Is talcum powder safe for babies? by Robert W. Steele, M.D.

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Just some more talc info ...

 

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Is talcum powder safe for babies?

 

by Robert W. Steele, M.D.

 

I love the smell of baby powder and have been using it on my newborn

when I change her diaper. A friend told me this is unsafe. Is this

really true?

 

The use of baby powders is rather common although many parents have

switched to using ointments. Reasons most parents give for preference to

powder is the feeling that the powder absorbs moisture better and

prevents friction between the baby's bottom and the diaper. However,

after decades of use, powders have fallen out of favor by the medical

community for a few reasons:

 

1. Talcum powder is usually made up of various combinations of zinc

stearate, magnesium silicates, as well as other silicates which are

finely ground. The size of particles is so small that they are both

easily carried in the air like dust and can reach even the smallest

areas of the lung.

 

2. There have been numerous reports of babies having

life-threatening episodes from inhaling the powder. And in fact, there

have been many deaths reported from aspiration of the powder. A good

number of these cases occurred during a diaper change when adult

supervision is usually very high. But as every parent knows (including

myself), infants and toddlers can be awfully quick sometimes, so

reaching for and spilling the powder bottle is not such a hard thing to

do for the little ones.

 

3. The feeling from many dermatologists is that there isn't much

advantage of powders as compared to ointments when it comes to

preventing and treating diaper rash.

 

So, clearly talc can cause pneumonia, inflammation (or swelling) of the

airways of babies, and even death. But what about cancer? When the link

to asbestos and cancer came to light, it was noticed that a lot of the

exposure to asbestos was accompanied by other inhalable fibers and dust

including talc. However, a specific link to talc exposure and lung

cancer has not been established. On the other hand, there has been some

interesting research into a possible link of talc to ovarian cancer.

 

For a number of years now, epidemiologists (scientists who try to

establish cause and effect relationships in diseases) have been

interested in trying to find some link to the environment and ovarian

cancer. Some of their focus has been on talc powder because it is a

product that is commonly used in the groin area by women. Several of

these studies have shown a possible link between talc powder use and

ovarian cancer while other studies have not. One interesting study

published last year (1996) was done by examining the ovaries of women

who had had them removed for reasons other than ovarian cancer. In that

study, talc powder was found in all the ovaries including the ones from

women did not use talc powder on themselves. This suggests that talc

powder could reach the ovaries of women who use talc powder on their

babies.

 

The relationship between talc and cancer is by no means certain. It may

turn out there is no relationship, on the other hand, it could be an

important contributing factor in the development of ovarian cancer. More

studies need to be done. Currently, there is absolutely no hard evidence

to suggest talc powder use causes cancer in babies. However, the

immediate danger of inhaling baby powder is clear. Therefore, I would

discourage the use of baby powder.

 

Robert W. Steele, M.D., is a board certified pediatrician at St. John's

Regional Health Center in Springfield, MO. He graduated from medical

school at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, TN.