Baby Care

Posts Tagged ‘Baby Skin’

Nappy rash happens when urine is left too long on your baby’s skin and becomes ammonia when mixed with bacteria from your baby’s stools. It usually appears as a red rash around the bottom or genital  area, but can become inflamed with pus-filled spots in extreme cases.

Most babies experience some form of nappy rash over the first two years. The key is trying to prevent it from happening:

- Change your baby’s nappy more frequently
- Let her have a naked kick around without her nappy on twice a day.
- Don’t wash your baby’s skin with soaps or scented lotions as they break down the skins natural barriers.
- Don’t use talcum powder on your baby’s skin
- Use a barrier cream if there is a small rash, but avoid it if the skin has broken
- Dry the nappy area thoroughly after washing
- Use a non biological washing power when laundering reusable nappies

If your baby does experience nappy rash:

- Make sure her skin is aired for about 15 minutes between nappy changes
- Check the absorbency of your baby’s nappy, you may need to switch to a higher absorbency nappy at night
- If the nappy rash does not seem to be clearing up, make an appointment with your GP to rule out anything more serious.

Winter can be a very harsh time for an adult’s skin but for babies it can be extra harsh.

Your baby’s skin is very sensitive and you will need to take extra care for your baby if you live in a cold environment.

Winter time weather could cause irritation and your baby’s skin to dry out. It is easy for the moisture in their soft skin to disappear.

Cold wind has a way of depleting skin of its moisture and elasticity. There are certain things that you will want to do to prevent this from happening.

Baby bathing and Moisturizing during Winter Months - You will not want to take your baby out into the cold weather directly after giving them their bath. This can chaff their skin. Make sure that you apply enough moisturizer after their bath to keep the moisture in your baby’s skin.

Baby lotion is a good moisturizer to use and it will make your baby smell extra good, too. You will want to moisturize from head to toe without getting lotion in their mouth or eyes.

Ask your physician to recommend a good type of moisturizer if what you are using does not seem to moisturize good enough.

Winter Clothing for Baby – It is a good idea to have the proper clothing for your baby during the winter months. He or she will need a warm coat, hat, and gloves but not so warm that your baby will sweat.

Soft clothing is always best for a baby’s skin because it is so tender especially in the winter months. If you have a little girl make sure you put tights under her little dresses to prevent her legs from becoming dry and chaffed.

Little boys usually wear pants in the winter so this should keep their legs warm and away from the cold.

Socks should always be worn under your little boy’s pants though for extra warmth and protection. If it is snowing you can always bundle them up in a snow suit made especially for babies to protect their skin.

Tips for Prevention:

Try products that are rich in vitamins A and also D to soothe your baby’s skin if it is chapped or red looking. You should use products that are formulated for babies not adults. These products can come in lotions, creams, or ointments.

Also to stop your baby’s face from chapping you may need to cover your baby’s carrier when you go out with a loosely weaved thin blanket.

Make sure that it is loose over your baby’s carrier and that your baby is able to breath through the light blanket. This is very important! To keep moisture in your baby’s room you may want to run a humidifier during the winter months. This will not only help to keep moisture in your baby’s skin but will also help your baby if he or she has a cold and the skin under their nose is chapped from constantly wiping or blowing.

With a little preventive help your baby should have a very comfortable and enjoyable winter.

Human skin is a complex mechanism, which has many important functions. So taking care of its health and normal operation should be from the first days of life. The skin of a newborn is very different from adults’ and requires very special care.

General functions of the skin can be defined as follows: the barrier and protective, heat regulatory, receptor (tactile, temperature, superficial pain sensitivity). Multiple functions of the skin require some attention to the tools that are used to take care of it. And when it is the baby’s skin, then the important features of the skin come out:

soft, flabby, stratum corneum is thin, consists of 2-3 layers of cells (Vulnerable skin),

weak basement of membrane (epidermis loosely linked to the dermis),

impaired function of sweat and sebaceous glands,

skin is covered with a secret with the medium reaction to close neutral.

In accordance with these properties of skin you should select children’s cosmetics. Cosmetics for babies can be divided into several categories:

for daily hygiene,

bathing

for changing diapers,

to protect the skin from the sun.

Means for the daily care for children include lotion, cream and oils. Lotions are designed to cleanse and moisturize the skin. Creams, which composition may include glycerin, beeswax, mineral and castor oil, Panthenol, zinc oxide, vitamins A, D, E, C, natural plant extracts, oils, etc., can strengthen the protective function of the skin, they soften, moisturize the skin. Some creams have anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory action. They are recommended for use under the supervision of a physician. It is better to use oil after bathing. It creates a special protective film on the surface.

