How to remove bristles from newborns in a bath. We identify and remove stubble in newborns using folk remedies

A rare phenomenon that is observed in newborns and has almost no description in medical science. Many people have never even heard of this disease.

Those who have encountered it will be interested to know what a poker is in newborns, how to identify it and remove it.

Truth or Myth

In official medicine you will not find the symptoms that we describe below. Same as names "poker", "bristle" or "tickler"- this is how the disease is called only among the people. Doctors do not recognize this disease. His presence may be suspected either by grandmothers, who, in turn, were told about him by their grandmothers, or by healers, to whom parents turn, desperate to get help from doctors.

Poker is a condition when, after birth, for some reason, hair cannot grow through the skin. As a result, they bend and take on the shape of a poker - hence the name of the condition. This hair is very hard, so when the baby lies down, it digs into his delicate skin and causes pain.

According to representatives of the older generation, there are ways to get rid of this condition. Moreover, there is an opinion that the situation cannot be left to chance; parents must take action.

On forums you can often find alarmed comments from young women who succumbed to the entreaties of mothers, mothers-in-law, grandmothers, and healers to “remove the baby’s stubble” and watched in horror as, after the removal procedure, black, coarse hair was separated from the body of their son or daughter.

However, the more widespread popular opinion, which is also shared by doctors, is that the poker is nothing more than a myth.

How does poker appear in newborns?

There are practically no external manifestations of the poker. Its presence is mainly determined by the baby’s behavior. There is an opinion that it grows under the skin, and at the moment when it tries to grow out, it begins to cause severe discomfort to the baby - most likely, constant unpleasant tingling sensations.

The first sign that should alert you and gives reason to suspect that a ticklish person has developed is his restless behavior, especially in the evening and at night, as well as arching of his back when lying down.

The fact that the child is probably bothered by the poker is also indicated by restless sleep, twitching of the arms and legs during sleep, hysterics, and causeless whims.
Sometimes mothers may notice black spots on the baby's skin, which are also considered characteristic symptoms of poker.

Bristles can be observed in a baby from birth to.

Important! If something bothers you in your baby’s behavior or you suspect that he has some kind of problem with, you must first show him to the pediatrician. After all, the symptoms of bristles coincide with the symptoms of malfunctions or other diseases.

How to check

1. Bath the child in a very warm bath or in a bathhouse. It is necessary to ensure that the baby sweats well.
2. Lay the baby on his stomach and drop some on his back. Rub it on your back.

What to do

After it has been possible to diagnose a poker in newborns in a bath or bathhouse, traditional medicine suggests using a number of ways to remove it:

1. Prepare the dough- fresh, as for dumplings or noodles. It is good to warm up the baby's skin in the bath. Place the baby on his stomach. Roll a small lump of dough into a ball and roll it in a circular motion over the body. In this case, hairs will appear from under the skin and stick to the ball of dough. After the procedure, the baby needs to be given a good bath and the entire body lubricated with cream or baby cream.
2. Hair rolling out can be done using unleavened dough in combination with honey. The dough and honey must be mixed in a one to one ratio. Roll the prepared sticky mass into a ball and roll it over the baby’s body. The effect will be the same as in the previous method - the hair will first appear from under the skin and then stick to the dough. After a few procedures, you will be able to get rid of them completely.
3. Another recipe involves rolling out hair crumb of home-baked or freshly purchased bread. All movements to get rid of hair must be careful so as not to damage the delicate skin and not cause pain to the child.
4. In addition to fresh, it is also used batter - the kind that is prepared for pancakes. During the procedure, the baby's body is smeared with warm liquid dough and then wrapped. The child must be kept wrapped for 15 minutes. After this, you should unfold it - the hair along with the dough should remain on it.
5. In the same way as the previous one, the child is coated liquid honey and wrapped in a diaper. After keeping the baby in the diaper for 15 minutes, it is removed along with the remaining honey and hair.
6. A small amount is poured onto the toddler's back and covered with gauze. After 10 minutes, the gauze is removed. There should be hairs left on it. You can also add honey for better effectiveness.
7. The last way to get rid of the poker is to regularly smear the baby's body after bathing. baby cream or oil.

Procedures for getting rid of bristles must be repeated three to five times. Each time after the procedure, the child is given a good bath and lubricated with baby cream or oil.

