Introduction: The neonatal period is regarded as first 28 days of extra uterine life. Various cutaneous manifestations are commonly seen during this period, most of which are benign, transient and physiological. Nevertheless these conditions often cause anxiety and serious concern to the parents leading to significant psychological stress and sometimes suffer from unnecessary treatment by over-consiousness or by lack of knowledge. Aims and objectives: to study the prevalence of transient cutaneous manifestations in neonates. Material and Methods: A prospective case series study comprising of 200 neonates during the first 28 days of life in the post natal wards or attending outpatient department of pediatrics at Sri Adichunchanagiri hospital and research centre, BG Nagara. Results: Out of 200 newborns examined, 153(76.5%) had one or more cutaneous lesions, 103(67.3%) having multiple and 50(32.3%) with single type of lesion. Female babies, LBWýÿs and post term babies had higher incidence with 94% of cases presenting in the first week of life. Erythema toxicum constituted the maximum of 62(40.5%) followed by Mongolian spot, lanugo hair with 47(30.7%) cases and milia 39(25.4). Miniature puberty constituted 36(23.5%) followed by caput succecaneum with 21(13.7%) and physiological scaling 19(12.4%) cases. The least number of manifestation observed was accessory nipple and transient pustular melanosis with 01(0.6%) and 02(1.3%) cases respectively. Conclusion: Cutaneous manifestations are very common especially during the first 7 days of life. Thorough knowledge of these transient conditions is essential to avoid unnecessary investigations and treatment and to alleviate the parental concerns.

Keywords: Neonate; Transient; Cutaneous; Dermatoses.