ADVICE RATING |
  3.88 (May work) from 13 votes (1186 Visits) |
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dealing with reoccurring diaper rash |
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by dramamom  (October 2006) (rank 37th) |
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It causes every new parent concern, when red splotches show up on our little one's creamy, soft bottom. What do you do?
Our daughter gets diaper rashes quite easily. This is what we have finally discovered to help keep these uncomfortable episodes to a minimum. Prevention is
key. It doesn't matter what kind of diapers you use, cloth or disposable, changing your child regularly and as soon as they soil their diaper will prevent a rash. We also always apply petroleum jelly, even though she's now 16 months old.
When, for whatever reason, those red spots show up, there are a number of things you can do. We use zinc oxide cream. It doesn't matter what brand name you buy, zinc oxide is the same. This cream, applied first, with the petroleum jelly on top, usually clears the rash up before the next diaper change.
There are times when this doesn't work, or you don't catch it in time, or the rash could be caused by something else, such as a yeast infection. In these cases, make sure your baby's bottom is completely clean. We resorted to cleaning her with a wet cloth, even after using wipes. Then completely dry him/her before applying any cream. Sometimes a mixture of zinc oxide and cortesone cream helps. Canesten works wonders if the rash has little white spots that the other cream seems to stick to. These spots indicate that it is a yeast-induced rash.
The thing to remember is that these three creams, including those advertized to heal diaper rash such as Penaten, are not barrier creams. They help heal, but they do not keep moisture away from your baby's skin. That's what the petroleum jelly does. So these creams work better when used in conjuntion with the jelly. I never realized this until my husband, who is a pharmacist, pointed it out. Arianna hasn't had a bad rash since I began using the creams together.
I hope that helps keep the painful redness away.
