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| My daughter has never been one for a diaper rash. As of the last month or so she has had one that keeps coming back. I've even taken her to see her pedi about it and it's not fungal and she didn't really have a reason as to why she has one. It's pretty ugly and is raised abouve the skin and turns bright red. When it starts to fade it turns in to an uglier brown color. I use melaleuca soap that's scent free and dye free. I hardly use any soap and rinse them twice just get rid of any irritants. I change her often and I'm just at a loss as to why this is happening. I'm fairly new to CD'ing so I was wondering if any mommies had some advice or tips. Could it be chaffing? Or the soap? Please Help! |
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Funny enough I have just been googling diaper rash while using cloth. I wish I had something to suggest but we are having the exact same problem. Our son has never had a rash and over the last 6 weeks he has had one that comes and goes, usually comes more than goes though I have been asking the same questions....is it the soap, am I rinsing enough????? I'm looking forward to seeing what others suggest. Sorry I couldn't be of help but wanted to let you know your not alone |
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Is there also an ammonia odor to the diapers when they are wet? If so, that's often indicative of detergent buildup, which can cause a rash that looks almost like a sort of burn. I had this with my DS#1 at about three months, and it was a rash that came and went, but I couldn't shake it. It was also at that time that I started using a bit of detergent in my (then) wet pail, and I guess that amount of detergent put the diapers over the edge. Washing on hot without detergent, possibly with something like vinegar to help release the detergent, can help with this. In general, using 1/4-1/3 of the recommended amount of detergent is plenty for diapers. Depending on detergent, water conditions, etc., some people like to do an extra rinse, or even an extra wash on hot without detergent every now and again. The hotter the water the better the rinsing, so if you are able to get a hot or warm rinse, all the better.
Okay, so that being said, I don't know if this is your problem, but it's something that I experienced and pops up here now and again, so I thought I'd mention it. |
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So far this is what I've tried:
- Stripping the diapers with extra hot water, baking soda and vinegar.
- Using less detergent. I use an all natural super concentrated liquid. I only use a 1/4 teaspoon per load of diapers.
- Added an extra rinse to the washing cycle.
I dont know what ewlse it could be. |
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Could it be you're using too little detergent? Usually it's the opposite but it is possible to use too little. I've never used Melaleuca detergent, how does 1/4 of a teaspoon per load compare to the 'recomended' amount? Maybe it's fine but it sounds like exceedingly little. Are there any particular odors in the diapers?
It could be unrelated to the amount of detergent you're using as well. She could be sensitive to the detergent itself (even if she's not for regular clothing), maybe try another one for a while to see what happens. If you use cloth at night, do you use anything to help keep her skin dry? Like a stay-dry liner, homemade fleece liner or maybe a cloth diaper friendly barrier cream? Conversely, if you do use a stay-dry liner, could it be that she's sensitive/allergic to the polyester in it?
You mention that you're new to cloth, did the rash start at the same time as you started cloth or only after a while? If it was only after a while, did you change anything to your wash routine since then? New detergent? Add any new additives like baking soda or vinegar? Any changes to your water (ie if you moved to an area with harder water)? New machine? Change in how often you wash or what you do with your pail?
To help heal the rash I'd recomend trying to give her bum lots of airing out. There's nothing better to heal skin than air! If she's really little, lay her down on a towel or two to absorb any messes when she takes a nap. If she's a toddler try giving her naked time somewhere relatively mess-proof (ie tiled flooring, maybe a bathroom or kitchen, or maybe outside if it's hot enough and private enough). You can also do the same with just a diaper and no cover. You'll still have to watch that she doesn't sit on a carpet floor or couch with a wet diaper, but at least there won't be any puddles on the floor. Not necessarily helpful in terms of prevention, but it'll at least help the rash heal. Sometimes it could be just that the rash is just starting to heal, then just get re-irratated with a particularly nasty poop or a fluke longer time in a wet diaper and poof, it's flamming red again.
