Balmex, A Natural For Anywhere You Find A Diaper.
Written: Jul 24 '01 (Updated Jul 24 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Inexpensive For Treating Diaper Rash, Works Quickly, Soothes As It Heals,
Cons: Bit Expensive for Daily Use
The Bottom Line: Works quickly on Diaper Rash, Soothes As It Heals, Excellent Product As "An Ounce of Prevention."
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| nursefriendly's Full Review: Balmex Diaper Rash Ointment |
Hello Everyone,
Writing this epinion from the perspective of Stay at Home Father to my baby daughter, and as a Registered Nurse who’s seen people develop and die from rashes that progressed into deadly bedsores.
Topics covered in this epinion include:
1. Diaper Rash, What Is It, What Causes it.
2. How We Heard About Balmex, Where You’ll Find It
3. Balmex in Babies.
4. Balmex in Incontinent Adults/Seniors.
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Diaper Rash, What Is It, What Causes it.
“Diaper rash usually begins as a solid patch of red, thickened skin (often around the anus) and can spread to cover the entire groin and lower buttocks. The same moist, warm, closed-off conditions causing the original rash also can lead to infection by bacteria or yeast.”1
“Causes of Diaper Rash
Moisture
Prolonged contact with urine or feces
Chemical irritation
Chafing
Occlusion (poor skin/air contact)”1
1. The Protocare Homepage. 1997: Diaper Rash: Retrieved July 24, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.quickcare.org/skin/infant.html
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How We Found It:
My Wife Melanie and I are both Registered Nurses who care for diapered patients/children.
We first learned of Balmex at work, where it’s recommended for patients with not only diaper rash but also bedsores (also known as decubitus ulcers). It is prescribed by physicians concerned about skin breaking down and also provided by family members concerned about the care of the geriatric patient.
Knowing that staffing in Nursing Homes and Hospitals can be inadequate at times, they consider it an extra measure of protection for times when the patient may need to wait for care.
You can buy Balmex in your local drugstore and often supermarkets. You will find it in most nursing homes and hospitals where skin breakdown due to diaper rash is a concern.
Applying Balmex to either a young childs bottom, or an adult will often clear up a rash and help the skin stay soft and prevent irritation. This is due to the Aloe, Vitamin E and Zinc Oxide it contains. They soothe skin and encourage healing.
The equation to remember is:
(Time) x (Contact with urine or feces) x (Pressure on affected area) = diaper rash/skin breakdown.
Whether you’re dealing with a newborn baby or your senile 85 year old mother/father/grandfather/grandmother/aunt/uncle, the equation will apply in keeping their skin healthy.
It’s far less common for our children to die from diaper rash than our parents in Nursing Homes of bedsores/ulcers. Regardless, immaculate skin care is what you want to shoot for.
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Balmex For Babies.
When we brought our baby girl home from the hospital we were told to expect a large number of diapers very quickly. We were not disappointed (grin). As a new father, I was amazed by the sheer number of colors and textured that came out of our little girl.
From the time their newborns and up till they’re successfully potty trained, kids wearing diapers are at risk of diaper rash and irritated skin. The best you can do is check and change them frequently and use super aborbent diapers that will keep the baby dry longer.
An additional measure is to apply a skin protectant possibly before a rash occurs, but definitely as soon as one appears.
Untreated skin affected by a diaper rash, can quickly become infected by either bacteria or yeast, making the problem even worse.
Balmex wipes on as a thick white cream, with almost no smell to it. You can take a fingerful and leave a thin coat on an entire sore child’s butt. You can also apply it generously though this won’t improve the results.
The cream is both protective, healing and soothing. Once applied, the skin will feel better, heal quicker and be less prone to diaper rash as long as the Balmex is applied.
What you’ll notice is the diaper rash usually in a day or so will start to shrink or disappear. With continued applications, the dry, irritated, burning skin rash that’s been keeping your baby up all day/night crying, will quickly and gradually disappear.
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Balmex in Incontinent Adults/Seniors.
In Geriatric patients, one of the first things to go when Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Senility or Dementia set in is control of your bowels. (This can also happen with stress incontinence, poor bladder control, prostate surgery and conditions where the mind is left intact.)
As a result, unless they’re tended to quickly, patient’s in Nursing Homes and Hospitals can literally lay in wet diapers for extended periods of time. This is especially true of patient’s who cannot use a call bell to ask for help. This is due to too many patients, not enough nurses or nursing assisants to tend to there needs (a cost cutting measure used by hospitals and nursing homes is to pay fewer people to handle more patients).
It’s this extended contact with urine or feces, plus pressure on the area from not changing positions, that can irritate the skin and cause a diaper rash or bedsores. The best defense against this happening is changing diapers frequently. Both in the home and in the Nursing Home, this is sometimes easier said than done.
In the home, when your dealing with your own children, it’s less likely that the baby will lay in their soiled diaper for extended periods of time. In Nursing Homes, (in all 50 states, in poor and affluent cities) it’s almost a given that they will.
Balmex is commonly prescribed by doctors to help heal rashes and skin breakdown in patients. Balmex is often only applied once there’s a problem identified, a diaper rash in a baby or geriatric patient.
It’s here that an ounce of prevention is key in preventing what can be a major problem. Patient’s are frequently admitted to hospitals or put on antibiotic therapy due to massive infections that stem directly to broken skin from diaper rashes or pressure sores.
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Hope this was helpful.
Andrew Lopez, BS RN
http://www.nursefriendly.com
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
nursefriendly
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Member: Andrew Lopez, BS RN, Nursefriendly, Inc.
Location: Mantua, New Jersey
Reviews written: 66
Trusted by: 72 members
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