Important! Be careful when removing the poker, because going to the bathhouse is contraindicated for children under five years of age. Also, not everyone can do honey wraps because of it. To avoid undesirable consequences, it is better to consult a pediatrician and undergo the necessary studies that will help determine the cause of the baby’s anxiety..

Today, traditional medicine does not recognize the existence of such a phenomenon as a poker. There are similar conditions associated with untimely rolling out of the first fluff on a child’s body. According to doctors, this problem can easily be solved with proper regular care for the baby.

Traditional medicine has a different explanation for the appearance of the disease, as well as ways to get rid of it. Healers say that it is imperative to treat a baby’s poker. To diagnose it, steaming in the bathroom is used. There are also a number of recommendations on how to remove a poker from a newborn in a bathhouse.

On forums for young parents you can come across such strange terms as “poker” and “tickler”. These are popular names for a condition in which stubble appears on the skin of newborns. Representatives of the older generation will not be surprised by this, but young people may not even believe that this is possible. This unique phenomenon is not even regarded by doctors as a disease and does not require treatment.

On the other hand, the symptoms characteristic of bristles in newborns are accompanied by the appearance of unpleasant sensations in the child, so every effort must be made to remove them and alleviate the condition of the little patient. Despite the fact that this disease rarely affects children, parents should know how to identify a “poker” and what to do in this case.

What is bristle in infants and how to identify it?

The skin of babies is covered with a thin and soft fluff, which gradually comes off and completely disappears a few weeks after birth. In some children, on certain parts of the body, in addition to such formations, you can find short, dark hairs, dense, like wires or the stubble of an adult man. It happens that they do not come out, remaining under the top layer of the child’s skin. The appearance of such stubble in a newborn causes maximum discomfort and requires immediate intervention.

Most often, tickler affects the back, but can also occur on the arms and legs (especially the hips). If there are no external manifestations of bristles in newborns, then final conclusions can be drawn using the following symptoms:

• The child’s behavior changes dramatically, he literally loses peace and constantly tosses and turns. It seems that the baby is trying to get into a more comfortable position.
• Most children experience shoulder movements as if they are trying to scratch themselves.
• Symptoms worsen when the child is placed on the problem area. For example, the baby calms down in his arms or on his stomach, and begins to be capricious when laid out on his back.

Tip: To make a final diagnosis yourself, you need to moisten the problem area of ​​the baby's skin with breast milk or lubricate it with a rich cream. In response to the impact, characteristic hairs will begin to appear.

• Some parents try to remove the newborn's stubble from under the epidermis using various folk remedies that are similar in effect to the use of peelings and scrubs. Then the coarse hairs become obvious.

Sometimes the bristles are very short or almost transparent, in which case they can only be identified by running your fingertips over the child's skin. Often the phenomenon is accompanied by the appearance of diaper rash. Most often, tickling appears at 2-3 months of life in children, but it can happen earlier.

Theoretical causes of the condition

Experts have not yet identified the factors that provoke the “poker”, but there are several guesses on this matter:

1. Some consider the formation of stubble in a newborn to be a consequence of the rolling off of dead skin cells of the epidermis, secretions of the sebaceous glands and remnants of vellus hair. This may indicate poor quality care for the baby. According to most pediatricians, tickler appears as a result of neglect of basic hygiene rules and is the most common dirt.
2. Others refer to such hairs as atavisms (residual formations inherited from distant ancestors).

Regardless of what caused the condition, formations can be removed from the surface of the skin of children using the most common hygiene procedures. During regular bathing of the child, problem areas should be gently rubbed with a soft mitten with a large amount of foam from baby shampoo.

How to get rid of the phenomenon using folk remedies?

In addition to regular skin cleansing, you can use one of the products that have been proven over the years to remove such unpleasant and annoying stubble from a newborn. Regardless of the approach chosen, the child’s skin must first be cleaned and thoroughly steamed. To do this, we bathe the baby and wrap him in a warm, wet towel for a few minutes.

