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Baby

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Our skin is the most amazing organ! It is our first line of defense against water loss, heat loss, protects against the cold, infection as well as allergies. Performing all of these functions requires an INTACT SKIN BARRIER. Our skin barrier can be leaky for various reasons: 1️⃣ The cells can be damaged 2️⃣ The “cement” between the cells (protein and lipids) can be faulty (eg in eczema) 3️⃣ The “basement membrane” under the skin (a foundation layer) can be damaged 4️⃣ The skin microbiome (a set of bugs that live on our skin) can be unhealthy (eg using harsh products on the skin) 5️⃣ Skin infections can damage the skin! If the skin barrier is broken, it can lead to: 🅾️ Entrance of allergens, possibly setting up food allergies or eventually respiratory allergies 🅾️ Infection- bugs living safely on our skin surface can enter through a broken skin 🅾️…

Boosting a child’s immunity. Infections are everywhere, many are very catchy, and we cannot dodge every bullet! There is no magic “immune booster” to keep a child healthy, but the following can help, right from pregnancy through to toddler days. 1. During pregnancy: – Eat a varied diet – Avoid excess antibiotics and anti-acids – Don’t smoke – Avoid excessive stress (excess stress can affect the baby’s lung development!) 2. Breastfeeding: – Breastmilk is a “soup” of healthy stuff! – It has superb nutrients as well as antibodies, prebiotics and anti-bacterials 3. Newborn skin care: – The skin is a possible site of penetration of infection as well as allergens – To preserve the skin barrier, use bland products, avoid harsh soaps and keep the skin moisturized with a bland emollient. 4. Establishing a healthy microbiome: A healthy set of bugs (“microbiome”) in our guts, airways and on our skin…

The skin of a healthy term newborn baby is 30% thinner than that of adults, loses 6 X as much water and produces fewer natural moisturising factors. This makes infant skin more fragile, more vulnerable, more predisposed to water loss, and more prone to pathogen and allergen entry. A broken skin can lead to allergies and infections and excessive water loss. Many long-term issues such as eczema start with a leaky, broken skin barrier. We need to take this into account when planning our cleaning and skin care regimes. Some tips on maintaining a healthy skincare regime in babies: Avoid harsh soap and try to minimise products containing SLS (Sodium laurel sulphates) Avoid highly coloured or fragranced skin products. Some lightly fragranced products which conform to international safe-fragrancing standards are acceptable, but generally not if your little one already has skin issues. Bath your baby in a water temperature of…