Do you/will you use baby powder?

Question

Ladies- I need some insight here! This FTM has asked two different pediatricians if baby powder (the cornstarch kind) is okay/safe to use and got two different answers. One advised against it and the other said it's great! Will you/do you use baby powder? If so, please explain how it helps your LO! Does it help fight against a diaper rash? Is it just to keep them dry? Sorry, this FTM is clueless! 😭

Answer

Any kind of powder can be aspirated by a baby. Or basically breathed into the lungs. This can cause infections of the lungs. Older physicians seem to think ok because they're use to using it. However the newer physicians will say no because of evidence based practice. Studies have shown that it can actually harm babies to use powders. I used a&d ointment for my daughter and never had any problems. Used diaper rash ointment once and it burned her so bad she cried. It's your decision and your child... But I am a nurse and we can't even use any powders for our patients who aren't babies because of the risk of aspiration and damage to the lungs.

Answer

We use diaper rash cream with our little babies, but by 2-3, switch to powder because it's easier to apply. I only use it if I'm having trouble keeping a rash dry though, and I only have boys. My oldest also uses it to keep his penis from sticking to his legs in the summer heat (he's almost 4).

Answer

We use aquaphor. You just put a huge glob on the rash after it's been dried out and literally by the next diaper change the rash is almost completely gone. I highly recommend it :)

Answer

It's better to just use a barrier cream. The tiny particles from powder can easily be inhaled. It's kind of a waste. Unless the baby is sweating it really does nothing for moisture absorption.

Answer

I never used baby powder on my son. I never thought it was necessary. He only got diaper rash like 3 times and I used desitin. It cleared right up. I won't be using it on my daughter either.

Answer

I found blood in my newborns daughter diaper the doc said it was because of the baby powder that's what he said ever since I stopped using it no blood

Answer

This is the only powder I have ever used on my son. I swear by this stuff.  Any redness was cleared up by the end of he day,  he never had a diaper rash, the first time he got one at about 11 months,  this powder cleared it up very quickly! !! I love this stuff,  it works on my husband too sometimes he gets bad chafing and this powder helps him in a day or two!! I highly recommend it

Answer

The only problem I have with the cornstarch baby powder is that it can make yeast rashes worse and more likely to happen. Sometimes the beginning of a yeast rash looks just like a regular diaper rash and can be very hard to distinguish the difference between the two. My daughter is already very prone to yeast, so I'm glad I never decided to use any kind of powder on her. She went to stay with her great grandmother for a little while, who does use cornstarch powder, and came back to me with the worst yeast infection I have ever seen. Her entire diaper area was red and swollen. Looked absolutely horrendous!

And little boys can get yeast infections too, not just girls!

Answer

I only used powder if a rash had developed and I'm trying to keep baby dry or in the corner of where there diaper rubs against there little legs, but excessive use of powder when it's not needed for girls can cause infections and with little boys I'd discouraged if they are still healing from a circumcision for the same reason

Do you/will you use baby powder?

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