Picture this, you wake up one morning to kiss your little baby and all of the sudden, you notice your baby’s nose is orange! What?! Panic mode on right? But wait! Before you go all mommy crazy, relax, and keep reading about a very common thing called Carotenemia.
What is Carotenemia or the baby orange nose syndrome
It sounds worse than it really is.
Carotenemia is a medical condition that turns the baby skin orange. It happens because of increased blood carotene levels. In most cases, it happens if the baby is on a high consumption level of carotene. Carrots and sweet potatoes are mainly foods with high carotene levels.
So if you’re one of these parents who feed their baby lots of orange foods. You might wake up one morning and see that the palms, cheeks, sole’s foot and nose of your baby is orange and bright.
Now like we said before, don’t panic. This is actually a good thing. Why you ask? Well because of:
1. It means your baby is getting all the benefits of the Vitamin A found in orange foods.
2. Vitamin A can contribute to better vision and eye development and even help sustain the growth and development of your baby.
Is consuming too much Vitamin A or Carotene dangerous?
No really. You don’t really have to worry about it as there is no such thing as Vitamin A overdose from natural eating. The only way to actually consume too much of it is if you take it as a vitamin supplement and in that case you should consult a doctor to tell you the appropriate amount to take.
Please don’t confuse the orange color of the carotenemia ( orange baby nose condition ) with the yellow color one has when suffering from Jaundice. The biggest way to tell the difference is the fact if your baby is feeling good or not. If your baby is sick, and also has a yellowish color, you probably need to contact your doctor as soon as possible.
Major food types that will turn your baby orange
Here are some popular foods that will turn your baby’s nose orange:
- Carrots
- Sweet potatoes
- Winter Squash
- Pumpkin
These foods all contain high levels of beta-carotene, which is a carotenoid
TIP – The deeper the orange color of the fruit or vegetable, the higher the amount of beta-carotene it contains.
” Carotenoids are dark colored dyes that can be found in plant foods that may turn into some sort of Vitamin A. One of these carotenoids is beta-carotene. It’s also great to know that Beta-carotenoid is an antioxidant. ” By NIH, Medline Plus
What else can become yellow or orange in color that our baby consumes?
You will be surprised to learn that even the mother’s breastmilk may turn yellow or orange. If the breastfeeding mother eats a lot of beta-carotene foods such as mentioned above, her milk may be in a yellowish or orange color.
Disclaimer – Please be sure to consult with your doctor about health issues and even nutrition advice. As we do our best to provide the most accurate information possible, we are not doctors and the info presented on this site is not a replacement of a professional doctor or nutrition.
