Our first nappy rash

Thanks Ethansmom - I'm going to try the rooibos bath tonight, can't hurt him! The rash is still there although its starting to look better, hopefully by the time I get home today its much better! I tried maizena this weekend, did seem to help a bit.

Hi all

I just posted this on Jan2010 thread but I think the mommy's all decided to abandon that thread and thankfully I came across this one. Ethan's also got a bad rash which is also on the penis, on his leg and even on the "balls". I will definitely try the Maizena tonight as I've read from a couple of sites that this helped other moms. Other advice I got was to bath him in rooibos. Put a couple of Rooibos teabags in his bath water and then bath him in that. will try that tonight as well.

Kaye, this definately sounds like a fungal rash and the medaspor with work very well. It is even better if you combine it with Nystacid or Ketazole cream. You put a thin layer of both and then a bum cream or just sprinkle maizena over it. You'll see if you do this then the rash will start to clear in a day. Of course remember to treat the symptoms from within with a good probiotic like reteuri drops as well.

RE: Cloth Nappies, you will only have rash issues if you leave the nappy on too long. A poo must be changed immediately and regular wet nappies should really not be left longer than 2 hours and this also all depends on the inner of your nappy. A terry or bamboo towelling directly against the skin will cause a rash faster if left on too long as apposed to a nappy that has a stay dry type inner which wicks away moisture into the nappy and keeping it away from the skin. Allthough you must remember that the uric acid still touches the skin so it must still not be left on for long lengths of time, this would also be the best option for a nappy at night.

Thanks for all the advice! The rash seems to have started spreading so I think I'll try the medaspore, see if it helps. I don't usually use much bum cream, preferring to keep the bum dry, but think I need to put something on this redness!

Claudia_B wrote:

Are you sure its a nappy rash if its just on the tip of his penis?

Re the use of disposables, James has had a rash twice - both times after he had been in disposable nappies. I know there is a lot of debate about this, but the fact is, Nappy rash has become more prevalent in the last 2 decades which correlates with increased disposable usage. Disposables contain chemicals, which yes draw wetness away from the bum (a positive in the fight agaisnt rashes), but often these chemicals are the very thing that cause the rash in the first place, plus people tend to leave disposables on for a lot longer than they should (you should actually change a disposable just as often as you would a cloth nappy). The plastic outer isnt breathable, which keeps bums damp.

If you are in cloth nappies, change more frequently and use PUL, fleece or no waterproofs when you can. The PUL is waterproof, but breathable, the fleece gives some protection and when I'm at home and not worried about spoiling clothes (normally when its hot) I dont even use one. The plastic ones you get from pep etc arent breathable, so will agravate a rash.

I believe bepanthen is very good, have never tried it though. I use the woolies earth friendly bum cream, which I think is excellent - it contains zinc oxide, which is great for rashes. Also cornstarch powder at each change to help dry the area. Again the woolies natural baby powder is great because it also contains zinc oxide.

I dont think its cloth nappies that cause a rash and I believe that disposables are more at fault, but I know there are some out there that would disagree:)

My daughter cannot use Cuddlers, because the ink on the nappy caused a bad nappy rash as soon as it gets wet. i can only use the huggies & pampers on her. i have tried all the cheaper nappies and the ink gives her a rash. so it also depends on the babies skin.

There are two types of nappy rash. One regular rash and one that is caused by a fungus.

You can start by using bepanthan or Sudocreme, but if you see no improvement in a day then you may want to use a cream specifically for fungus like medaspor like gloeiwurmpie has said. It is cheap and you apply it first and then a layer of cream

I also find that using cream when there is no rash may cause more hassles as it puts a film on the nappy, preventing it from absorbing liquid.

I only use cream if I see it is a bit red like by the bum etc unless there is a rash.

If your lo has a rash also check his/her mouth for thrush. Very often babies get thrush in the mouth which worked through the system and appears as a nappy rash. If there is white patches in the mouth you should use Daktarin oral gel but it is expensive.

I also swear by antipeol which contains zinc and clears any regular rash very quickly.

I used almost every cream on the market for my babies nappy rash, and I think the creams tend to keep the area moist which doesn't help the nappy rash.
In the end, what worked was Maizena! I think if the area stay dry it gets better much quicker.

I have read on this forum if your baby has a nappy rash due to a fungal infection (which is sometimes the case) use Medaspor cream.

Hope it gets better soon!