Babies can suffer from many types of skin rashes, including allergic reactions, psoriasis, histiocytosis, zinc deficiency, dermatitis, or others. But Dr. Nuha Shalabi, pediatrician, says that by far the biggest culprit of skin rashes in babies is moisture, usually caused by urine.
Wetness on the skin increases friction, and friction leads to minor but painful skin irritations, commonly referred to as diaper rashes.
These friction rashes can usually be seen on the inner thighs of the baby, and under the elastic of diapers that are too tight. These rashes can be avoided or healed quickly with frequent diaper changes; exposure to air which dries the skin. The best remedy to diaper rash is dryness.
Poorly fitting diapers can exasperate the problem.
“That is why parents should consider very carefully the type of diapers they buy for their babies,” said Nuha. “In addition, this precaution will help reduce a child’s crying and the mother feeling helpless, not knowing what to do to ease her baby’s pain.”
Buying diapers simply according to the baby’s size is not the best strategy, said Nuha. Parents also need to bare in mind the stages of life their babies go through.
For example, newly born babies use their diapers for loner periods of time, and because of minimal movements, their diaper will collect moisture and increase the possibility of having diaper rashes. That is why, she said, parents should change diapers frequently in order to keep their babies’ skin dry.
Marketing Manager of Pampers, Saudi Arabia Ahmad Alkuhlani said that according to his company’s research, babies indeed need different type of diapers due to the different stages they go through. Pampers created three styles of diapers to coincide with these stages, New Baby (3-5 months), Active Baby (5-12 months) and Let’s Go (12 months and beyond).
• Newborns up to five months old require a diaper specifically designed to absorb runny bowel movements that result from an exclusively liquid diet.
• Infants that begin kicking, rolling, crawling, and otherwise being more active and curious about the world around them need a diaper that is more pants-like, providing more leg movements.
• Babies that are older than 12 months need a looser fitting diaper for the transition from crawling to walking.
Pampers has started an awareness campaign to help parents experience the world from a baby’s perspective with its touring Baby Stages of Development wagon, which includes oversized furniture so that grown-ups can feel what it’s like to be small again. Alkuhlani, who is the creator of the idea, said that his company’s main concern is not publicity, but to help parents be aware of their babies needs. It is surprising that by following small rules, he said, we can protect our babies from having any skin rashes.
“We made it simple and casual so parents and their children can be attracted to enter it and benefit from it. I’m really happy that we have received many visitors here who have hopefully gained a lot of knowledge,” Alkuhlani said.
Having oversized furniture and household items, said Ahmad Linjawy, public relations manager at Modern Product Company, will enable parents to experience seeing, hearing, feeling and learning the way a baby does.
This wagon will be in Jeddah at Geant hypermarkets in Aziz Mall though Dec. 23. It will be at the Geant in Riyadh until Jan. 21 and the Dhahran Mall in Dahran Jan. 21 to Feb. 3.