Bubble Baths

[EchoSoul]

So my MIL saw my son reaching for the bubbles in the sink and asked if he had bubble bath. I said no, hesitating, because I could've sworn I had heard/read somewhere that bubble baths and intact boys do not mix well. So I goggle'd it to confirm it. So my question is...for how long? It is not important to me that he never has a bubble bath, but my MIL will probably want to know how long she will have to wait for him to use it. I'm pretty much already expecting the answer to be not within the cute child in bubble bath age range, and expecting a subtle "Well you should've gotten him circumcised.." from my MIL, and I'll deal.

[littlest birds]

I've actually never heard of that. 

I find the recommendation surprising. Wouldn't irritation come from getting the soapy stuff under his foreskin and not getting it rinsed off?  But can anything even get under a babies non-retractable foreskin?

My DS took a lot of bubble baths from a young age and it never bothered him.  It's definitely possible that girls' or boys' genitalia might be irritated by bubble baths, though.  If you decide on an age to try it and then discover it irritates him, I would say no harm done and stop after that.  A little extra rinsing afterward might prevent problems.

[sere234]

I was just thinking about this the other day! I came from the angle: well, females aren't supposed to take bubble baths due to vaginal irritation (I guess?) so I wonder if its okay for my 2.5 yo intact son to have a bubble bath? He gets a squirt of body wash in his bath as bubble bath maybe once a week? And we use body wash that is pretty much free of most chemical stuff so it's not going to hurt him too much.

Then I shrugged and forgot about it!

But yeah, an intact boy would be better protected than a circumcised one I'd assume. Right?

[LiLStar]

Assuming its a good quality bubble bath (check cosmeticdatabase.com. There's plenty of 0-1s) I wouldn't worry about it. California baby is easy to find and gets a "0". I say pick up some of that and let MIL go nuts giving him a bath :) 

[EchoSoul]

I google'd "bubble baths and intact infants" one of the sites I found was this one http://www.circumstitions.com/Care.html under the "Boys" section.

We rarely use soap... only time I really do is if he gets a poopy butt and I give him a butt bath in the tub with soap just to get the stink off. But the way I figure it, if he pees, then maybe the soap could get trapped before I have the chance to rinse it?

[littlest birds]

The mention on that site is in reference to boys as they become retractable.  And it's stated as a "suspicion" that bubble baths might sometimes be the cause of an irritated glans.  From that I would only take the advice that if your child ever experienced irritation then you would not want to overlook the possibility that a soap or bubble bath was the cause.  (And I think the point that website attempts to make is actually that you shouldn't assume a health problem that may require circ if it could just be your bath product.)

If you skip the bubble bath because of the potential for irritation I wouldn't say it is because he has a foreskin but just because the bubble bath might be irritating to sensitive parts-- as it could be for anyone. This has the added benefit of giving grandma no reason to make circumcision comments.

[joandsarah77]

I just use baby bath solution from a bottle to make bubbles and my son has never had a problem with it and he's 8. I've always used that as it's no tears and I figured more gentle. I don't know about regular bubble bath though, I'd stay clear of that.

[EchoSoul]

Originally Posted by littlest birds 

I've actually never heard of that. 

I find the recommendation surprising. Wouldn't irritation come from getting the soapy stuff under his foreskin and not getting it rinsed off?  But can anything even get under a babies non-retractable foreskin?

My DS took a lot of bubble baths from a young age and it never bothered him.  It's definitely possible that girls' or boys' genitalia might be irritated by bubble baths, though.  If you decide on an age to try it and then discover it irritates him, I would say no harm done and stop after that.  A little extra rinsing afterward might prevent problems.

I'll look for something gentle and give it a shot.. if he gets irritated, I want it to be with me, not his grammy, y'know?

Originally Posted by littlest birds 

The mention on that site is in reference to boys as they become retractable.  And it's stated as a "suspicion" that bubble baths might sometimes be the cause of an irritated glans.  From that I would only take the advice that if your child ever experienced irritation then you would not want to overlook the possibility that a soap or bubble bath was the cause.  (And I think the point that website attempts to make is actually that you shouldn't assume a health problem that may require circ if it could just be your bath product.)

If you skip the bubble bath because of the potential for irritation I wouldn't say it is because he has a foreskin but just because the bubble bath might be irritating to sensitive parts-- as it could be for anyone. This has the added benefit of giving grandma no reason to make circumcision comments.

True.. it does make sense to me though. In the way that their foreskin retracts just enough for them to pee, I was looking at the possibility of if he decides to pee, that being when it irritates him.. Good idea on what to tell her, though!

Originally Posted by joandsarah77 

I just use baby bath solution from a bottle to make bubbles and my son has never had a problem with it and he's 8. I've always used that as it's no tears and I figured more gentle. I don't know about regular bubble bath though, I'd stay clear of that.

Mhm. I'll look for something gentle, thanks :)

[EchoSoul]

Originally Posted by LiLStar 

Assuming its a good quality bubble bath (check cosmeticdatabase.com. There's plenty of 0-1s) I wouldn't worry about it. California baby is easy to find and gets a "0". I say pick up some of that and let MIL go nuts giving him a bath :) 

Thanks! I'll look into that one :)

[MichelleZB]

Yeah, that's not a thing. Bubble bath away! Your son's foreskin is there for protection, so it'll just do its job.

[argot]

The problem that girls have with it is that bubble bath is nothing like regular soap. It leaves a thick filmy residue that disturbs healthy beneficial skin microbes. That's why it can cause problems. If a boy were prone to genital infections, the thick filmy residue from bubble bath could pose the same problem. If the skin is not yet (painlessly) retractable, I would never use bubble bath, just because it would be more difficult to deal with an infection. I don't think phimosis is any risk in itself like some would have us believe, but at the same time it would make me more cautious about taking such unnecessary risks as bathing in really terrible soap. And cheap bubble baths (like dollar store brand) cause all kinds of skin problems besides the potential for posthitis.

I'm intact and I've never had posthitis, but I do remember getting a rash elsewhere from some awful cheap bubble bath at some point in my childhood.

Edited by argot - 3/8/13 at 5:18pm

[EchoSoul]

Yeah, he's no where near retractable at this time..

[owlhowl]

My mom sent the boys bubble bath for Valentine's day and my 2 year old had a terrible reaction to it. Even though I rinsed the soap off of him after his bath, within the hour he was telling me his penis hurt and sure enough, it was red and swollen. He's my youngest of 3 and this was the first time any of them have had this experience with bubble bath. Thankfully the coconut oil/breastmilk ointment I made helped the swelling go down. Poor boys!

[EchoSoul]

Thanks for the story!

[ChristmasLover]

My son has been taking bubble baths for 7 years without any problems.  I take them also with no problems.  I don't really think they cause UTIs based on my experiences.

[mama24-7]

Originally Posted by ChristmasLover 

My son has been taking bubble baths for 7 years without any problems.  I take them also with no problems.  I don't really think they cause UTIs based on my experiences.

Thanks for chiming in.  Do you think it's possible that these baths don't cause *you* any problems?  I know that once I stopped using soap on my girl parts & then once I stopped using toilet paper (I now use cut up tee shirts), my parts have been better than ever.  

And, I agree w/ you about bath bubbles, soaps, etc. not being the cause of UTIs, bladder infections, etc.  What happens is the soaps, etc. disrupt the normal flora in & around these areas of the body, then the body encounters something it can't handle (because it's lacking the appropriate flora) & then there's an infection.  Most body parts don't need soap on a regular basis.  It's the modern issue w/ hygiene that says we need soap when we really don't.

Sus