Daily hygiene for the baby is always a concern of parents. To help the baby have the cleanest body, parents always use shower shampoo to wash the babies.
However, is it safe to use shower gel for babies? When bathing the baby, sometimes the baby will cry and kick the water, or because the mother is in a hurry to make the shampoo accidentally fall into the baby's mouth, the baby may accidentally swallow the shampoo.
What if the baby accidentally swallows such bath gel? Does shower gel contain chemicals that are harmful to babies? This article will fully answer these questions and give several notices for parents to wash babies safely with shampoo.
Why Do Babies Need Shower Shampoo?
Baby shampoo is a hair care product that removes oil, dirt, skin particles, dandruff, environmental pollutants, and other contaminant particles that gradually build up in the hair.
The shampoo is an essential product to clean and protect children's health. In children, unclean scalp hygiene quickly causes scalp inflammation, causing dandruff. Children will have an itchy scalp, hair scratching, and hair loss when this happens. Therefore, cleaning with water is not enough. There should be suitable baby shampoos to clean the baby's scalp.
Does Baby Shampoo Have Chemicals?
Children's shampoo is specifically designed for children, so the ingredients of the shampoo are also geared towards the best care for children's oily skin and sensitive hair. Most shampoos for babies will be made up of benign, safe ingredients that will not harm your baby's scalp, eyes, or health.
Baby shampoo is specially formulated for babies and children by replacing chemicals intended to be less irritating to the eyes than those commonly found in conventional shampoos, causing less irritation when touching the eyes.
To avoid skin irritation in young children, baby shampoo is free of many foaming agents and fragrances to ensure safety for children.
However, it is not difficult to find children's shampoo products that contain substances that are harmful to children on the market. Therefore, parents need to be careful in buying shampoo for their baby, carefully read and avoid products containing ingredients that are harmful to the baby's scalp and health.
What Happens If My Baby Swallows Baby Shampoo?
Most baby shampoos today are composed mainly of anionic or non-anionic surfactants, essential oils, and water. There may also be ethanol, methanol, or isopropyl alcohol. The main salts in the composition of bath products are inorganic salts, usually non-toxic sodium chloride.
Ingestion of moderate amounts of these ingredients can cause mild poisoning or gastrointestinal disturbances, while large amounts can cause electrolyte disturbances. If aspiration into the lungs a lot can cause chemical pneumonia. Children may experience eye irritation and redness when shampoo gets into the eyes.
What Happens If My Baby Swallows Hair Conditioner?
Like shampoos, baby hair conditioners are made with benign ingredients, safe for the baby's scalp and health. However, when accidentally swallowing hair conditioner, the baby will show symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, etc.
In addition, the baby may suffer from shortness of breath, rapid breathing, pale face, bulging nostrils, contraction of respiratory muscles in the neck, respiratory failure, etc. In addition, a hissing sound can be heard due to laryngospasm.
What To Do When Your Baby Accidentally Drinks Baby Shampoo Or Hair Conditioner?
When your baby accidentally swallows shampoo or hair conditioner, first give him water or milk to dilute the poison. In most cases of accidental ingestion of shampoo, just give the child plenty of water or milk to dilute the chemical. Give your child plenty to drink, but slowly to avoid choking.
Next, if the child is awake and not falling into a coma, it is necessary to induce vomiting for the child. Take about 200-300ml of 0.9 % saline water for children to drink, then swab their throats with their hands to make them vomit chemicals.
Also, try to give your child fatty foods, such as avocado toast or cookies, to prevent the foaming of the shampoo.
When the child has received first aid but is still in a state of respiratory failure, irregular pulse, low blood pressure, and sweating, it is necessary to call the ambulance and quickly transfer to the hospital for timely treatment.
What Should Mothers Notice When Bathing Their Babies With Shampoo?
When bathing babies, parents should use their bare hands to gently rub a drop of baby shampoo onto their child's scalp. Rinse the shampoo layer with a cup of water or a wet washcloth. Don't forget to cover your baby's forehead with one hand to prevent soap bubbles from running or splashing into your baby's eyes.
Washing your baby's hair too often can strip away the natural oils on your baby's scalp. This can cause your baby's scalp to become dry, more sensitive, and affect health. Therefore, washing your baby's hair about once every 2-3 days is recommended.
How To Properly Wash Your Baby's Hair With Shampoo
Before shampooing the baby, parents need to prepare enough items such as shampoo, cotton towels, a water scoop, a seat of moderate height, clean clothes, and diapers to change the baby as soon as you finish bathing the baby.
Parents need to remove the jewelry they are wearing, such as rings, watch shakes, etc., because they can scratch the baby's skin while the parents shower and wash the baby. In addition, you should regularly cut your nails short and file neatly to avoid scratching your baby's scalp.
Methods of washing baby's hair properly parents can apply:
Closing
Washing hair properly and handling it safely when children accidentally swallow shampoo or conditioner are essential things that parents need to know. Hopefully, this article will provide parents with helpful information on safe bathing for children!