• To remove bristles from a newborn's skin, you can use some natural sticky composition. The best results are obtained from a mixture of honey and flour, or bread crumbs soaked in water or milk. If you roll them over the problem area, the formations will easily come out of the steamed pores and stick to the lump.
• Sometimes, to remove lint, the baby's steamed skin is covered with dry gauze, which is left overnight. In the morning, we remove the material and wipe the baby’s tissues with a damp cotton swab.
• An equally pronounced result is obtained by wrapping it with bread crumbs, which are soaked in breast milk. It is applied to the problem area in children, covered with a diaper and the baby is immersed in a bath of warm water. After a few minutes, we remove the diaper, and the hairs should come out with it.
• You can try removing the tickler using a thick cream. Lightly warm up the selected product, apply a generous layer to the skin with bristles, cover with multi-layer gauze and leave overnight. In the morning we remove a kind of compress; it is usually used to remove stubble from newborns. After treatment, the baby’s skin should be wiped with a damp swab.

Sometimes parents go for more radical procedures, plucking or shaving their children’s hair. The first option, of course, is quite painful and carries the risk of developing inflammation. The second is not so aggressive; practice shows that if you shave off the hairs that gradually emerge from the follicles several times, the problem will quickly disappear.

Recommendations from experts on caring for a child with bristles

Despite the fact that the listed methods have been successfully used by adherents of traditional medicine for many years, doctors are quite skeptical about them. This is due to the high risk of irritation on the child’s skin and infection of exposed hair follicles. In addition, there is a possibility of developing an allergy to the components used in the future, because The child’s body begins to respond to irritants by producing antibodies.

Experts recommend not to interfere with natural processes and wait until the hairs fall out on their own.

At the same time, parents should only monitor the hygiene of their children and regularly lay them on their tummy. Bathing in a warm decoction of chamomile or string will relieve discomfort and itching. After water procedures, the baby’s skin should be treated with a cream that facilitates the removal of hairs. Particular attention should be paid to clothing - it should not be fleecy, otherwise the bristles will roll into dense lumps, causing discomfort to the baby.

Very often, children are born with unusual fur or light stubble. There is no medical diagnosis associated with this phenomenon.

It is believed that excess hair is a residual manifestation of atavism, because, as you know, people descended from primates, and this is quite normal.

Those who call themselves traditional healers have more frightening stories, either blaming their mother for the appearance of stubble, or a generational curse. So what exactly are bristles on a newborn? Does it need to be treated? And, if necessary, in what way.

What does the disease look like in newborns?

Such hairs, like, for example, the hair on the head, differ not only in the density of their structure, but also in color: some are thin and light, others are thick and dark.

Considering that a child is born with such a covering, it is believed that this phenomenon is normal.

And in fact, it happens that the fluff does not cause any inconvenience to the baby. However, things are more complicated when the hair is coarse in its natural structure and more like stubble, or the hairs are collected in pellets.

In this case, the baby may become capricious, his sleep is disturbed, and obvious irritation appears in the area of ​​the bristles.

The scientific basis for the manifestation of fuzz in infants is tied to the distant past of the emergence of humanity.

Much more interesting, although less plausible, are the folk versions, which many of the grandmothers we know can probably voice.

So, popular rumor says that babies whose mothers do not like cats and abused pork fat or other foods during pregnancy are covered with bristles. One can hardly believe all this.

Hair growth is more typical for the intrauterine development of a child; ideally, it disappears after 37 weeks of fetal development, but it happens that it persists in the postnatal period.

Fluff or stubble in a newborn is not a disease. It is unlikely that a pediatrician will give you such a diagnosis, much less prescribe treatment.

If the baby is not bothered by the light fluff on his back or shoulders, then mommy should not be upset either.

If you notice small pellets or dark spots on the child’s back, you still shouldn’t sound the alarm.

Carefully examine the baby's body and watch his behavior. If your baby lies restlessly on his back and often crawls as if trying to scratch himself, then you need to decide how you will deal with this unwanted hair in your baby.

In what ways can the disease be eliminated?

If you find bristles or pellets on your child’s back or shoulders and notice that they are causing discomfort to your child, then, of course, you should help him.

But first, it’s worth understanding the reason for the occurrence of pellets:

• bundles of hairs often form due to the fact that the fabric of vests and diapers contributes to this. If fabrics are prone to pilling, it is better to replace them with ones that are more resistant to this process;
• You should not buy your baby clothes made from non-natural, especially synthetic fabrics, as they are a strong irritant to the baby’s delicate skin;
• heat rash in a baby can also cause irritation from the bristles, do not overheat the baby;
• to relieve irritation and help a child get rid of stubble, you need to bathe him daily in a decoction of herbs (for example, chamomile) or using baby softening hygiene products that are suitable for his age;
• Using baby oil, milk or mother's breast milk, a light massage is performed at the site of the bristles.

