Baby bath needs more than just water: Study
Dr Vinod Choudhary
The next time you find red patches on your baby’s body, blame the water. Patches may not always be indicative of skin infection, but may be caused by bathwater that makes the skin drier.
A new study conducted by Dr Victoria Dizon from the University of Santo Tomas Hospital, Manila, and Carlos Galzote from Asia-Pacific Skin Testing Centre, Metro Manila, Philippines, proves that soaps can have an itching effect on babies, but neither is bathing a baby with just water good enough.
The study evaluated the safety of a surfactant-based baby cleanser against other cleansers on 180 infants ageing one-day-old to a year old. Results showed that plain water was not capable of increasing skin moisture to the desired level. Moreover, it caused dilatation and congestion of blood capillaries on the skin, a condition called erythema/redness, after two weeks of usage. Neither is it capable of effectively removing fatty residues from baby’s skin (e.g. faecal matter, dirt, food, etc), and can actually be more drying than ultra-mild cleansers (antiseptic disinfectants).
Bathing babies with just water is thus not advisable. It is better to use a mild liquid disinfectant than a conventional soap as bathing babies with soap is slower and babies can loose substantial body heat in the meantime. Not all cleansers available in the market are good for babies. Try avoiding conventional soaps and opt for an ultra-mild cleanser that can be applied head to toe.