Acne is a condition that the majority of teenagers have to contend with at some time or another. For some it's just the occasional zit. For others, it's an ongoing battle against seemingly irrepressible outbreaks of pimples. The acne period for most people is between the ages of 12 and 22, but for some, the fight begins much earlier. These are children who suffer with childhood acne.
Childhood acne usually takes one of three forms: neonatal acne, infantile acne, of early onset acne vulgaris.
Neonatal acne is a fairly common condition that affects about 20% of newborn babies. For the most part, it appears in as open or closed comedones (acne lesions), otherwise known as blackheads and whiteheads. Sometimes papules or pustules appear as well. These are the red, raised lesions, with or with out a pus-filled head. The cause is related to in utero hormones that over stimulate the baby's sebaceous glands, which leads to the child breaking out with acne. These hormones migrate through the placenta, and after the baby is born, cause pimples on his or her face. Understandably this can cause a fair amount of consternation for the parents of these babies, who aren't expecting a newborn with a teen's skin problems.
