How To Fix Drool Rash

Baby teething can be a difficult stage to get through for both babies and their caregivers.

Common signs of teething include a sore and uncomfortable mouth, as well as the need to chew on anything and everything in sight. It's not uncommon for the body to react by producing a teething rash.

For new parents, teething rashes may be cause for concern. It can be scary to see your child with rashes on their face and body. Rashes can be a response to many factors, making it tricky to trace their cause. One good example of the causes is anxiety, which is considered a mental health issue. Teething may not even be the source of your baby's rashes. Either way, identifying the potential roots of the rash will be important in treating it. By understanding the cause, you'll be more likely to provide them with some relief.

This guide is meant to be a source to understand what is teething rash and to familiarize parents on how to help treat and prevent the rash that's possibly caused by the teething process.

Teething Rash - Definition, Symptoms and Treatment

Learn to Recognize These Odd Teething Signs
The Relationship Between Teething and Rashes
Helping Your Baby by Naturally Treating and Preventing Teething Rash
Keeping Your Baby Comfortable During Teething

Learn to Recognize These Odd Teething Signs

Teething fever

It's not uncommon for babies to get a low-grade fever during teething. Teething fever can be due to a number of causes. The body's temperature naturally increases during teething, but not as high as normal fever levels. If your baby's temperature is above 101.9F, then it may be unrelated to the teething and they may be sick.

Inflammation of the gum can also cause your baby's body temperature to elevate. The excessive production of drool during this period can also cause less watery diarrhea. If your infant has these symptoms, you may be able to attribute the raised body temperature to teething. If there are other issues that you've found aren't related to teething, make an appointment with your doctor. You baby's rashes could be due to sickness.

Diaper rashes

The excess saliva produced by your baby can cause a less watery version of diarrhea. The drool can cause your infant's poop to increase in acidity, which can irritate the bum, causing diaper rashes.

Difficulty sleeping

You and your baby will both have trouble sleeping. The teething pain along with your baby's irritated skin will cause them to be fussier than usual. Bottle feeding can be a pain as well. During this time it's your job to physically comfort your baby. This will help the mental health of your child and help to put them at ease.

Additional Teething Symptoms Resources

Learn more about the common teething symptoms from George Krucik, MD
Find out more about the weird teething symptoms by Jennifer Benjamin
7 Signs Your Baby is Teething by Mama Natural

Teething baby

The Relationship Between Teething and Rashes

What is a teething rash? Medical professionals refer to a teething rash as something broader and encompassing- a drool rash. Some babies will produce more drool than others during the teething stage. However, some babies may just make more saliva in general. In either of these cases, a digestive enzyme found in saliva can cause irritating rashes to occur on the face and different parts of the body, especially the neck and chest areas.

Physical characteristics of the irritated skin may be determined by their location on the body. These bright red, textured splotches and bumps on your baby's neck may look like an infection, while on the neck area may visually look like eczema. A rash from teething might even cause your baby's skin in these locations to have a foul smell to it, sometimes described as vinegary or just sort of "off".

Additional Teething and Rash Resources

More on the relationship between teething and diaper rashes by Laura Marusinec, MD
More on drooling and teething rashes from What to Expect
Treating and Preventing Drool Rash in Babies by Enozia Vakil

teething signs

Helping Your Baby by Naturally Treating and Preventing Teething Rash

There are several actions you can take to help your baby's skin heal from their teething rashes.

Keeping a bib on your baby, or close by, can help to prevent drool from getting on their neck and chest. Use the bib to wipe away excess drool and help keep them dry. Wiping their neck and face can seem difficult to keep up with, especially if there is a constant supply of saliva. A bib will make this easier when a towel isn't readily available.

Finding a suitable rash cream for your baby's skin can really make a difference in clearing up their rashes. Lanolin cream will act as a prevention measure creating a natural barrier between the saliva and your baby's skin. Waxelene works for both teething rashes, diaper rashes and general dry skin. This is a natural cream which can help to soothe your infant's skin. Petroleum jelly can work as a great alternative to waxelene and you'll probably have it on hand already too.

Skin balms act as a diaper rash cream for teething babies. This can protect your child's skin from another rash flare up. Look for balms which have antibacterial and antifungal ingredients, such as shea butter and essential oils.

Luckily, once you begin treating baby teething rash, you'll likely see a noticeable improvement. Teething rashes don't stay around for long and it's nice to know that it is a pretty manageable side effect of teething.

Teething Remedies for a Baby Having Skin Rash with Teething

Wash your baby's irritated skin twice daily with warm water. Gently pat dry to avoid further irritation. Do not rub.
Ensuring your baby's skin is completely dry, apply a thin coat of a body rash ointment that is intended to help the skin. A thin coat of petroleum jelly will work well to create a barrier on your baby's skin.
Offer your baby teething toys such as teething rings, or something cold to relieve gum discomfort.
Reapply ointment if the barrier thins out before the next application. Always make sure there is a barrier of protection on the skin. This helps to protect the skin from further irritation and helps to soothe and diminish the current rash.

Additional Natural Treatment and Prevention for Teething Rash Resources

Easy ways to manage teething rashes by Natalia Guilmino
More natural remedies for drool rash from Tandurust
How to Treat a Baby Teething Rash by Intelligent Dental

baby with dad

Keeping Your Baby Comfortable During Teething

If your child is going through the painful teeth stage, a teething rash is just one of the many things they have to deal with when it comes to teething. Do your best to keep your baby as comfortable as possible.

Try to keep your baby dry. Keep fresh clothes on hand. Letting extra outfits sit out can help to keep excessive wetness from sitting too long and pooling on your baby's skin. This will help to prevent future teething rashes. When using bibs, be sure to change them once they are too damp. And laying a dry towel or cloth under the sheet where your baby sleeps can help keep those skin irritants off of their skin. Giving your baby something cold to gum on, such as a refrigerated teething ring will help to soothe the gums and the facial rash.

If you found this teething rash guide helpful, let us know in the comments. Which tips are you using?