Disposable diapers, unlike cloth diapers, are the preferred choice of many mothers. It contributes to increased comfort, better hygiene, and convenience for infants, toddlers, and children who are not yet potty trained. But in spite of these, soiled baby diapers with faeces can be a potential health hazard when they are not properly used or disposed of after use.
Experts’ warn that droplets leaking from a child’s diaper as well as improper disposal of soiled disposable diapers, such as placing a soiled diaper on the ground, have been implicated in recurrent diarrhoea cases in children.
In a study, researchers in the journal Acta Pediatrica found that poor handling of baby diapers, the personal hygiene of the child, as well as household hygiene, were strongly associated with a very high risk of recurrent diarrhoea in children.
Researchers in this study implicated droplets leaking from a child’s diaper as well as improper disposal of soiled disposable diapers, such as placing a soiled diaper on the ground, in recurrent diarrhoea cases in children.
According to them, three of those pointers to recurrent diarrhoea in children were related to dirty diapers, reflecting poor attention to faeces disposal and faeces reaching the mouth.
These were the presence of a faeces-soiled diaper on the floor, the presence of faeces in the play area, and a child wearing a faeces-soiled diaper.
The other indicators for a possible increase in diarrhoea in the studied children were the presence of a baby bottle on the ground, the hands of the mother being dirty, and the presence of faeces in the yard.
Unfortunately, soiled disposable diapers are disposed of together with other household garbage, some in compost pits or littering the streets; they become breeding sites for diseases and may cause infection to those who come into contact with them, including cholera, typhoid, hepatitis, polio, and worm infestation.
Use of disposable diapers is classified as open defecation in developing countries, and residents at locations of indiscriminate refuse dumping are exposed to obnoxious odours and are often noted to have symptoms like frequent passage of watery stools, typhoid, skin infections, vomiting, sore throat, abdominal pains, and malaria.
Unfortunately, disposable diapers eased tasks for mothers, but hygienic practices were not guaranteed. UNICEF Lagos Field Officer, Wash Specialist, Mr. Monday Johnson, speaking at the sidelines of the 2023 World Toilet Day Celebration in Ibadan, said there is a high use of disposable diapers in Nigeria across all socioeconomic classes, but mothers tend to overlook soiled diapers as a source of faeces in the environment.
“Safely managing sanitation starts from where defecation takes place to its disposal in a hygienic manner so that it does not cause diseases to anybody. This includes faecal-soiled diapers.
“That is why we must educate mothers on how to properly handle children’s faeces and dispose of soiled diapers. Diapers are not just to be thrown anywhere. Mothers can keep them away from the environment and flies and later burn them. Flies that perched on them can spread germs to foods,” he declared.
The wife of Oyo State governor, Mrs. Tamunominini Makinde, on proper handling of diapers said mothers should immediately remove the soiled diapers from their babies, roll the diaper together using the tapes in its edge to hold it in place and to reduce the risk of spillage, wrap it in a nylon bag, and drop it off in the waste bin.
She said that this, in turn, will not let children’s faeces remain in the open, a practice akin to open defecation.
Mrs Makinde, however, called for teachings on the proper use and disposal of diapers for mothers at primary healthcare facilities and that fathers be brought in to support mothers in educating children on proper hand washing from a tender age to ensure this becomes the norm in homes.
For proper disposal of faeces-soiled diapers, Mr Adegoke Tijani, the President of the Environmental Health Officers Association of Nigeria, Oyo State Chapter, suggested that mothers remove the other layers of diapers before flushing down the toilet’s its fibre part that has the faeces.
“That is the easiest way to ensure that we don’t litter the environment with used diapers, spread diseases unnecessarily, and make our homes attract flies and cause problems for others.”
Also, the World Health Organisation said used diapers should first be rinsed before being discarded to ensure raw human waste does not get disposed of in landfills.
But in Nigeria, as in many developing countries, it appears that little information is available regarding the handling and proper disposal of baby diapers, despite a significant rise in the usage of diapers during the last decade by women of childbearing age and the amount of waste that is subsequently generated.
It is generally regarded that waste management is the sole duty and responsibility of local authorities and that the public is not expected to contribute. Contrary to this belief, there is a need for increased mothers’ involvement regarding baby diaper disposal and to recommend interventions that could improve the disposal of soiled diapers in low and middle-income settings.
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