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Basic Skin Care for Infants and Children (1)

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Dr Folakemi Adeife Cole, Consultant Dermatologist on the Ask The Paediatricians Facebook Group handled a group discussion recently on the topic of the care of skin for newborns and children. The salient points have been summarised into two-part articles. This is the first article and essential for all parents.

Basic skin care starts from the moment a child is born. Good skin care practices from birth have a major impact on not just a child’s skin but also their general health and wellbeing and I will be sharing with you why.

As soon as a baby is out the womb, they are exposed to the environment which includes the temperature and germs in the environment. It is important that the first germs a baby is exposed to are familiar friendly bacteria of the mother and father and not the unfriendly germs of the hospital. New research has shown that the best thing to do when a child is born is to put the child on the mothers chest to institute skin to skin contact with the mother and the familiar bacteria or normal flora of the mother.

So when a child is born, the doctors and nurses should not rush to wash the child or clean the child first; except the child requires some resuscitation. It is best to put the child in contact with the mothers bare skin, especially children born via caesarean section. Children born via vaginal delivery would have come in contact with the mothers good germs when passing through the vagina. Children born via caesarean section can get some of these good germs from skin to skin contact by laying on the mothers chest for some minutes immediately after birth.

So the first step for good skin care for infants is skin to skin contact with the mother.

Research has shown that babies who do not have this skin to skin contact are more likely to have allergic conditions and skin issues as they grow up.

Then it is important to clean the baby with a good oil like coconut oil immediately after birth and not be in too much of a hurry to bath the baby. The baby’s first bath can be a few hours or even a day after birth.

Please avoid the use of antiseptic soaps and liquids in bathing new born baby or infant of any age. It is a very wrong practice that a lot of our hospitals and midwives encourage but research has shown that it is harmful to the health of the baby.

It is important to bath the child with clean water but not antiseptic water because the antiseptics like dettol and savlon are irritants to the skin and they also take away to good bacteria on the baby’s skin which can cause immune dysfunction in the child.  The immune system is supposed to mature and develop with exposure to normal environmental germs. When you prevent such exposure, the immune system can become overreactive and that’s why many children nowadays have allergies and all manner of skin rashes problems.

Please avoid medicated soaps and liquids for your babies, infants and children.

Look for pH balanced soaps and cleansers for babies. Examples include sebamed baby wash, dove baby wash, aveeno baby wash. These are close to the normal acidity level of a healthy skin and will encourage the baby’s skin to be healthy. Original black soap is also quite good but many people who now make black soap have changed the formula, making it quite harsh on the skin.

You can ensure the water you bath your baby with is clean by boiling it with a boiling ring if you do not have a water heater . If you have a water heater run the water for the bath hot and allow it to cool down and use it to bath the baby. Hot water will be free of germs like bacteria, viruses and fungi that can harm your baby.

Use good moisturizers – lotions, creams and oils for your baby.

Do not use harsh sponges to scrub the baby’s skin. Use gentle soft sponges. Scrubbing the skin too much can damage the child’s skin by removing some good oil that the skin produces.

Avoid triple action creams like Funbact A and Skineal!

They are a big NO for babies and children. They contain very strong steroids that should not be used in any child less than 12 years. the skin of a baby is very thim and the substances in these creams can easily be absorbed into the baby’s blood through the skin and cause some damage to the child’s vital organs!!! Avoid all creams that say anti inflammatory, antibacterial anti fungal (aka triple action creams). They are harmful to babies!

To Be Continued…….in Part 2!

39 thoughts on “Basic Skin Care for Infants and Children (1)”

      1. Oluwatoyin Oguntade

        Thank you doctor for this helpful insight to things I don’t know before. Please can you share the link for part 2. Can’t find it. Thanks

        Reply
      2. Esther

        I really wish i saw this article when my baby was born in January, it was through cs and my baby wasnt placed on my chest at the hospital after the procedure. She was taken away to care for and was brought after she had been dressed up. Then my mum was adding dettol to her bathing water 2 times daily😩😩😩, until after 2. Months i had to stip it because i felt it was too much. My baby was born with a lovely skin but now her skin isnt looking as good. Currently has has heat rash and am applying baby tribotone, should i stop it? Thanks

        Reply
  4. Olawole Olasunkanmi

    Please what can it be the constant coughing my girl she just clocked two this year September.She had been on this now close to a month now even at night too, what I use for her? Thanks.

    Reply
    1. Dr Gbemi

      You should see a Paediatrician as there are so many causes of chronic cough in children e.g. tuberculosis, bronchial asthma etc

      Reply
  6. Ruth

    I love this write up,more grace ma.You mentioned coconut oil for cleansing,we are using olive oil in our centre,is it also good?

    Reply
    1. Dr Gbemisola

      There is no need to do so unless you are not sure the water is clean and then you can. There is no need to add antiseptics while washing baby’s clothes. Just wash with normal gentle detergent, rinse thoroughly, dry properly and iron. For urgent questions and answers, please post your questions directly to our Facebook group

      Reply
  12. Faith

    Thank you Dr
    Have learnt alot on how to prevent my baby from skin infection. God bless you ma’am

    Reply
  14. Edith

    Good morning ma’am, how I wish I came about this before giving birth. My son of Three months have something like sunburn around his eyes and side cause by the way he was bathed, please is there anything I can use

    Reply
    1. Dr Gbemisola

      You need to see a doctor for proper evaluation first to know the cause of the patches and then appropriate treatment can be recommended. No one should be telling you to use anything without seeing the rashes first and please follow only a doctor’s advice.

      Reply
  16. Chernoby

    Thank you for the article. Does your article suggest that Baby Secret moisturizers are not ideal as good skin care products? I wonder why there are conflicting health advisory on the use of antiseptics? Link to part 2 shall be appreciated.

    Reply
    1. Dr Gbemisola

      We don’t recommend any specific products; use hypoallergenic products. Avoid antiseptics and follow the Dermatologist recommendations.

      Reply

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