All this will help you get rid of unwanted vegetation over time.

It should be noted that in the folk tradition there are several recipes for getting rid of bristles in a newborn: bread crumb; honey massage; straight dough.

Despite the possible effectiveness of these methods, they are all based on mechanical impact on the bristles.

The bread crumb and dough are rolled over the area where the hair grows, which sticks to the lumps and is pulled out. Honey envelops the hairs and allows you to pull them out with a massage.

But it is worth considering that in this way there is an absolute risk of only increasing irritation on the baby’s skin, causing him pain, and honey can even cause a strong allergic reaction.

And you shouldn’t pull out hairs with tweezers; the procedure is painful for an adult and severely injures the baby.

Additional information for parents

It must be remembered that fluff or bristles in newborns is a more than temporary phenomenon, which sometimes disappears after a week, and sometimes after a couple of months.

If this unusual covering does not cause problems for the child - irritation or itching, then there is no need to attempt treatment; your baby’s hair will fall out naturally.

If treatment is necessary, you should approach it wisely - do not rush to extremes and under no circumstances visit traditional healers and healers, who are unlikely to rid your baby of stubble, but can easily scare the child and harm him.

Vellus hair and stubble will disappear as a result of daily hygiene procedures and light massage effects.

mamavika.com

Bristles in newborns

One of the troubles that awaits a baby after birth is bristles in newborns. This phenomenon is not so rare and extremely unpleasant for a baby.

Symptoms of bristles

A child's skin is very delicate. When bathing and caring for the baby, the mother feels soft fluff that is completely invisible. But sometimes rather stiff hairs, very reminiscent of stubble, appear on the baby’s shoulders and back.

The bristles in newborns appear a few weeks after birth. And before it germinates, it is impossible to determine the presence of a problem.

While the hairs “sleep”, the child remains calm. And only after growth has intensified, the bristles begin to greatly disturb the baby. If you observe the baby, you will notice his unusual behavior:

• the child tries to scratch his back, fidgeting on the surface;
• redness can be seen on the back;
• The baby often worries and cries for no apparent reason.

Causes of newborn bristles

Why do some babies appear with bristles hidden under the skin? The reasons in each specific case are individual.

There is no need to worry about this, since such a phenomenon is not considered a disease or deviation. In addition, the child, other than temporary discomfort, does not face anything bad.

How to remove bristles?

Are there safe ways to remove stubble from a baby's back? Since doctors do not consider bristles to be a pathology, they have not developed any specialized methods for removing them.

The only available methods are the methods tested by our grandmothers. Doctors very often protest against the “folk” removal of bristles and advise you to leave everything as it is until the hairs fall out on their own.

If there are too many hairs and they cause severe anxiety to the baby, then you can use one of grandma’s techniques. This:

• steaming;
• rolling out;
• lubrication.

In order for hairs to be removed, their growth must be stimulated. After all, you need to start removing the bristles after they rise above the skin. A proven, and, most importantly, affordable method is to lubricate the baby’s skin with expressed breast milk. It has a stimulating effect on the hairs and very soon the prickly stumps will not only be visible, but also become noticeable to the touch.

It is at this moment that you can begin to remove the bristles. The hairs must first be softened by steaming the baby's skin. This way they will become soft and will not hurt the child.

Previously, the removal of bristles was done in baths, where the baby’s skin warmed up very well. But if this is not possible, then you can use a towel soaked in warm water. It is simply placed on the child’s back, periodically wetting it again in hot water. You should not steam your baby in the bath, as this may have a bad effect on his well-being.

After the baby's skin is prepared, you can begin the procedure itself. The most popular technique is to roll out the bristles using bread crumbs or tightly kneaded dough.

Using a small piece of product, the mother should treat a small area of ​​the back, simply rolling it over the prepared skin. The steamed hairs will stick to the surface of the dough and come out completely painlessly.

Since the bristles most often appear on the baby’s back, for the rolling out procedure the baby needs to be placed on the tummy. But if the procedure causes discomfort to the child, then it must be interrupted.

The next method is to use liquid dough. The dough is applied to the child's back in a fairly thick layer. Then cover with a cloth and wait for the dough to harden and become elastic. After this, the layer is removed, simultaneously removing all the hairs. But this method can cause irritation on the child’s skin.

