Mistakes to Avoid When It Comes to Your Baby's Hygiene

The following information is not intended to cause you alarm. When it comes to your baby’s hygiene and health, these are mistakes that can be avoided or corrected.

Most mothers have probably made mistakes at some point or another, not just first-time moms. Some mistakes have to do with the techniques or products we use at bath time. 

The first thing to consider is your baby’s skin, which is most affected by your bathing and hygiene routines. As we know, babies’ skin is thin and sensitive to most substances. Therefore, you need to take special care of your baby’s skin.

Both the products you use to clean your baby, and the way in which they are applied have the potential to harm your baby’s health. For example, not rinsing properly or not using a hypoallergenic product may cause irritation or allergies.

Mistakes to Avoid When It Comes to Your Baby’s Hygiene

In order to clean your baby’s skin correctly, it is important to ensure that we have products that are compatible with their pH. It is also necessary to have the right tools, environment and technique.

The purpose of proper hygiene is to prevent negative health consequences in the medium- and long-term. As easy as these mistakes are to make, they can also be fixed. We will tell you how to do this with the following tips.

Shampoo Application

When applying shampoo, we often make the mistake of not lathering it enough in our child’s hair. In order for this product to have the desired effect, it is best to leave it on and lather it in for a long enough time.

It is very common for mothers to save shampoo for the end of the bath, and then remove it without letting it sit. Depending on the age of your child, you can leave the shampoo on for about five minutes, while we finish bathing.

Lack of Hygiene

Poor hygiene causes the accumulation of debris such as sweat, dust or oils. Mothers will often go a day or two without bathing their baby for a variety of reasons.

This causes dirt to accumulate, leading to potential damage. It is advisable to bathe them every day, even if they don’t seem dirty. Certain external elements may be on them without you noticing.

Make sure it is healthy to bathe them daily, the products you use must have the correct pH. This is to maintain their skin’s hydrolipidic balance. Sometimes babies can suffer from mild irritations, itching, or infections due to lack of hygiene.

Hand and Nail Cleaning

Your baby’s hands and fingernails can hold on to a lot of the dirt that accumulates daily. That’s why they deserve special care.

It is necessary to wash your baby’s hands several times a day, especially before and after eating. You should also make sure to wash their hands after you have been away from home or if they have been playing on the ground.

More dirt can accumulate under your baby’s fingernails than you think. In fact, many diseases in children are caused by not cleaning their nails.

Having long fingernails is also bad for the skin. It is recommended that you clean their fingernails and toenails, and cut them twice a week.

How do we clean their nose?

Keeping their nose clean is very important when it comes to your baby’s hygiene, especially when they are congested. The process of cleaning their nose consists of laying your baby down on their back, with their head facing one side.

Then pour saltwater in each nostril. You can also use saline. Remember that their head should be facing whatever side you are going to clean.

Pick your baby up after about 20 seconds so that they expel most of the mucus. Finish the process by removing all of the secretions through a baby bulb syringe.

Genital Hygiene

To clean the genital area of males, it is necessary to be very careful not to move the skin that covers the penis, because this protects it from infections. It is necessary to clean it, but it should be done carefully and delicately.

In the case of girls, there are two common mistakes that happen; for example, washing the anus first, then the vagina. This leads to the bacteria from the intestine spreading into the vagina and causing infections.

Another common mistake is to dress girls in tight clothes, or not cleaning the area properly at every diaper change which causes an exchange of bacteria.