User:Dnguyen15/Sucking blister

Sign and Symptoms
Sucking blisters are a cutaneous condition on newborns that is present on their extremities at birth. It is due to natural neonatal sucking reflexes on the affected areas in utero. It has been commonly been found on the newborn's arms, fingers, or any body part they are able to suck on. It is a very rare condition and is difficult to diagnose because its appearance can be mistaken as other skin conditions. Diagnosis is usually done by eliminating other possible cutaneous conditions. This process of elimination includes examining blood culture, lesions, and inflammatory markers. This skin condition is usually benign, non-serious and self-inflicted by the baby. Sucking blisters do not require medical treatment and can heal on their own within a week.

Fetus robustly sucking on areas such as forearm, fingers and hands while in utero cause a blister on those affected areas presenting at birth. . The blisters are commonly happened on one side of the involved area but in some cases, they are on both extremities. However, there is no difference on the severity of the condition regard to on how many extremities the blisters are present.

Rare Case report of blister on the lips
A baby boy who was a son of 28-year-old Caucasian women, was born on 38th week of gestation. The blisters were presented on both lips of the baby as the result of the physical examination happening right after birth. The condition was resolved only after 1 day without any medical intervention.

Pathophysiology
Sucking blister is caused by the fetus forcefully sucking on an accessible area of their body, typically an upper extremity, but potentially toes as well. Neonatal skin is extremely sensitive to this sucking action since the skin barrier has yet to mature.

Sucking blisters are not to be confused with leukoedema or sucking pads, as these are often found on the baby's lips. Sucking pads are usually found on the border of the lips, specifically towards the inside of the mouth when looking at the line of the lip. Sucking pads, similar to sucking blister, are also caused by the sucking mechanism of the neonate in utero. However, sucking pads takes months to disappear, whereas sucking blisters can resolve itself within a week.

Diagnosis
Sucking blisters are often diagnosed using a process of elimination. In neonatal population, sucking blisters are usually caused by the child themselves from sucking on their extremities while in the uterus. If the child doesn't appear to have any infectious or other skin conditions, the diagnosis of sucking blister is made. Certain characteristics, such as the location of blisters on the upper limbs and the blisters clearing on their own in a few weeks, also support this diagnosis.

A 1963 review estimated that every 1 in 250 children born had sucking blisters, but recent experts in the field think this number is even lower.

Treatment
Neonatal blistering can be caused by various reasons, and if not properly treated or left untreated, they can potentially cause major harm to the baby or even death. Neonatal blistering is most commonly caused by infections, so the presence of blistering should be followed by testing of blister fluid for infection and the initiation of antimicrobial medications. Because sucking blisters result from excessive sucking of the area by the fetus, rather than bacterial, antiviral, or hereditary causes, these blisters can resolve themselves without specific treatment within a few days to weeks.