I have never heard this term before.  There are several newborn baby rashes.
one is erythema toxicum.  This one is described as a yellow papule
surrounded by a ring of erythema(redness), what Barbara Letts is describing.
They can be grouped into clusters or single.  When these papules are
scraped, put on a slide and Wright stained, eosinophils (a type of white
cell associated with allergy) is found.  No one knows why these occur, so
there are multiple explanations for them.  Another rash of the newborn is
neonatal pustular melanosis.  This one occurs in 3 stages.  Some or all of
the stages occur in utero, whereas with erythema toxicum this almost always
occurs 2-3 days after birth.  The 3 stages of erythema toxicum are: the
pimple, the collarette of scale ( the pustule of the pimple has broken off
and the edges of it remain), and the freckle (the base of the collarette has
pigmented).  The freckles last about 2-3 months and then fade away.  We also
don't know why babies get this rash.  It most commonly occurs over the chin
and under the chin on the neck, and over the sacrum.  The last of the common
baby rashes is neonatal acne, which is secondary to abrupt withdrawal from
maternal estrogen.  This looks like pimples and inflamed papules, and occurs
mainly over the forehead and cheeks, altho I have seen severe cases in which
the baby has it over the shoulders and chest and back as well.  Terry.


Terry Lynn Dise, MD
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