The process of bathing usually brings great pleasure to the child. The correct selection of cosmetics is very important. First you should use baby soap. It contains a minimal amount of alkali, which prevents excessive drying and irritation of the skin. You can use special gels for bathing. You can wash his/her hair with children’s shampoos. Their main advantage is that they do not irritate the mucous membrane of the eyes and bathing passes without tears.

The most common danger in the first months of child’s life is diaper dermatitis. Diaper dermatitis is inflammation of the skin associated with the use of nappies (diapers), the response to mechanical impact, pressure, maceration after prolonged contact with urine and feces, the remains of soap.

The main measure to prevent diaper dermatitis is the maintenance of the skin in the diaper dry and clean. It dependsnot only on the regularity and thoroughness of care, diaper quality, increasing of the time spent without a diaper, but, of course, the individual characteristics of the skin of the newborn. The main cosmetic product that is used when changing diapers is Barrier cream. It is well suited for treatment for prevention of diaper dermatitis. It may include antiseptic and disinfectant components, as well as non-active components, which have softening, protective and hydrating properties. If diaper dermatitis increases, consult a doctor immediately. Powders should be used only to remove excess moisture. Powders are made on the basis of the mineral talc, it absorbs moisture and reduces friction of the skin. However, the need to use baby powder occurs only because of violations of care or skin diseases. Therefore, powder or talcum powder should be in the children’s medicine box.

Baby’s skin is sensitive to changes because of temperature and the impact of the environment. Therefore, each time before going to walk, use face and hand baby creams that are effective in strong wind and frost. Do not forget about summer. Sunrays are not only warmth and joy, but also can damage the skin. Solar radiation can cause changes in the structure of the epidermis, in immune cells, etc. Therefore, children under three year are not recommended to stay in the open sun. Experts believe that even in the shade you should protect the baby’s skin with the help of special tools.

Specialist’s Opinion

Changes in the skin of the baby always cause some concerns among parents, especially if it is a newborn. It should be noted that the right skin care ensures the normal development of newborn skin of the child in the first year of life and creates the necessary conditions for the further development of his/her body.

Newborn’s skin itself has a number of fundamental differences from the skin of an adult. As we know, the skin consists of three parts: dermis, epidermis and basement membrane. But children’s skin is still very poorly formed; the skin is largely immature, poorly functioning sweat glands. Therefore, children’s skin care requires careful daily care. Moreover, if the skin is protected before the birth of eldest grease, then the time of the birth of this grease is rather a defect of care and need to be removed, because it can crack, become inflamed and interfere with the normal tissue respiration.

In fact, all the basic tools for skin care of children can be divided into three categories:

Children lotion or milk,

Children cream

Children oil oil.

It is important to note that each of them in any way does not replace the other. Children’s cosmetics are high-tech products, tailored to the sensitivity of baby skin.
In the morning baby’s skin should be processed with lotion. It degreases the skin and removes dirt.

Children cream is a major component of skin care of the child. They must be used at least 2-3 times a day. I note that the smaller the child, the more you should use cream.

Oil should be used once a day and after bathing. If possible, you should cover with oil the entire surface of the skin of the child to give elasticity. Baby oil is applied to dry skin. Therefore, I would not recommend adding the oil in the water while bathing, although in many western countries this practice is quite common.

Important component of care for a newborn is a skin barrier cream. This is a special formulation which is applied under a diaper for the prevention or treatment of diaper dermatitis.
Diaper dermatitis is a frequent and widespread phenomenon throughout the world, appears as a result of friction of clothing or linen feces or urine. It is a result of improper care. Barrier creams require constant use. At each change of diaper, the cream is applied with a thick layer, even if the skin looks healthy.

Means for bathing – shampoo and soap – have to be childish (specialized).

We can not forget about the “weather” cosmetics for your baby. It is urgent to protect the skin in a strong wind, cold. But when the air temperature is below 10°C it’s not allowed to treat baby’s skin with these means. Special summer sunscreen lotions and creams require constant application on the street, even if the child is in the shade.

I will also note that the recent practice of using the same barrier creams not only for its intended purpose (under the diaper), but also on the face, arms, chest of the child is very much widespread. There is nothing criminal, but it is better to use only there. This also applies to other children’s cosmetics.