Use of medicinal herbs

The growth of bristles may be accompanied by severe itching. Herbal baths will help to cope with such symptoms. Warm water, softening the hairs, alleviates the condition.

To prepare decoctions that will be added to bathing water, you can use the following herbs:

They have calming properties and eliminate discomfort. But the bathing procedure should not be lengthy. In addition, a decoction of herbs can cause an allergic reaction.

Another option for accelerating the removal and softening of bristles is the daily use of baby cream. The technique will be especially relevant if the hairs curl and roll into lumps. You need to remove them with your hands, because they prevent the baby from lying on his back.

During the period of problems with growing bristles, you should stop wearing undershirts made from fabrics with long pile. After all, they are the ones who largely contribute to the rolling of cones from the hairs.

If the mother does not decide to remove the bristles, then during the period of active growth it is necessary to lay the baby on the tummy as often as possible. In this position, he will rest from the debilitating itching and constant tingling. In addition, the baby will practice holding his head up.

Pediatricians are almost unanimous in their opinion that there is no need to remove the bristles. This period must be survived and the problem will be solved naturally. But the constant worry and crying of a child is a strong burden on the mother’s psyche. And many, nevertheless, decide to remove the bristles.

But in this case you will need to be very careful. Do not forget that the skin of babies is delicate and injury to the baby can be very easy. That is why special attention must be paid to the steaming procedure.

Hair removal can cause severe irritation on the skin. If personal hygiene rules are not followed during the rolling out procedure, an infection can occur. In the worst case, provoke inflammation of the hair follicle.

wunderkind.su

“Bristles” in a newborn: signs, causes and treatment methods

“Bristles” can appear in a newborn at one month of age, but is more often observed in children at 2–3 months. This process does not cause serious health problems, but can significantly worsen the overall well-being of the baby. Signs of “stubble” are often regarded by parents as other abnormalities in the health of the newborn. Therefore, it is important to understand what this phenomenon is and how to deal with it.

What is a “bristle” and what are its signs?

“Bristles” in newborns (“poker” in common parlance) are dark, stiff hairs on the skin. They appear most often on the back, but can be localized on the shoulders, buttocks or thighs. To the touch, they are defined as dense, prickly formations, reminiscent of adult stubble. When applying a rich cream or oil to a child's skin, the hairs become more noticeable. If they are light in color, they may not be immediately visible.

The appearance of “bristles” in a baby is accompanied by the following symptoms:

• anxiety;
• sleep disturbance;
• tearfulness;
• decreased appetite;
• redness and irritation of the skin in the area of ​​the “bristles”;
• arching the back backward;
• throwing back the head.

Causes of bristles in children

In modern medicine there is no diagnosis of “Bristles in a newborn.” But doctors have come to a consensus that the main reason for this process is the rolling of vellus hair (lanugo). They cover the skin of the fetus in utero and persist for some time after birth. As the child grows and his activity increases, physiological wiping of the lanugo occurs. If a newborn has few vellus hairs and they are almost invisible, then the risk of “stubble” appearance is very low.

If the child was born with a lot of long vellus hair, then this problem is most likely to arise. As the child moves, the lanugo rolls down and the hairs become entangled with each other. At the same time, they begin to pull the skin, and the baby experiences painful sensations, which is manifested by characteristic symptoms.

Treatment: how to remove “bristles” from a baby?

In medicine, there are no special methods for eliminating “bristles.” Medical personnel recommend not to interfere with the natural processes occurring in the newborn. It is believed that the “bristles” will roll out on their own over time. But what to do if this causes severe discomfort and pain to the child? First of all, it is necessary to provide high-quality daily skin care:

1. Bath in warm water with herbal decoctions. Chamomile, string, and sage are used for baths. They soften hard hair well, eliminate discomfort, and soothe irritated baby skin. Herbs must be used with extreme caution, as they can cause allergic reactions.
2. Moisturize and soften the skin with special baby oils, creams or milk.
3. If the “bristles” appear on the back, then you need to turn the baby onto his stomach more often to reduce friction. This will reduce discomfort in the child.
4. Choose clothes made from cotton fabric. Fleecy fabric contributes to greater formation of “pillings”.
5. In addition, if the process is pronounced, you can carefully cut off the “bristles” with scissors.

