Does Your Baby Have A Rash? How To Know When You Should Take Them To A Doctor

There are several reasons why your baby may come out in a rash.

Paediatrician Dr Keir Shiels explains these rashes will fall into one of two categories: Non-blanching and blanching rashes.

A blanching rash disappears when you press it with a glass. A non-blanching rash will not disappear when you press it.

“If your baby has a rash somewhere on the body and when you roll a glass over it, it’s still there, you need to see your doctor,” Shiels explained.

“You may also see a baby gets small spots on their cheeks when coughing a lot, due to small blood vessels bursting. These won’t disappear with a glass either. It’s best to still go and see a doctor, as it’s important to rule out more serious causes like sepsis.”

Blanching rashes could be a response to a viral infection because, unlike adults, babies can get rashes due to coughs and colds. These will usually disappear when your baby is feeling better.

Dr Shiels said when deciding whether to contact a doctor urgently, always bear in mind not just what the rash looks like, but how your baby is acting too. Watch the five-minute video above to find out more.

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‘Baby 101’ is HuffPost UK’s parenting video series with paediatrician, Dr Keir Shiels, addressing topics mums and dads may face in their first year of being a parent. From colic to trapped wind, crying babies and their nappy contents, he answers some of the most common questions new parents have.

Before You Go

Yes, You CAN Make A Family Walk Fun

Don't say 'who wants to go for a walk?'(01 of08)

Reframe a walk so it's enticing and exciting using words like explore, play, adventure.Who wants to climb a castle or who wants to find some treasure or skim stones? (credit:Alexander Nicholson via Getty Images)

Don't plod in a straight line - and back again.(02 of08)

Choose a wiggly walk and terrain made for adventuring. "It's all about keeping children's minds off putting one foot in front of another," says Clare Lewis. (credit:Stephen Lux via Getty Images)

Always have an appealing destination - and make pit-stops along the way.(03 of08)

It could be a café with their favourite hot chocolate or their 'secret' place like a climbing tree. Make regular stops to admire natural curiosities, make a den, whittle a stick or play in water or whatever you fancy. Encourage your kids to take photos. Clare Lewis's family always take 'scroggin'; a New Zealand name for a hikers' mix of nuts and seeds, dried fruit and chocolate to keep energy levels up. (credit:ArtMarie via Getty Images)

Join forces with another family or get the kids to bring their friends.(04 of08)

Children love the sociability of a walk and bringing friends increases their activity as they challenge each other to jump the highest or widest, splash in puddles, climb trees or find the best stick. (credit:Alistair Berg via Getty Images)

Walk together in a chatty clod, not a single line with you barking 'come on, keep up'(05 of08)

There may be times you have to walk in a line, but take turns with who's the leader. Also, let your children choose the route (within reason!). (credit:Bounce via Getty Images)

Play games as you go.(06 of08)

Hide-and-seek, capture the flag or ambushes - sending kids on ahead so they can jump out on you - are all favourites. Bring a ball or a Frisbee to play with too. (credit:JLPH via Getty Images)

Turn your walk into a treasure hunt. Or an obstacle course.(07 of08)

Children love places to clamber over like a rocky beach or challenges like climbing trees or jumping over streams. Challenge children to touch that tree and run back, hopscotch between the pavement cracks or run along the low wall. "You could go on a shape walk, finding stones, shells and leaves that are all the same shape," suggests Clare Lewis, co-author of Adventure Walks for Families in and Around London. (credit:Imgorthand via Getty Images)

End on a high.(08 of08)

Match a walk to your kids' ages. You don't want want to leave them exhausted. Talk up what fun you had, so next time you suggest an adventure walk they leap at the chance. (credit:ArtMarie via Getty Images)