Study finds baby wipes connected to childhood food allergies
A new study in the US has found that the use of baby wipes may promote childhood food allergies by disrupting the skins natural protective barriers.
However, this will only happen if the infant carries certain genetic mutations that affect the skin.
The study, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, found that a combination of environmental and genetic factors must coexist for a food allergy to develop.
The factors that can cause a food allergy include baby wipes leaving soap on the skin, exposure to dust and food, and genetics that alter skin absorbency.
Lead author of the study and professor of allergy-immunology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Joan Cook-Mills, said, “This is a recipe for developing food allergy.”
“It’s a major advance in our understanding of how food allergy starts early in life,” Professor Cook-Mills said.
Professor Cook-Mills said the evidence shows that up to 35 per cent of children with food allergies also have atopic dermatitis and much of that is explained by at least three different gene mutations that reduce skin barrier.
To conduct the study, researchers used baby mice with dermatitis and exposed their skins to food allergens like peanuts. The peanuts alone did not have any impact.
Then researchers thought about what babies have their skin exposed to in their younger years, such as household dust, soap through baby wipes and food allergens.
“They may not be eating food allergens as a newborn, but they are getting them on their skin. Say a sibling with peanut butter on her face kisses the baby. Or a parent is preparing food with peanuts and then handles the baby,” explained Professor Cook-Mills.
The researchers repeated the experiment but applied sodium lauryl sulfate, a common soap found in baby wipes, to the skin of the mice before exposing them to common food and other allergens over a two-week period.
After being fed eggs or peanuts, the mice developed a rash at the skin exposure site as well as allergic reactions and anaphylaxis.
It is believed the soap in the wet wipes disrupts the top layer of skin, which is made of lipids (fats).
Professor Cook-Mills warned that parents should limit the use of baby wipes on infants.
“Reduce baby’s skin exposure to the food allergens by washing your hands before handling the baby,” she added.