Traditional methods of removing bristles

There are several unconventional methods for removing “bristles” from a baby. But it is still not recommended to use them, as they cause unpleasant painful sensations in the newborn. The most common methods are:

1. Rolling out the “bristles” using bread crumb. For this, it is best to use freshly baked bread; it is more sticky. You need to form a roller from the soft bread part and roll out the hairs with it.
2. Removing the “bristles” with a test. A regular dough made from flour, chicken egg and water is suitable for this. Hairs are also removed using the rolling out method.
3. Removing bristles with honey. This technique must be used extremely carefully, since beekeeping products very often cause allergies in children. You should first do a skin test: place a drop of honey on your wrist and leave for a few minutes. Then rinse your hand and assess the condition of the skin on your wrist. If there is no redness in this area, then honey can be used. It is applied in a small amount to the area of ​​skin with “bristles”, covered with a clean gauze cloth and left for several minutes. After time has passed, the gauze is carefully removed. The removed hairs should remain on it.

When using these methods, you must follow some rules:

• Be sure to steam the newborn's skin. This can be done in a sauna or bath. But do not forget that thermoregulation in young children is not perfect, and the child can be overheated. Therefore, you do not need to steam for long until the skin acquires a uniform pink color.
• After the procedure, apply a softening baby cream to the skin.

You can use products with a calming and anti-inflammatory effect (for example, bepanthen or depanthenol).

“Bristles” in a newborn is an unpleasant phenomenon that causes discomfort. It is unacceptable to remove hairs with your hands or with tweezers - this can cause severe pain in the child, and is also dangerous due to infection and complications. All methods for removing “bristles” should be used only after examination by a pediatrician.

Svetlana Dergacheva, pediatrician-neonatologist, especially for the website Mirmam.pro

mirmam.pro

Stubble in newborns

It’s simply incredible what miracles happen in the world! I specifically conducted a survey among my friends and relatives who have more than one child and grandchild: have they heard anything about stubble in babies? And everyone was surprised by the question. No, none of them had heard of this. However, this problem is being discussed very actively on the Internet. Many mothers, fathers and grandmothers are surprised by the opposite: how could you not have heard that everyone has known for many centuries?!

So what is this stubble in newborns? Does it happen, how to recognize it and is it necessary to take any action if it is detected in a baby? Let's try to look for answers to these questions.

What does stubble look like in newborns?

Let's say right away that in pediatrics there is no such thing as stubble in newborns. Doctors do not identify either a diagnosis or a similar condition. The same cannot be said about the omniscient people. This phenomenon is called differently among the masses. The most common, besides the stubble itself, is the “poker”. It sounds gloomy, but it doesn’t look any better: dark, wire-like hairs emerge through the child’s skin. They are quite short and hard, similar in appearance and tactile sensations to male stubble, which is why they got their name.

Stubble can be located all over the child's body. Most often found on the back, arms, legs. But it is impossible to notice it with the naked eye.

How to detect stubble?

There are several ways to detect stubble in a newborn baby, but not everyone takes it out of nothing to do. As a rule, they begin to look for stubble if the baby shows increased anxiety: he often cries and is capricious, and the crying intensifies at night, when the child is placed on his back or, if stubble grows on the hips and sides of the arms, on the side.

It is believed that hard hair brings great discomfort to the baby: it pricks and causes pain. As a rule, stubble annoys babies around 2-3 months, although it is often discovered and removed much earlier. To do this, the baby's skin is moistened with breast milk, rich cream (or cosmetic oil) and rubbed intensively. If there is stubble, it will immediately come to the surface.

People cannot really explain the reason for the appearance of such an unpleasant phenomenon, although there are quite “fun” versions of the formation of the “poker”. They say that stubble appears in children whose mothers do not like cats, ate a lot of seeds or lard with skin during pregnancy, and so on in the same spirit. It is absolutely known that not every baby develops stubble.

How to remove stubble from a baby?

Since stubble causes suffering to a newborn, it should be gotten rid of as soon as possible, the grannies assure. To do this, the baby's skin must first be steamed. This can be done in a bath of hot water, but best of all - in a bathhouse. An easier and simpler way is to cover the baby’s back with a terry towel soaked in hot water and leave it for a while. Then the bristles are rolled out. Some people knead regular yeast dough using breast milk, some add honey to it, some simply mix flour with honey or with some water - there are a lot of recipes. But it is quite possible to get by only with mother’s milk, or soaked bread crumb, or heated cow’s milk with yeast diluted in it. The mixture chosen for the procedure is rolled over the child’s skin: the bristles stick to it and painlessly leave the skin (they do not have bulbs and are close to the surface, so they easily come out).

