Two days ago we explained the most important thing to consider for the care of the baby's penis. As you saw, it seems a complicated issue, but it is not so much because time and patience usually work miracles.
The case of girls seems easier because there is nothing that has to be opened little by little, but nevertheless at the level of hygiene you have to be much more careful than with boys because they do not have the "barrier" of the testicles and it is much easier for the poop to stain everything. That's why today we are going to talk of the care of the vulva of the baby.
From front to back, from top to bottom
In children it doesn't matter exactly how they clean their asses when they pooped. You can do it from top to bottom (I talk about having the child lying down) or from bottom to top. It does not matter because if you go up you find the testicles that sound to stop the passage of the poop towards the urinary meatus, which in children is at the end of the penis and that does not usually get stained. Sometimes yes, of course, if the bowel movements are more liquid, but it is unusual. Just in case, and because it is more logical, it is better from top to bottom, but the risk is less.
In the case of girls, it doesn't matter. The rule is immovable and must always be done in the same way. If you are standing it is from front to back (from the vulva to the anus) and if lying down it is from top to bottom. The reason is clear, as far as possible, avoid carrying bacteria from the anus to the vulva, as this could cause vulvitis, vulvovaginitis or, as the urinary meatus is right there, a urinary infection.
Secretions of the vagina in newborns
Not all girls have it, but many girls secrete through the vagina a flow that can be transparent, white or with traces of blood, which will be so because of maternal hormones that have passed to the girl during pregnancy. It is a normal secretion that is called physiological leukorrhea that has to be cleaned gently, with a sponge, day by day, but without trying to remove everything.
The reason is that it is a flow with a very acidic pH that serves as protection to kill any bacteria that comes near it. If we remove everything, we remove that protection, but if we do not clean, infection could also occur due to lack of hygiene so, as I say, sponge with water and clean the area a bit so that there are no urine or feces left.
Sponge or wipes?
For some time this part has become fashionable, as practical as it is, everything to use and throw away, and among them are diapers and wipes. The wipes are tremendously useful, because they are wet, clean well and then we throw them away and voila. The problem, with girls, is that they don't clean like water And this can have consequences.
I speak of the synechiae of the labia minora, a disease that is quite common in childhood (it is estimated that about 3.3% of girls between 13 and 23 months suffer from it) and that it involves the union or fusion of the lips minors It is common, but the current feeling is that the incidence is increasing and the reason is the increasingly widespread use of wipes as the only cleaning method.
It is not that the fault of having synechia is the use of wipes, since the reasons are not very clear and seem to be associated with girls not yet producing enough estrogens so that the lips are kept separate, but the use of wipes it implies less use of water, and when secretions remain uncleaned, they can act as a merger, of "glue".
Therefore, in the case of girls, it is recommended to use the sponge whenever possible, so that the water runs, from top to bottom, and drag what you have to drag. The wipes clean too, but not as well as the water that falls abundantly, and again. They are worth when you are on the street, or in someone else's house, but at home, in time, better with sponge and water.
"But the sponge to clean one poop after another is a bit guarded," you will think. Well, you can make a mix. First clean the poop with wipes, gauze or similar (something to use and throw away) and then sponge and water to run the dirt. Finally dry well and, if necessary, put creampie in the area (often it is not necessary, but if dermatitis is occurring, it is worth putting a paste of cream in the water that not only treats the area, but when "painting "the area protects it from the next pee or the following poops).
