Diaper Rash

This information is on diaper rash. You’ll find out what diaper rash is, how diaper rash is treated and how you can prevent diaper rash from happening to your baby, often.

The term diaper rash applies to any redness or inflammation of the skin in the diaper area. No matter how careful you are about caring for your baby, this problem is likely to occur.

In general, care of the diaper area involves changing diapers quickly when they’re soiled or wet. After removing the soiled diaper, the best way to gently clean the baby’s bottom is with plain warm water. Vigorous scrubbing irritates your baby’s delicate skin. Although pre-packaged wipes are convenient and fine for travel or outings, some babies can be sensitive to the chemicals used in the wipes. Leaving the infant’s bottom open to the air from time to time during the day will help prevent rashes. It’s also not necessary to awaken the baby from sleep to change the diaper.

Some parents routinely apply a thin layer of Vaseline , A and D ointment, or a zinc oxide preparation such as Desitin, to the baby’s diaper area at bedtime. These act as barriers that prevent the urine from touching the skin, and may help prevent rashes.

Diaper rashes occur equally often in babies who wear cloth or disposable diapers. If you see a rash just around the waistline and the thighs, where the plastic of the disposable diaper touches the skin, your baby may be better with a different brand of disposables. If that doesn’t work, you may need to switch to cloth. If you are laundering your own cloth diapers, wash them twice in hot water with a mild detergent. A cup of vinegar added to the rinse water may help prevent rashes by making the ammonia wash out more easily. Diaper services do this as a routine, and, in general, are excellent.

Once a rash develops, try to change your baby more often and clean her more gently. Leave the diaper off a bit more during the day. The rash will generally go away by itself.

Diarrhea is a special case. Diarrhea stools in some infants with diarrhea almost seem to burn the baby’s skin. The most important thing to do is to change the baby immediately after bowel movements, and clean him with plenty of clear running water. If you can arrange it, allow the baby to go without diapers for at least part of the day to let the air reach the sore skin. Once the diarrhea gets better, the rash will usually go away within a few days.

Sometimes babies get a yeast infection in the diaper area. With yeast, you will usually see some large areas of bright redness, with smaller red dots around them. These rashes often will not get better with just with good hygiene and exposure, but require treatment with a prescription cream. Yeast infections are more common in children who are taking antibiotics. If you suspect your child has a yeast infection, call your pediatrician.

Babies in the first few weeks of life often get some irritation in the diaper area that is not serious. But we do get concerned about infants who have large blisters in that area. If this happens, call your pediatrician. This may be an infection that needs treatment.

Please remember these key points:

• Diaper rash is a common, unavoidable part of being a baby.
• Frequent changes and gentle washing with plain water are the best prevention.
• Most rashes will clear up simply with exposure to air and frequent cleansing.
• If the rash lingers, or if it looks suspicious of any kind of infection, contact your pediatrician.