DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2014.v02i03.041

Pages: 1081-1083

Use of talcum powder on infants and in the first few years of life is worrisome for several reasons. Infants under 1 year of age should not be exposed to any powders unless medically recommended. 90% of mothers in the sample reported applying powder . A considerable doubt has been cast on the safety of powders containing talc, particularly when used on infants 1)To get as complete a picture as possible about use of talcum powder use in infants .2) To sensitize the parents about the possible adverse effects of talcum powder and to assess whether babies whose mothers applied talc had a higher incidence of breathing difficulties compared to those who did not apply the same. The research was conducted In Sri Lakshmi Narayana Institute of Medical Sciences. The sample was a randomly distributed consumer opinion survey administered in 2014 to approximately 100 mothers 18 years of age and older. The mothers reported giving infants a variety of powders (67%), the most common of which included local talcum powder(70%).The commonest reasons that mothers reported using talcum powder to their infants were to help manage excessive perspiration (local soothening), as well as to make the ild smell better (56% and 34 % ) respectively. Only 1 % had some idea that talcum powder can cause some problem to the child .We found that the most commonly reported sources of information about talcum powder, was the media (40 %).