Baby bottom highlights

Your baby naturally has sensitive skin which needs extra special care. This includes the skin around the diaper area that needs protection from the irritating effects of pee and pooh. A good diaper, when used well, should soak up your baby’s waste to prevent diaper rash, provide general hygiene and make your baby and everyone around at ease.

The super-absorbent material in modern diapers is what rapidly absorbs the waste and efficiently locks them away.

The outer sheet of the diaper is made of a waterproof material that ensures effective containment of the waste.

Elastic materials in diapers such as the leg bands and leg-cuff barriers help to prevent leakage.

Clinical studies have shown that the chance of leaking waste happens more often when we use clothe diapers—what we commonly call napkins. Storing and handling soiled cloth products increases the potential for contamination and spread of infections in the household.

Therefore, we are advised to wash our hands thoroughly after changing diapers.

Disposable diapers should have lotioned inner top sheets to help keep the baby’s skin from wetness that causes rash and facilitates easier cleaning of the skin, as it leaves less waste – what irritates the skin.

You should go ahead and apply a small amount of petrolatum-based ointment to ensure that the skin is kept away from the burning wetness. Note that too much oil is likely to cause clogging which reduces the diaper’s efficiency—including leakage.

The newest developments in diapers include a top sheet with small openings and an underlying ribbed structure to trap waste in the diaper core.

Cleaning
Extra efforts in skin cleansing and skin care is necessary to maintain skin health as the baby’s bottom has numerous folds and creases, which present a problem with regard to both efficient cleansing and control of the germs.

It is important to clean the diaper region with appropriate cleansing products to remove skin contaminants, restore the natural skin pH value, and deposition of effective skin care active ingredients. Disposable infant wipes have been developed as a valid alternative to traditional cleansing methods such as wash cloths or other cleaning implements with water or water and soap.

Modern infant wipes are water-based, with a preservative system
added to ensure that the product will not be contaminated during use—when you keep entering the wipes pack with potentially waste-contaminated hands.

Consumers may now choose products on the basis of fragrance. Over the counter creams containing antiseptics and antifungal preparations should be used only in severe cases as advised by the pediatrician.

Courtesy of: Ralf Adam, Ph.D. Procter & Gamble Service GmbH, Schwalbach am Taunus, Germany

END:BL27/13