It is now a trend for some mothers to lighten their baby’s skin. Some of these mothers who want to have light skinned babies take an unpopular route to achieve their aim.

The in thing these days is that some mothers are mixing Funbact A, an anti fungal cream with their baby’s body creams. The sad thing is that these mothers don’t know the health implication of their daily action on their children’s health.

Saturday Sun spoke to a pediatrician, Nkechi Obinwa who not only condemned this rising trend but also cautioned mothers about going down that route just to have fair babies.

Obinwa warned Nigerian mothers against the use of anti-fungal creams mixed with baby body creams to bleach the skin of their babies because of the health risks associated with it.

Obinwa stated that antifungal creams are medications and not body creams. She said mixing drugs like Funbact A and Skineal with baby body creams is not healthy for the skin, especially for the skin of babies.

“The rate at which some mothers do this now is alarming and for them to even prescribe it to others openly without restraint is not good. Mothers should stop doing this because these are drugs with dangerous side effects.”

Obinwa noted that the side effects include easy absorption of these steroids into the bloodstream from the fragile skin of the newborns and babies. This she revealed can lead to serious side effects.

According to her, “Long term use of these antifungal creams on children’s skin gastritis also known as stomach ulcers, wounds, and poor growth.”

If mothers religiously go through the packs of some of these medicated creams, words like antifungal, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory are written on them, which means they are medications to be used for a while on affected areas and not permanently on the whole body, Obinwa stated.

The pediatrician noted that the problem with some mothers is the sudden crave for fair babies even when they are as dark as night.

“A lot of women are carried away by the desire for their babies to be fair, not knowing the dangers inherent in this dangerous practice.”

Obinwa said that there is more to life than having a fair baby. Most babies are born fair but that does not mean they will remain fair. Those with genetic makeup to be dark will still be dark irrespective of concoctions or bleaching creams applied on their skin.

She, however, encouraged mothers to embrace the use of natural products for children as these can help their skin look smoother without side effects or health implications.

“I advise mothers to always use natural products for babies such as Vaseline, Shea butter, olive oil and other routine baby care products. Mothers should use medicated creams only on doctor’s prescription and for the duration recommended only.”

Obinwa advised mothers that if their babies have any skin issues, they should please see their pediatrician or dermatologist for proper diagnosis and treatment.

Overview

Funbact a cream is used for itch or rash, bacterial infections, skin inflammation, treatment of ringworm, relief of itching, burning, cracking, and scaling associated with athlete’s foot, and ring worm

The cream is also used for the prevention of oral thrush, skin problems, fungal skin infection of vagina, eczema, psoriasis and other conditions.

Funbact A cream side-effects

The following is a list of possible side-effects that may occur from all constituting ingredients of Funbact A cream.

These side-effects are possible, but do not always occur. Some of the side-effects may be rare but serious. Consult your doctor if you observe any of the following side-effects, especially if they do not go away.

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These side effects include irritation, burning, itching, allergic contact dermatitis, swelling, hypertrichosis, redness, stomach pain, and fever.

How to care for your baby skin

Oil massage

Coconut oil and olive oil are traditionally used in several countries for newborns. Also, the oil should be warm and not hot. Apply soft pressure and gently rub the baby’s skin with the oil.

Routine oil massaging helps in improved sleep for the baby. It can keep the baby’s skin hydrated, smooth and act as a skin barrier, if you are using uncontaminated and natural oils.

Moisturization

Babies have delicate skin. A gentle massage with a mild moisturizer can be given to your baby, three to four times a day.

Moisturization keeps skin hydrated and prevents dryness. It soothes the baby’s skin but doesn’t change the skin color.

Baby scrub

A homemade scrub is made by mixing baby oil, raw milk, and rose water. The paste is applied to the baby’s skin and rubbed gently.

The mixture could help in removing unwanted impurities and the light hair on your baby’s skin. But it won’t lighten the complexion. Also, if the powder is rough or is rubbed roughly, it could cause rashes.

Use mild soap

the baby’s sensitive skin, may be used on your infant. You may also make a homemade bath pack with raw milk and rose water. Apply the mixture on your baby’s skin and wash it off with lukewarm water.

Mild soap is safe for the baby. However, harsh soap can lead to skin peeling and dryness. Neither the use of the soap nor its avoidance can give a fair complexion to your baby.

Baby wipes

You may use baby wipes that contain glycerin and milk cream. These soft wipes help to cleanse your baby’s face and other body parts.

Baby wipes are designed to clean your baby and avoid the dryness. But they are not made to lighten the complexion.

What’s in the complexion?

A baby’s complexion depends on their genes, family and, to an extent, on the climatic conditions of the place they live in.

Skin is just like any other part of the body. All you can do is take care of your baby’s skin to keep it healthy and give it a natural glow by using natural products.