Balachandran Parapattu Kunjukunju1, Rakhe Jayamohanan2
BACKGROUND
The objective of this study was to find out physiological skin changes in newborns during the first 3 days of life.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Around 1000 neonates were studied during the first three days at Government T D Medical College, Alappuzha, Kerala for a period of one year from January 2013 to December 2013.
RESULTS
Physiological skin changes seen were the commonest neonatal dermatoses, followed by transient non-infective cutaneous changes. Mongolian spot and Epstein pearl were the commonest among the physiological skin changes followed by sebaceous gland hyperplasia, physiological scaling, vernix caseosa, and sucking pads. The commonest transient non-infective cutaneous changes were erythema toxicum neonatorum, milia, transient pustular melanosis, neonatal cephalic pustulosis, eosinophilic pustulosis and infantile acropustulosis.
CONCLUSION
The common cutaneous change among neonates are mainly physiological and they are transient, self-limiting.