In addition to rolling out, you can also make a compress: lubricate the steamed skin with a rich cream and wrap it in dry, clean gauze overnight. In the morning, remove it and wipe your skin with damp cotton wool.

Another way is wrapping: apply bread soaked in breast milk to the skin, wrap the body in a diaper and place the baby in a bath with warm water. After bathing, remove the diaper and remove the crumb. The procedure should be repeated several times until the stubble completely disappears.

Many mothers pluck out stubble with tweezers or even with their hands. But this method seems too barbaric. However, not all parents, and especially doctors, consider removing stubble from a child to be generally acceptable and reasonable. They are convinced: this is nothing more than a figment of the imagination of our ancestors. There is no need to look for mythical stubble on a child, much less remove it by mocking the child.

Stubble in newborns: fiction or reality?

There is considerable disagreement on this matter. The forums are simply bombarded with revelations from parents like: “I didn’t believe it until I saw it with my own eyes. I'm shocked" and so on. Here everyone is free to believe what they want and do what they think is right. But the position of pediatricians is this: there is no stubble in children. The imaginary “poker” is the remains of vellus hair, dead epidermal cells and secretions of the sebaceous glands, which roll into dense formations resembling that very stubble. By the way, many parents confirm this theory: upon closer and more detailed study of the “stubble”, it turned out to be rolls of body hair. By twisting into dense rods (either independently or with our help, if we intensively rub the skin), the hairs become stretched, causing pain and discomfort in the child. This can actually happen, but without outside intervention the formation of pellets is quite rare. Moreover, with proper daily toileting (including bathing and treating the skin with baby cream or oil), these pellets either do not form at all or disappear in a timely manner.

On the other hand, such “stubble” is visible without any additional manipulation. But the real “poker” only appears when rubbed with breast milk or bread crumbs; knowledgeable people do not calm down. Moreover, they argue, after removing this “hidden” stubble, children calm down, begin to sleep for a long time at night and stop crying for no reason - isn’t this the most important and important thing?

It’s hard to disagree with the latter: the main thing is that the child feels good. Therefore, if nothing bothers him, then don’t look for anything. Leave the baby alone. Otherwise, you have the right to act as your intuition or reason tells you. Some treat colic, others remove stubble, others carry in their arms, kiss, stroke, talk. By the way, you definitely can’t go wrong with the latter...

Be happy!

Especially for malutka.net Elena Kichak

Stubble in a newborn baby is a diagnosis unprecedented for pediatricians and real discomfort for the baby.

Coarse dark short hairs that can grow on any part of the baby’s skin, but are more often found on the back or limbs - these are bristles, since they resemble male stubble. In folk medicine, this disease is called “poker”. So how to identify bristles in newborns?

Identifying bristles in a child

It is quite difficult to identify bristles by eye, so the first reason to start looking for hairs is, at first glance, unreasonable, the baby’s anxiety, frequent crying and whims when lying on his back. This occurs due to the pain and discomfort caused by the bristles.

The disease is not typical for all babies, and if present, it is most often detected before the age of three months. The reason for the appearance of such hair is not known.

Traditional methods of treatment

The child is capricious, fidgets at night. He only falls asleep in his arms. All these are signs of a “poker”. The baby has bristles growing on his back under the skin, which are very prickly. Now it’s clear why the child is capricious. Having discovered these small hairs on the child’s body, measures should be taken to remove them to calm the baby as quickly as possible. How to defeat this disease?

Many mothers, having discovered hairs, try to pluck them out with tweezers, thereby causing pain to their little child. This should not be done under any circumstances, since it is unlikely that you will be able to pluck out all the hairs, but it will cause discomfort to the baby.

Traditional medicine in this case does not offer any treatment methods, so you should resort to traditional medicine methods:

Doctors say that if you follow morning and evening water procedures and bathing, as well as regularly lubricating the child’s skin with creams and oils, such hairs will not appear, but as practice shows, proper care is not one hundred percent insurance against stubble.