Tips for Dealing with Diaper Rash

When you change your baby’s diaper, the last thing you want to find is a red little bottom. Diaper rashes are common in babies between 4 and 15 months old. Some types of diaper rash can be painful. Learn what causes diaper rash and what you can do to protect baby's skin.

What is diaper rash?

Diaper rash, also known as napkin or nappy rash, is found on the skin inside your baby's diaper area. The skin can be paler or darker than the surrounding skin. The rash may be mild with minor bumps or spots or it may be red and irritated with blisters or broken skin. 

It may look (and can be) painful but a diaper rash is usually not serious or contagious and can be easily treated.

Who gets diaper rash?

Diaper rash mostly affects babies between the ages of 4 and 15 months, with the peak age for diaper rash being between 9 to 12 months. Diaper rash is more common...

• In formula fed babies, than breastfed babies.
• Once a baby starts eating solid foods.
• If a baby has a sensitive skin condition, such as eczema.
• When a baby is taking antibiotics (or a nursing mother is taking antibiotics).
• If diapers are not changed regularly.
• When cloth diapers are used.
• When a baby has frequent, watery bowel movements.

Babies are also more prone to diaper rash when they have a cold or are unwell for any other reason, because their body's natural defenses are not working as well as they should at that time.

While your baby needs to wear diaper, no matter how careful you are, sooner or later she's likely to develop a diaper rash.

How long will diaper rash last?

This depends on the cause of the rash and how it is treated. Mild cases of diaper rash may clear up in 3 to 4 days even without treatment. Some diaper rashes takes several days to improve with treatment and severe diaper rashes could last for weeks.

General tips on treating diaper rash

Prevention and treatment of diaper rash greatly depends on reducing the amount of time your baby's skin is exposed to irritants. For the majority of diaper rashes general treatment is all that is required.

• Change diapers as soon as you know they are wet or dirty.
• Gently clean your baby's skin. Don't rub (as this may further damage tender skin).
• Gently pat dry with a clean, soft towel.
• Allow some diaper-free time for 5 or 10 minutes (or longer), 3 or 4 times each day.
• Apply a protective diaper rash cream. Don't use petroleum jelly, talc or cornstarch while treating a diaper rash. Don't use creams that contain steroids (cortisone or hydrocortisone) unless instructed to do so by your baby's doctor.
• After changing your baby's diaper, wash your hands well.

When the rash is mild

• Apply a diaper cream each time you change your baby's diaper e.g. zinc oxide based diaper cream, to keep dampness away from her.
• Allow the cream to dry before replacing her diaper.

When baby's skin is broken

• Avoid baby wipes and soaps (because they can sting an already tender little bottom).
• Clean your baby's bottom with a diluted sorbolene solution, made up of 1 teaspoon of sorbolene cream in 4 oz of cooled boiled water (shake well). After cleansing her skin, dab a diluted solution of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) over the raw area using a cotton wool ball. To make the baking soda solution, dissolve 1 teaspoon of baking soda in 8 oz of cooled boiled water. (Make up a fresh batch of both sorbolene and baking powder solutions each day).
• If your baby has watery bowel movements, clean her as gently as you can, then soak her raw little bottom in a few inches of warm water in a bath, to make sure her skin is thoroughly clean. Add 2 tablespoons of baking soda to the water. This is soothing to her tender skin, it also alters the pH (acid balance) of her skin making it less appealing for bacteria to grown on.
• Allow sufficient time for her skin to dry thoroughly before applying protective diaper cream.
• Avoid the use of zinc oxide diaper creams on broken skin. (It can further irritate raw skin).

When diaper rash is troublesome

A diaper rash could be due to one or a combination of different reasons. Because the treatment of diaper rash is very similar no matter what the cause, it's not always necessary to pinpoint the exact reason (or reasons), especially if the rash is mild or seldom occurs. However, if your little one is often troubled by diaper rash it may be well worth your efforts to discover the cause so that you can take active steps to prevent its return.

The scalding effects of urine (pee) and stools (poop) are responsible for the majority of diaper rashes in babies. These rashes can become more troublesome once your baby... 

• Starts on solid foods.
• Is introduced to new food.
• Is changed from breast milk to formula.
• Starts on cow's milk. 

Listed below are the many possible causes for diaper rash to develop and additional tips treating specific diaper rashes.