Amy Childs has revealed having a bath is not part of her daily bedtime routine for her baby daughter Polly, as she is worried about eczema.
‘I only bath Polly twice a week,” the ‘TOWIE’ star said in an Instagram video.
“I suffered with eczema and I obviously don’t want Polly to have that. I love getting her out of the bath and smoothing her in loads of cream.”
Skincare experts from the National Eczema Society and British Skin Foundation have reassured parents that bathing does not cause eczema, but water and fragranced products can make symptoms worse.
“There have been lots of studies looking at how often you should bathe children,” said Dr Emma Wedgeworth, consultant dermatologist and British Skin Foundation spokesperson.
“You certainly don’t need to bath them once a day, but if you choose to because you enjoy bath time, there is no evidence this is harmful.”
Margaret Cox, chief executive of the National Eczema Society, also wanted to put concerned parents’ minds at rest.
“Many parents do worry that their babies might develop eczema which is understandable as it can be a very challenging condition to live with,” she said.
“We know that the risk is higher where other family members (parents and/or siblings) have the condition but we don’t yet have good evidence about whether frequent bathing will make a difference.”
Wedgeworth advises against using bubble baths, foaming wash products or fragranced products on children’s skin.
“You can enjoy regular bath time without harming children’s skin but stick to water alone or emollient (moisturiser) based washes,” she said.
Cox added: “We do though know that water on its own is drying and soap is a major trigger factor, as is perfume.
“It is not usually necessary to bath your baby in the first few weeks of life, but once you do start bathing your baby, as a precaution the National Eczema Society would advise avoiding soaps, baby shampoos and bathing products which could break down the skin barrier and also to avoid all perfumed products.
“Instead, we would suggest adding a tablespoon of bland emollient (medical moisturiser) to the bath water.
“If a baby has visible signs of eczema, daily bathing with emollients is considered optimal, to help rehydrate the skin.”
Further information is available from www.eczema.org.