What type of heat loss occurs when a baby’s skin is wet?

When a baby’s skin is wet, the type of heat loss that occurs is evaporation. This process involves the conversion of liquid (in this case, the moisture on the baby's skin) into vapor. As the liquid evaporates, it takes heat away from the skin, resulting in a cooling effect. This is particularly significant in infants, who have a higher surface area-to-volume ratio, making them more susceptible to heat loss through evaporation.

Understanding evaporation as a means of heat loss is crucial in the care of infants, especially in maintaining their body temperature. Other forms of heat loss, such as conduction, convection, and radiation, involve different mechanisms that do not primarily focus on the moisture on the skin. For example, conduction involves direct contact with a colder object, convection is related to air movement, and radiation refers to heat transfer through electromagnetic waves. However, when the skin is wet, evaporation becomes the dominant method of heat loss.