Hygiene and bleach baths
Regular bathing is one of the most effective ways to assist with wound healing and keep infection away.
Many children with EB do not like bathing, so a fun, interactive bath time routine from an early age with appropriate pain management can assist with this.
A newborn bathing routine should happen as soon as possible. Newborns can be bathed with their dressings on, and you can discuss with your EB team what can be added to the bath to help heal wounds.
Consider the pain management and procedural support section of this handbook.
Ideas to manage bath time
- give pain medication 20 minutes prior to the bath
- consider starting the bath with the dressings on and letting them soak off in the water.
Salt use
Salt can be added to baths when your child has a lot of blistering and may help with any pain experienced during bathing.
Salt should be added at a rate of 90g per 10 litres of water to achieve a 0.9 per cent solution.
Your EB nurse can provide support and information about bathing and salt use.
Bleach baths for newborns and small infants
- add 1 ml of ~ 4% bleach* to 1 L of water in a spray bottle.
- spray on skin.
- avoid head area (including avoid eyes, face and scalp)
- leave for 5 – 10 minutes
- either rinse and dry off or just dry off.
- follow daily for 5 days
- use moisturiser after the bath as the bleach can be drying e.g. “QV Skin Lotion”.
Using moisturiser from a pump pack will decrease the chance of contamination
Bleach baths for older children and adults
- add to a full bath tub of water (150-180 L), ½ of a cup (125 mL) of ~ 4% bleach. *This is normal household bleach and should be the unperfumed, unscented variety.
- the child or adult can spend a normal time in the bath, generally 5-10 minutes
- the bleach baths are given daily for 5 days
- do not immerse the child’s head under the water.
Tip: For young children, wet scalp areas and behind ears using a small / facial towel or flannelette. For older kids, tip head back and drench scalp/head area with the bleach bath water, take care to avoid eyes
- once the bath is finished partially dry the skin by patting it with a towel
- do not rub the skin and don’t dry completely.
- use moisturiser (e.g. “QV Skin lotion”) after the bath as the bleach bath can be drying.
Using moisturiser from a pump pack will decrease the chance of contamination.