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As Parents we want to keep our baby’s bottom clean and fresh, and we try our best at keeping it so.
However every once in a while, no matter how much we try to maintain a squeaky clean baby bum (every parent’s pride!), we are often faced with unwelcome bottom skin rashes, and its dreaded pal that follows – dry skin.
When we quickly ask around about household remedies, you can bet we’ll hear a lot about bag balms.
The funniest thing about bag balm is that some readily recommend it as a godsend for our baby’s skin and some talk about it with so much horror that in the end, we are left with making one massive confusion about the decision of treating our baby’s diaper rashes and dry skin.
YES, you can use baby balm on your baby’s skin. NO, it’s not safe if it goes in the eyes or mouth. So I wouldn’t recommend it for regular use in case an accident happens, however if its an emergency and its all you’vr got or a grandparent whipped some on don’t worry.
But everything has a risk. And as new parents, or at least new to the use of bag balm, you must also be aware of any and all adverse possibilities (as rare as they may be).
Because things CAN go wrong if you do not stick to some rules – which I’ll walk you through in this post.
What Is Bag Balm and How Helpful Is It for Treating Your Baby?
You should know that bag balms were first invented about 100 years ago to treat cow udders. It’s main ingredients are lanolin, petrolium jelly and 8-Hydroxyquinoline Sulfate. It is not a product created for use on human skin or safe for ingestion.
Therefore extreme care should be used not to put it on or around mouth or eyes. Having said this it is widely recommended by children’s hospitals as a a helpful tool in preventing diaper rash, which can get pretty nasty.
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Prevention is better than cure, so I would rather use bag balm than nothing at all on my baby’s skin if there is diaper rash starting. However, there are so many excellent products that have been created specifically for use on baby’s skin, personally I prefer to use products that has be licensed for use on my baby.
Your baby’s supple skin is the furthest thing from a cow udder. So naturally, you might wonder how and why it is being applied on diaper rashes, dry skin, and even on breasts when breastfeeding.
Bag balm is not a cult remedy for baby skin, since it is also used on adult skin as well. From treating burns and soothing soreness from tattoos to chaffing skin and cracked heels, bag balm has been used for moisturising skin for quite a long time.
So, putting it on a baby’s butt is not that big of a stretch.
What is Bag Balm?
Bag balm is an occulsive product. An occulsive is a cream or product that is often quite greasy and creates a barrier which prevents moisture escaping or entering the skin. Bag Balm is quite difficult to remove from the skin since it was created to serve as a ‘protecting’ layer.
So you do not have to worry about it getting accidentally wiped off, because it will always leave a thin film that will continue to moisturise the affected skin (which will obviously go away after a couple of washes).
This is why it has been used as it stopped urine and excrement from burning a baby’s skin. Using an occulent is a more important consideration if you use cloth nappies as I did with both my children.
This type of ointment is also ideal if your nipples start to crack when breastfeeding.
This is a common problem for a lot of breastfeeding mothers, and one of the main concerns is if it is safe for use in this context because there is a very strong possibility of it being ingested.
To look closely at this query, we should understand the various ingredients in the concoction.
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Heading To The Chemistry Lab
One of the main scary-sounding ingredients in bag balm is ‘8-Hydroxyquinoline Sulfate’.
This is a chemical that is extracted from coal tar, (which is also how Vaseline is made, so you can take a breather and calm down), and is also used in a multitude of cosmetics in addition to bag balm.
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It is added to these ointments and mixtures to stop the growth of certain microbes and, therefore, prevent the transference of bacteria onto skin. So this chemical is actually there to help you out and prevent the spread of bacteria.
There is one other ingredient known as ‘Lanolin’, Lanolin is a natural product which comes from sheep’s wool. There is which has the possibility of Lanolin causing allergic reactions in rare cases. However, these warnings come with every chemical used in so many of the products we consume every day.
What you need to be careful of, is that both of these ingredients can cause certain adverse effects if swallowed (since they are chemicals after all), and while it is no reason to panic, it is important to understand that repeated exposure to the balm (ingestion, mostly), is something you should avoid.
Can I put Bag Balm on my nipples?
NO. It wouldn’t be my preference to use Bag Balm, because it contains petrochemicals and can be harmful if accidentally ingested. The only occasion I would strongly advise against it, would be for regular use on nipples. This is because it could facilitate ingestion if you are breastfeeding, which could be harmful to your baby.
There are other products available that are safer, and have equally excellent results healing chapped skin.
However if you are desperate, (believe me I know what that feels like) and bag balm is what you have to hand, use it, just wash your breast well before breastfeeding, and keep it well out of reach of your baby or toddler ( I have a great story about one child at nursery exploring finger painting with the stuff ! ) It comes in these large tubs which are so temping for little ones to stick their hands in and spread EVERYWHERE!
Bag Balm can be hazardous if swallowed or if it gets in their eyes, and safer products in more convenient packaging is readily available. However, prevention is better that cure, so if it’s all you’ve got use it on baby’s bum or cradle cap or your nipples but take care that its not swallowed.
So, minimising the application on your breasts would be a step in the right direction.
What’s the best diaper rash ointment?
I prefer to use a product created specifically for baby skin that acts as a barrier cream, look for a product that has similar properties such as greasy texture, and doesn’t easily wash off.
What’s the best nipple cream?
Therefore I would not recommend putting it on your nipples if you are breastfeeding. Instead try a product with similar greasy properties such as Lansinoh or a 100% natural lanolin product.
I could not have breastfed without Lansinoh nipple cream. It’s a natural and hypoallergenic product and its highly refined so that its totally safe for baby, so you don’t have to wash it off before feeding. If your baby or you have chapped lips or creases in between joints it is also a brilliant cure.
The Key Takeaways
Bag Balm is an ointment you can use to treat your baby diaper bottom – and that includes everything from pesky diaper rashes to dry skin. It is not safe if there is a chance of it being swallowed. Avoid using it on nipples or places a baby might lick.
And let’s not limit its use just for the baby, because bag balm can be a useful over-the-counter ointment for the adults in the household as well.
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While it does contain certain chemicals in its ingredient list, bag balm does not offer more risk than many other ointment or cosmetic product but it wasn’t created for use on babies so it’s side effects are not known and it contains products that are known to be unsafe if ingested.