. Treatment
Treatment
Emollients and mild topical steroids may be useful in reducing the subclinical inflammation and in accelerating repigmentation that could last for months or even years.
Although Pityriasis Alba is a well known disorder for many years, it’s pathogenesis is not yet clear. The relationship between possible pathogenic role of iron copper deficiencies should be further evaluated.
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Home Remedies For Treating Pityriasis Alba
- Always keep a broad spectrum sunscreen in your bag-
Broad spectrum spf refers to the sunscreen which protects the skin from both UVA and UVB rays. even with high spf if your sunscreen isn’t broad spectrum your skin won’t be protected from the harmful UV rays. They are used to prevent the skin from excess sunburn. Always do your own research on the list of “harmful chemicals to be avoided in personal care products” and check out the sunscreen which avoids the harmful chemicals. - An antifungal agent may help- Neem oil is a good antifungal and antibacterial agent that works against fungus-caused white spots. Just try to apply neem oil on the white patches.It will reduce the infection and treat the discoloration on regular usage.
- Eat a healthy diet!– A healthy diet is always the best solution for vitamin deficiencies. Since researchers have mentioned that it have been caused by iron and copper deficiencies, eat more nuts and seeds, spinach, pumpkin seeds, apricots and raisins.
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When A Doctor Should Be Consulted?
Itching
- Pityriasis Alba is a condition which can cure on its own.But,it’s important to consult a pediatrician if your child develops
- Itching on the affected area,
- Reddish colouration of the spots,
- Fever,
- Headache, cold, runny nose.
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Reference Links
- https://www.google.com/amp/s/thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2011/08/08/what-are-these-dry-white-spots-on-my-childs-face/amp/
- https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dermatitis-eczema/expert-answers/white-patch-on-skin/faq-20058027
- http://biblioteca.asmn.re.it/pubblicazioni/Pediatric%20Healt%202009%203(1)75%209.pdf
- https://www.aocd.org/page/PityriasisAlba?
- https://www.skinvision.com/library/how-to-get-rid-of-white-spots-on-skin/