New parents often find themselves struggling to keep their babies clean. And why shouldn’t they? Babies, regardless of their age, are messy creatures.
Antibacterial wipes are not a hundred percent safe for babies. Although they contain ingredients proven to kill some germs, they contain harsh chemicals that are sensitive to a baby’s skin. Moreover, antibacterial wipes are not entirely effective against all kinds of germs. And more often, they can cause allergic reactions.
There are significant reasons why you must stay away from using antibacterial wipes on your kids. Continue reading to know more about this.
Things that Contribute to the Manufacturing of the Antibacterial Wipes
Wipes are very easy to use, which explains their popularity. Before you use any wipes on your child, you must know what goes into antibacterial wipes.
Types of Material
Antibacterial wipes are composed of many types of materials. And the durability of the wipes depends on the materials that are used.
Cellulose wipes tear easily, while the polyester gives more durability. Many companies also use biodegradable materials to make their wipes.
Water Is key
Water is one of the essential ingredients as it holds all the ingredients together. Most antibacterial wipes contain pure water so that the quality is not compromised. Water also allows the skin to remain hydrated.
Preservatives
A combination of preservatives is used, such as gluconolactone and sodium benzoate. This prevents the wipes from drying out while gently cleaning the skin.
All wipes contain the ingredients mentioned above, but antibacterial wipes may contain antibacterial reagents that inhibit the growth of germs.
Are Antibacterial Wipes Safe For Babies?
No, Antibacterial wipes are not safe for babies. One of the significant reasons is these contain harmful chemicals which are harsh on the skin.
Antibacterial wipes, like all other wipes, contain many chemicals. However, babies have very sensitive skin. And these harmful chemicals can cause damage to the skin.
In many cases, the chemicals can cause a burning sensation that is very painful for your child. Therefore, if you want to keep using antibacterial wipes in any case, please check the ingredients list so that you are well informed.
Cause Allergies and Skin Rashes
Many antibacterial wipes can cause allergies. So it is better if you choose a brand that makes hypoallergenic wipes. Now you may ask, what does hypoallergenic mean? Hypoallergenic means something that will not cause an allergic reaction.
Therefore choosing a hypoallergenic wipes brand will save your child from skin rashes and other allergic problems. By the way, if you are worried about allergies and skin rashes then a big balm would be safe for your baby.
Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria:
The presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is increasing, and this is very problematic. Antibiotic-resistant bacterias can survive even in the presence of strong antibiotics. In short, there is no way to kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
It has been seen that the usage of antibacterial wipes in households has increased the number of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in that household. And these bacterias can infect your children and cause severe health problems. So please refrain from using antibacterial wipes at all times.
Limited Effectiveness
Antibacterial wipes intended for babies contain antibacterial agents. However, for a product to be regarded as a disinfectant, it should contain 60% alcohol and ingredients like sodium hypochlorite.
If any product does not contain a sufficient amount of alcohol, then the product will not be able to kill germs. It has been seen that antibacterial wipes are not effective against all germs. This means that even after using antibacterial wipes on your baby, you might think that your child is devoid of all germs. But you should think again.
How to Keep Your Babies Clean?
If you cannot use antibacterial wipes, then you might wonder what you can use to keep your babies clean and free from germs.
Here are some tips you can follow:
Wash hands regularly: When killing germs, soap and water are your best bet. Please make sure you and your child wash your hands for at least 20 seconds.
To get ultimate results, use soap and warm water. If your child does not like washing hands, make sure you have some fun activities to make it interesting.
Ensure everyone has clean hands before they touch your child: It is essential that you ask everyone who touches your child to have clean hands. Many fungal diseases are often transmitted through touch. Everyone should have clean and dirt-free hands to prevent that from happening.
You can carry hand sanitizer with you so that people use it before they touch your baby.
Wash your sheets regularly: Babies drool, sweat and pee all over the sheets. Therefore you should wash your sheets regularly. Dirty sheets are the carrier for many diseases.
You can use antibacterial solutions and detergents to clean your sheets thoroughly. This will add a second layer of protection so that your child can sleep peacefully.
Keep your shoes away: Parents cannot wait for their babies to start walking. But before they start walking, they crawl all over the floor. And shoes bring in dirt and germs from outside to your house.
You should have a shoe shelf near your door to keep your shoes there. Or you can use slippers that should be cleaned regularly.
Disinfect And Clean Everything Around Your Child
Babies are very sensitive to germs as they do not have any proper immunity. And the job of parents becomes a hundred times harder because babies and toddlers put everything in their mouths. Therefore if you want to keep your child healthy, you have to disinfect everything they use, especially their toys.
Difference Between Disinfecting and Cleaning
We often think cleaning and disinfecting are the same thing. But the truth is they are quite different.
Cleaning refers to using physical reagents such as soap to clean the surface.
Disinfecting, on the other hand, means using disinfecting agents such as Dettol or Savlon to kill bacterias.
Moreover, when you clean, you are actually removing dust and dirt particles from a surface, but that’s not the case for disinfecting. To disinfect something you can’t just wipe it with something like cleaning.
For proper disinfecting, you need to add strong chemicals that can actually remove germs and keep the place safe. For instance, babies’ skin and operating equipment needs to be sterilized to keep them away from the exposure of germs.
Disinfecting wipes safe for baby toys
Babies of all ages play with toys. My kid still sleeps with her teddy bear that has turned a dusty brown from pink with time. But I still wash it and disinfect it from time to time.
Different toys have to be disinfected differently. For plastic toys like cars, you can put them in water with bleach.
However, if the toys are made of rubber or different materials, you can always read the cleaning manually using Lysol or even ask the sellers about the cleaning process.
If the toy baby bottles are made of rubber or even plastic you can always clean them with various disinfecting liquids. However, there are toys that are made of pretty sensitive materials. In that case, you might need to use some other kind of cleaning agent that is suitable for the material of the toys.
No matter what, you should always check if the toys can be put into the dishwasher or not. If they are dishwasher safe, you can put them on the rack and use the heated cycle to sterilize them.
Bottom Line
Antibacterial wipes have earned popularity because they are easy to use and relatively cheap. However, you should refrain from using them when it comes to your babies as they are not entirely safe.
You can always use other safe methods like soap cleaning, using antibacterial creams, or even regular cleaning, and washing your babies with baby soap and gel would be the best ways to keep your babies safe from germs and bacteria.
So the final verdict when it comes to antibacterial wipes safe for babies, the answer is no. Babies are delicate and fragile. And they deserve the best of everything to grow safely.
