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I first learnt that Talc was a harmful substance 20 years ago in an Art class in school. Our teacher told us that we would be working with talc stone and that we were required to wear a surgical mask, gloves and
long sleeves. The day of our talc carving class arrived and everyone seemed excited at the thought of working with such a dangerous substance. I was a little worried because I was thinking,
doesn't talcum powder come from talc stone?
Before we put our masks on, our art teacher told us why we needed to be cautious. She began by saying that there was a high incedence of respiratory disease in talc miners. That when talc is broken down/crushed the particles resemble asbestos. The particles of talc were also fine and blocked skin pores and was easily inhaled into the lungs, causing a whole range of problems including cancer. I had to ask the question. Does that mean that talcum powder is just as harmful? Her reply was that in her opinion YES. We then proceeded to carve the ominous stone. I felt sick. My mum was one of those ladies that put layers of scent on her body after every shower. Body lotion, copious amounts of talc, deordourant then perfume. I went home and told my mum that she needed to stop using talc. It took alot of nagging on my part until she finally reduced the amount of talc she used, eventually stopping. Looking back, I think that the lesson was more about the teacher getting her message out rather than learning how to carve talc stone. Ah the constraints of being a teacher!
My advice to new parents and parents who are using talcum powder on themselves or their children is to look into other options. I have always used Cornflour/ cornstarch on my children, only very sparingly and only in the skin folds of the legs, arms and the gluteal fold(where the bum meets the back of the legs)and certainly not directly on their genitals. Some people I know have saids oh but I like the smell of baby powder! Um, yeap that's a good reason to keep using it. Just put some lavender flowers, chamomile flowers or pot pourri at the bottom of a container and then put the cornflour on top of that. Use a cotton ball to apply the flour to the areas you want.
For nappy rash I found letting the kids have nappy free time everyday worked wonders and they loved it. I washed my children with a warm flannel/wash cloth and cold pressed almond oil for every nappy change. My husband once wiped my daughter after a poo. He thought she was clean and after I showed him the cloth after wiping her with oil, he was amazed and now tells all new parents he comes across to use the oil. I towel dried their bottoms carefully after every nappy change and applied a good barrier cream,Lucas' Papaw Ointment worked well for us. I never had a problem with my son and nappy rash, and unfortunately because of my daughter being severely ill, she did have shocking nappy rash early on but once she was better, there weren't any problems either. It sounds like alot to do at nappy change time, but if you buy everything in bulk and prepare it all, there really is not any difference. It is also cost effective. Compare the price of cornflour to baby powder, compare the price of using nappy wipes to using oil. Whatever you decide, please don't use talc. Following is a list of links for your own perusal. There is so much evidence out there that supports what I am saying and also there is so much supporting the opposite opinion. My question is why would I risk it when the alternative is so easy. Thanks for reading and sorry for the waffle.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talc
http://www.preventcancer.com/consumers/cosmetics/talc.hmt
http:/www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_6x_Talcum_Powder_and_Cancer.asp?sitearea
www.choice.com.au/viewArticle.aspx?id=104191&catId=100447&tid=100008&p=5&title=Personal+care+products%3a+myths%2c+rumours+and+facts+(archived)
http://parenting.ivillage.com/baby/bsafety/0,,3q5k,00.html
(December 2006) (
I cant believe I never knew this until yesterday, when I think of the amount of powder mum mother used on us, and the amount I used on my older children.
(not that she USUALLY does lol) smell that is...
pito
