Cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting, cleaning your baby's ears, eyes and nose

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Keeping your baby’s head and face clean is important for their good health. That’s because baby skin is fragile & more sensitive than adult skin, so it can easily become irritated. It can take a little while to get used to cleaning their tiny ears, eyes and nose, but with practice your confidence will grow.

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Do I need lớn clean my baby"s ears, eyes & nose?

Although young babies don’t move around much, you’d be surprised at how dirty their faces can get. Just like adults, they can develop ear wax & mucus in their nose và discharge in their eyes.

Paying special attention lớn these parts of your baby’s toàn thân will prevent problems in future.

When should I clean my baby"s ears, eyes & nose?

Your baby’s ears, eyes and nose should be wiped every day. All you need is some cotton wool and warm water. Don’t use soap because this can dry out your baby’s sensitive skin.

A good time lớn clean your baby"s ears, eyes và nose is just before you give them a bath. Newborn babies don"t need a bath every day — 2 or 3 times a week is enough — so on other days you can just wash their face and bottom. This is known as "top & tailing".

Some babies get upset when you wash their faces, so choose a time when they’re relaxed. It’s best not to wash their face when they’re hungry, or right after a feed. Talking or singing while you’re washing them might help to lớn calm them down.

How bởi vì I clean my baby"s ears, eyes and nose?

If you are going to lớn give your baby a bath, fill the bath with warm water và get together everything you need first. Always make sure the water is no hotter than 37 lớn 38°C. If you don’t have a thermometer, use your elbow or wrist to kiểm tra the water isn"t too hot.

Before you undress your baby, lay them on a safe surface. Dip some cotton wool in lukewarm water. Gently clean the corners of their eyes, wiping from the inside corner khổng lồ the outside corner. Use a new cốt tông wool ball for each eye.

Then gently wipe around each nostril to get rid of any mucus. Wipe around your baby"s ears, including around the outside.

Use a soft towel khổng lồ gently dry your baby"s skin, making sure you also dry behind the ears.

It"s very important not khổng lồ stick anything into your baby"s ears or nose as this can cause damage. It can cause the lining of the inside of the nose to lớn bleed và damage the eardrum. Pushing something into your baby"s ear or nose can increase the risk of infection.

When their face is clean và dry, you can undress them và give them their bath.

Should I remove my baby"s earwax?

Usually there is no need to lớn remove your baby"s earwax. It has an important role in protecting their ears. It blocks germs that could cause infection from reaching the eardrum and it prevents dirt và dust from entering your baby"s ear.

Ear wax usually makes its way to the outer ear naturally. You can gently wipe it away when you"re cleaning their ears. Don’t ever poke a cotton swab, finger or anything else into your baby"s ears.

You should also avoid using remedies to lớn remove ear wax. This risks damaging the ear canal & can even affect your baby’s hearing.

If you think your baby"s ears are causing them discomfort — for example, if they"re tugging or pulling their ears a lot — then tell your doctor in case they have an ear infection.

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Sources: The Royal Women’s Hospital (Caring for your newborn baby), Raising Children (Cleaning baby eyes, nose and ears), Raising Children (Bathing a newborn), The Royal Children"s Hospital Melbourne (Ear infections and glue ear)

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Last reviewed: April 2021

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atlantis.edu.vn dietitian Victoria Taylor says:

‘Clean eating’ is a term that has been used a lot over the past year or two. But what it actually means is not very clear. It is used to mean anything from making simple, healthy changes khổng lồ your existing diet, to adopting a rigid diet that excludes whole food groups.

Everyone seems lớn broadly agree on the benefits of eating more whole foods, such as fruit và veg, grains & pulses, & fewer processed foods such as cakes, biscuits và ready meals. For most of us, these are positive changes.

However, as with all fads, there are extreme versions of clean eating và these don’t have a sound basis. It’s often recommended that dairy and wheat are excluded from the diet, even for those who have not been diagnosed with an intolerance or allergy. Coconut oil is often promoted, despite being high in saturated fat, which is linked to lớn high cholesterol.

Having flexibility in your diet is important if it"s going lớn be a pattern of eating for the long term

Butter is avoided by some clean eaters, but not by others, while most who eat it suggest it should be atlantis.edu.vnanic and grass-fed – attributes that don’t change the fact it is high in saturated fat. There is similar inconsistency over sugar. Although trắng sugar is definitely not viewed as ‘clean’, honey, maple syrup và juices, which are also sources of miễn phí sugars, are usually included và even encouraged by some clean eating gurus. They might help you cut back on sugar, for example in tea or fizzy drinks. But, ultimately, you need khổng lồ reduce the total sweetness of your diet if you want to lớn readjust your tastes in the long term.

While it’s true that there are some foods we should be eating less of and others we should eat more of, this is a world away from thinking about foods in terms of clean và dirty. Clean eating presents an image of perfection that isn’t realistic.

In real life, some days may be better than others and having flexibility in your diet is important if it’s going to lớn be a pattern of eating for the long term, rather than a continuous cycle of deprivation & guilt.

Meet the expert

Victoria Taylor is a registered dietitian with 20 years’ experience. Her work for the NHS focused on weight management và community programmes for the prevention of cardiovascular disease. She leads the atlantis.edu.vn"s work on nutrition.