Infant Skin Care

Abstract

Skin care and how to prevent irritations, rashes and infections will be a significant concern for new parents. Health visitors can play an important role in offering advice and support. To do this they must have a good knowledge and understanding of the anatomy and physiology of skin in general, and know the differences between the skin of an infant and that of an adult. It is also vitally important that this advice and support is based on the best available evidence.

Full text

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Infant skin care
Key learning points:
uUnderstand the unique needs of newborn skin
uCurrent evidence and opinion on best practice in infant skin care
uThe role of the health visitor to advise and support new parents to make informed
decisions
Skin care and how to prevent irritations, rashes and
infections will be a significant concern for new
parents. Health visitors can play an important role
in offering advice and support. To do this they must
have a good knowledge and understanding of the
anatomy and physiology of skin in general, and
know the dif ferences between the skin of an infant
and that of an adult. It is also vitally important that this advice and
support is based on the best available evidence.
There are important differences between the infant and adult
skin. The skin of a newborn is well developed to cope with
extra-uterine life, but there are some differences to that of an
adult. For example, an infant’s skin is more delicate and therefore
more prone to irritant and allergic reactions.1
The key differences are described by Steen and Macdonald1
as:
Stratum corneum (epidermis) is thinner in infants.
Protective lipid film is similar to that of an adult at birth, but
changes after a few weeks.
Secretion of sebum diminishes to be replaced by lipids of
cellular origin.
Ratio of skin surface to body weight is highest at birth and
declines progressively during infancy.
A newborn’s skin will undergo a number of changes during the
first month of life as it adapts to an extra-uterine environment.
During this time period the epidermis and dermis is further
developed and there is a noticeable change in the baby’s skin pH
surface and desquamation of the skin.2
CLEANSING AND MOISTURISING A BABY’S SKIN
Over the last two decades, concerns have been voiced regarding
the possible effects of bathing and using cleansers such as soaps,
baby wash products and baby wipes.3-7 Therefore, this article is
based on the opinion of exper ts in the field and recent research
studies undertaken.
A baby does not routinely have to be bathed every day,8
although some parents will have a preference to do so and many
will bathe their baby in the evening with the aim of rela xing and
settling their baby for the night.1 It has been reported that there are
no adverse effects in bathing a healthy full-term baby with a body
temperature above 36.5oC.9 However, a study involving the
bathing of premature babies reported adverse physiological and
behavioural effects and therefore routine bathing was not
recommended.10
The use of a pH neutral cleanser and emollient application that
is specially designed for a baby skin has been reported to have a
good safety profile.11 However, a fine balance between the
cleansing of an infant’s skin and the preservation of its
homeostatic properties is required. Cleansers need to be
extremely mild in their properties to prevent excessive removal of
lipids from the stratum corneum, as these are essential to the
surface ecosystem.1
In addition, it has been highlighted that the chemical composi-
tion of water needs to be taken into consideration.12 Water rich in
calcium salts is more likely to be an irritant to an infant’s skin.
Being reared in a geographical area where hard water is supplied
may increase the potential risk of skin irritation.
The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE)
guidelines on postnatal care did not identify any research studies
that specifically addressed general care of the skin of a full-term
infant.13 Therefore, a grade D good practice point (GPP) was made
on the experience of the guide development group (GDG). In view
of the lack of research evidence, they recommended that parents
should be advised that cleansing agents should not be added to a
Nursing in Practice: Healt h Visito r Supple ment May/June 2013
‘Water rich in calcium salts is
more likely to be an irritant to
an infant’s skin’
Dr Mary Steen
Professor of Midwifery
Faculty of Health & Social Care
University of Chester
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www.nursinginpractice.comNursing in Practice: Health Visitor Supplement May/June 201324
baby’s bath water nor should lotions or medicated wipes be used.
However, should a cleansing agent be needed, a ‘mild non-per-
fumed soap’ can be suggested.
Due to a lack of research evidence to confirm or refute whether
a cleansing agent should be added to an infant’s bath water or not
and also whether baby wipes are safe to use, two research studies
have recently been under taken by Lavender et al.14 -15 The research-
ers compared Johnson’s Baby Top-to-Toe wash against plain bath
water on 307 newborn babies over a four-week period and found
washing newborn babies in a specific baby wash was just as safe
as using water alone in terms of maintaining healthy skin. The
study found no difference in transepidermal water loss ( TEWL),
which indicates the amount of water that escapes from the skin.
This research also repor ted that skin hydration was better in the
wash agent group when compared to the water only group at the
two-week time measurement point. The second study investigated
whether Johnson’s Baby Extra Sensitive Wipes were safe to use
and found these to be equivalent to the use of water and cotton
wool in terms of skin hydration. Mothers taking par t in this study
also reported nappy rash as being higher in the water and cotton
wool group. These studies provide the strongest evidence to date.
Health visitors can advise parents on the basis of this recent
evidence, to support them to make informed choices.
CONCLUSION
Parents should be advised to never use cleansing products that
are specifically manufactured for adults, as many of these are not
pH neutral and will not be mild enough for a sensitive baby’s skin.
There is recent evidence to confirm that a baby wash product
was safe to use and does not appear to affect an infant’s skin
barrier integrity, and that baby wipes were also safe to use. It is
therefore sensible to use cleansers that have been specially
designed for a baby’s skin, are pH neutral and very mild to avoid
irritant dermatitis and allergic dermatitis.
Ultimately, choices on how best to care for an infant’s skin will
be made by parents who will consider the best available evidence
and exper t opinion in order to make their decision on their personal
preferences and beliefs.
REFERENCES
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‘A fine balance between
the cleansing of an infant’s
skin and the preservation of
its homeostatic properties is
required’
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