Babies are generally good-natured little humans, as long as their diapers are dry and their tummies are full. When they cut teeth, have gas, or get diaper rash, though, they can become as grumpy as a bear with a thorn in its paw. To keep your little one happy and healthy, read this informative guide and find out how to cure/treat diaper rash!
Causes of Diaper Rash
I can remember my mother saying that “diaper rash is caused by not changing a baby’s diaper often enough.” That is one cause- the most common- but certainly not the only one. Diaper rash can be caused by several factors including 1. lack of proper hygiene, 2. friction, 3. allergies, 4. yeast, and 5. drinking too much acidic citric juice.
To Cure and Treat Diaper Rash
1. Lack of Proper Hygiene – Babies can easily get this type of diaper rash because his/her bottom isn’t cleaned properly everytime their diapers are changed. To cure and treat this problem, you should follow this procedure each and everytime you change his/her diaper:
Open up the diaper. Use a moist wipe to gently clean off the front where the baby has urinated first. Don’t overlook the tops of their legs and in skin creases where urine can run. Then, work your way from the front to the back. There’s a reason for starting at the front and ending with the bottom: by wiping in this direction, there’s less chance of getting stool in the urination area. Thus, there’s less chance of infections.
If the baby’s bottom is soiled, raise their bottom up and gently clean the stool off. Use as many moist wipes as need be to thoroughly clean the area. Once the entire front, bottom, and legs are cleaned, it’s time to put on a clean diaper.
2. Friction– To cure/treat diaper rash that’s caused by friction, you’ll need to first, buy larger or better-fitting disposable diapers for your baby. Friction Diaper Rash is caused by the rubbing or chafing of disposable diapers against your baby’s skin. The areas that are most often affected are the inner thighs. Since babies tend to grow so quickly, the diaper that fit them “today” may not fit them “tomorrow”. That, and, you can’t just buy diapers according to your baby’s weight. You must check to make sure the diapers fit properly and aren’t rubbing against your baby’s skin in any area.
The next step to cure/treat this type of diaper rash is to be sure to follow the proper hygiene procedure everytime you change his/her diaper. Finally, to cure/treat this type of rash, apply a cream such as Desitin or A&D.; My mother and I swear by Desitin, but my daughter-in-law prefers A&D.; My grandmother swore by petroleum jelly, and used nothing else. Burt’s Bees also has an ointment that works effectvely. Any of these products will protect the rash from stool and urine irritation and help promote healing.
3. Allergies- Babies’ tender skin can easily become affected by soaps, laundry detergent, moist wipes and more. To cure/treat a diaper rash that’s caused by an allergen, use mild products that contain no perfumes, dyes or alcohol. Even if you’re already using a mild soap to bathe his/her bottom, it may be causing a rash, and you’ll need to switch products. It can take some time, but finding which product is causing the allergic rash is a matter of elimination. To help heal the rash up, clean your baby’s bottom well during every diaper change, and use a protective cream like Desitin, A&D; or Burt’s Bees.
4. Yeast Infections– Doctors dissuade parents from sprinkling corn starch on their babies’ bottoms because it can cause yeast infections. Yeast organisms thrive in warm, moist environments, like, you guessed it- inside a baby’s diaper. The rash caused from a yeast infection is very red in color, raised up around the edges and may have white flakes. If you suspect that your baby has this type of rash, first, be sure to follow the proper hygiene procedure everytime you change his/her diaper. Be especially careful to dry his/her bottom well after cleaning. To cure/treat the rash, check with your baby’s pediatrician to see what s/he recommends. An antifungal cream like Lotrimin® AF can do the trick.
5. Drinking Too Much Acidic Citric Juice– When my grandson developed a case of Diarrhea, along with diaper rash, my daughter-in-law suspected it was caused by too much acidic citric juice. So, she watered the juices down. To cure/treat the diaper rash, she also used A&D; ointment. Before long, both problems cleared up, and my grandson was again a happy little camper.
Conclusion
To cure/treat diaper rash, you can also let your baby run around bare-bottomed as much as possible. This was never one of my favorite cures because you never knew when an accident was going to happen.
If your baby’s diaper rash doesn’t respond to any of these treatments with a couple days, or, it gets worse, or, s/he develops other symptoms such as a fever, open sores, loss of appetite, et cetera, you should call your baby’s pediatrician.