Karen. |
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| Well I havn't changed soaps. I've been using the same one since she started cloth, which was about 4 months ago. The rash just appeared a few weeks ago, went away and then returned. I bought my CD's used and the lady I bought them from also gave me her left over cleaning detergents. She had hard water and used coin laundry and told me she used a 1/2 teaspoon of soap. So because I have a water softener I figured I'd cut in in half once the rash came. The only reason I used baking soda and vinger was to try to help with the PH balance when stripping the diapers. I read online that could be the problem w/ her rash. The diapers have no smell at all. I'm just at a loss. This weekend I'll try to have her sleep w/o a diaper on and see if it helps. The only other thing I can think of is maybe it's something in her diet. Sarah(27) DH (27) DD born 3/10/09 New to CD'ing. |
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| I forgot to add that yes I do have her in a fleece dry liner with every diaper and she's had the same ones since we started 4 months ago. We also use A&D or Butt Paste as a barrier most of time but w/ every over night diaper.Sarah(27) DH (27) DD born 3/10/09 New to CD'ing. |
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Hmmm, rather mysterious to me as well. Too little detergent seems to make sense in a way but then if the diapers don't smell and you only started using that little after the rash came, then it doesn't seem likely....
Vinegar and baking soda are often good & useful additives (vinegar is especially useful in removing build-up) but it is possible for them to cause some people problems. It's one of those things to experiment adding in or taking away if you're having problems.
Diet is possible, fleece doesn't seem likely since you've been using them all along....
Hmmm, can't really think of anything else sorry.
Karen. |
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where is the rash? Front? Back? Leg creases? All over? Do you only use motherease diapers or other types as well? How old is your little one? Is she starting to be more mobile? Does she ever get eczema or any other rash elsewhere? Have any known food intolerances?
My daughter has had all sorts of diaper rashes, sometimes it's quite difficult to pinpoint why! |
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Hey
I'm actually having exactly the same problem and am at a total loss. He has started moving about a lot more and also the nappies are sun dried and they go very hard. apart from that when I take his wet nappies off, it smells a bit like like smelly feet(i'm not sure if its an ammonia smell?). I've rinsed repeatedly and with vinegar. I'm now using a completely natural soap but still no major improvement. The only thing that seems to help is to leave him naked and then only put his nappy on when he goes down for a sleep but thats not convenient at all.
hrm...
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| Her rash was just on her butt. Nothing on any creases or anything. I'm now keeping a food diary for her to see if it's possibly food related. She's 10 1/2 months and very mobile.Sarah(27) DH (27) DD born 3/10/09 New to CD'ing. |
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| Lottie, are you in the UK? I never had good luck with the natural detergents, but found that regular Tesco non-bio (about 30 ml) with a 60C cycle worked well. |
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I have been using ME cloth diapers for 12 years and I love them! My diapers never smell and have never been stained. After using them for two children, now ages 12 & 9, they still looked new. Now I have an 11 month old and another baby on the way. We have problems with rash every so often and usually it's because I've left him wet for too long.
My wash cycle is like this: 2 hour soak in cold water with one scoop of Oxy-Clean. Extra hot wash with SoapNuts and vinigar in the bleach compartment. One extra rinse.
The diapers never smell of amonia, poop, or anything else. They smell fresh and clean with no stains, no odors of any kind. I think it's the SoapNuts. They are the most fantastic thing to use. Check out the website www.naturoli.com for more info.
Sometimes when my son gets a rash, I use Grandma El's cream, a little powder, and a fleece insert to help keep his butt more dry, and then I change him every hour until the rash goes away.
Good luck to you. -Monique (mother of 3 boys) |
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Aside from the aforementioned time that I had buildup, the only other nasty rash that my older son had was from a time that he went on a spaghetti sauce binge, and then I missed his dirty diaper for probably over an hour. Because the poop was so acidic, it left a raw, almost burned area, and then everytime he pooped afterward it seemed to irritate the area where the original poop had sat. It probably took a couple of weeks for me to get on top of it, because he was a stealth pooper and I had to be super vigilant to get him changed immediately.
It sounds like you are considering your wash routine as well as diet, so hopefully this is something you are able to figure out quickly! |
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| My DD had rash problems for a while, I didn't use baking soda instead washing soda. I also put in a few drops of tea tree oil with each wash. As long as I used the TTO there was no rash. |
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This is exactly what I was looking for! I am diapering my fourth child and just this month we have continuous diaper rash issues (never have had this happen before)...I am going to try an extra vinegar rinse in hot water to see what happens.
He also has generally sensitive skin and often his diaper-covered skin is red. Any other ideas as to how to combat this general redness? |
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