Diaper Rash Treatment and Prevention

Diaper rash is probably the most common baby bane in existence affecting, well, pretty much every baby ever born at some point. This makes diaper rash treatment a valid topic of discussion among parents.

There are numerous types of diaper rash, but the appearance is generally the same, redness in the diaper region which may range from a few sore pink spots to an all over puffy, hot and even bleeding mess– and just about everything in between. Many people assume diaper rash is always a result of a parent that isn’t changing their baby’s diaper often enough. Though this is one cause of diaper rash, the various types of diaper rashes all have different causes and many of them have nothing to do with parental error.diaper rash treatment

Diaper rash treatment is basically the same as far as home methods no matter the type. Knowing the type of rash will, however, help prevent the same type from occurring again. If it was, for example, caused by the ingestion of a certain food and allergy-based or a new type of diapers rubbing on the skin, or even an environmental element such as hot weather, these are all preventable causes of diaper rash. Evaluating the type of diaper rash will also help you better know your baby’s skin as a whole to keep it healthier all over.

 

The basic causes of diaper rash include:

-Regular diaper rash: This is usually just caused by prolonged exposure to moisture, but you may also notice it after your baby starts solid foods if he/she has eaten a lot of high-acid foods or fruits. High heat will often make diaper rash occur more frequently or actual heat rash may be mistaken for diaper rash. Some babies are also just more prone to diaper rashes than others.

-Allergic reaction: If the rash is less on the bottom and more where the diaper touches the skin, such as by the waist line, you may actually be looking at a contact rash. Try changing diaper brands. Food allergies can also cause consistent diaper rash. If you notice a rash after any major routine change from laundry soap to the menu, change back, let the rash go away, and re-introduce, if the rash comes back you have your culprit.

-Yeast diaper rash: Finally, sometimes the natural balance of yeast in your baby’s digestive tract may go out of balance. Yeast diaper rash doesn’t respond to ointments and may be accompanied by white patches in the mouth called thrush. You can treat yeast diaper rash at home with over the counter yeast creams such as Mono-stat, however, if your baby also has thrush you will need a prescription from your pediatrician.

Diaper rash treatment:

-Begin by keeping the area extra clean and dry.

-Change diapers as frequently as possible and try to never let the baby sit in a dirty or wet diaper. You don’t necessarily have to wake your baby if he/she is sleeping unless it’s a poop butt.

-Consider ditching your baby wipes and using a small squirt bottle to rinse baby’s butt after peeing or give a quick tub rinse for poop butts to avoid the irritation of wiping. Pat the area dry with a soft cloth or allow to air dry.

-Try to let your baby hang out naked for awhile, the fresh air helps. You can place a plastic cloth below his/her blanket to prevent messes in younger babies.

-Consider using a diaper rash ointment. These ointments contain petroleum usually to form a barrier on the skin from moisture. Many also contain zinc oxide or other medications to help ease the pain and speed the healing of diaper rash. You can purchase these creams just about anywhere.

-Put diapers on loosely rather than good and tight or buy one size bigger than needed to use during diaper rash treatment. The extra room will allow for better air circulation.

Remember, if you are following all these measures and the rash is still present in 3 to 4 days and shows no sign of improvement or is accompanied by fever, see your pediatrician.

Preventing diaper rash:

Preventing diaper rash is a good final step to take after you’ve treated one. Prevention is very similar to treatment. Be sure to keep your baby’s diaper dry and clean.. A good rule of thumb is to check baby’s bottom every two hours minimum.

Next, make sure you are using baby wipes that aren’t irritating skin. In some cases, you may even need to make your own to ensure they are gentle enough for your baby’s skin.

Find a diaper that fits your baby well, secure but not too tight as even baby bottoms need air to breathe. Be sure it’s not the materials in the diaper causing the rash. I also have a post on telling the difference between diaper rash and an allergy. Anytime you change laundry detergents, soaps, etc you should watch for rashes.

When introducing solid or new foods be sure to watch for allergic reactions and cease feeding anything that causes diaper rash until your child is older.

Finally, breast feeding has also been shown to reduce the occurrence of diaper rash. If you choose to do so, do so as long as possible.

Baby Poop Color Decoder: All About What Comes Out of Your Baby’s Bottom

You’re officially a parent when you’ve smelled your baby’s butt to see if they’ve pooped, and officially a smart parent if you’ve examined said poop before tossing it. Sound weird? What a baby puts out can tell you a whole lot about what’s going on inside if you know what to look for. Knowing what weird poop means can also relieve a lot of, “OMG My baby’s poop is purple!” freak-out episodes. I’m not saying to put your babies poop under a microscope, but just give it a quick look to note color and texture.

baby poop

A first poop:

Your baby’s first poop will likely look the weirdest. This poop is called Meconium and is made up of amniotic fluid, dead skin cells, and bile. Considering its ingredients, its no wonder meconium poop looks sort of like black tar. It will pass within the first 24 hours. A baby that does not pass meconium needs to be seen by a doctor right away, this could indicate an intestinal blockage.

All the colors of the rainbow:

Normal Baby Poop:

Breast fed baby poop: Yellow to Mustard
Formula bottle baby poop: Yellow to Peanut
Babies that have begun solid food: Yellow to Brown

Green Baby Poop:

Possible meanings: too much iron (may be almost black), stomach bug, allergy, jaundice, or hind/fore milk imbalance in breast fed babies (switching breasts before baby has gotten to hind milk).
Normally green poop is nothing to worry about, if it persists for an extended amount of time, you should consult your pediatrician.

Black Baby Poop: (Other than in the first 24 hours of life)
Indicates digested or old blood in stole. See a doctor.

Red/Bloody Baby poop:
Bleeding towards the anus (hence it’s not black). See a doctor if excessive. A small amount of fresh blood accompanied by hard poop may just be some minor tearing from constipation.

White/Pale Baby Poop:
Could indicate liver problems. See a doctor if persists.

Orange/Purple/Etc. Baby Poop:
Eating carrots? Prunes? Baby poop will often take on the color of their food. In the case of odd colored poops not mentioned above, try feeding them something else today and see if it changes. If odd colored poop persists after dietary changes and time, consult a doctor.

Consistency Counts:

Seedy/Curdled Baby Poop: Regular in breast feed babies.
Creamy/Peanut Buttery Baby Poop: Regular in bottle fed babies or babies that have began other foods.
Chunky/Thick/Pellet-like Baby Poop: Could indicate constipation. Try a water bottle a day, it will ease bowel movements. This should also be done if urine is very pungent.
Mucus in Baby Poop (looks like boogers in the poop): Indicates stomach bug or virus. Watch for fever and other symptoms.
Watery/Extra runny Poop: Breast fed baby poop does tend to be a bit more liquid-like, but after awhile you’ll get the hang of how watery is too watery when it comes to poops. Too watery is diarrhea. Keep good fluids and electrolytes. See a doctor if it persists.

Some random baby poop information:

-Breast fed baby poop smells sweeter. Breast fed babies also suffer from diaper rash and constipation (breast milk is a laxative) less frequently, but will poop more than a formula fed baby.

-Fruits will cause baby poop to smell sweet as well, and are the worst food when it come to creating said diaper rash. For this reason you may want to hold off on them at first, and start slow like many other foods in the first year. Some of which are even dangerous.

-A baby that poops less often is not necessarily constipated, nor is chunky poop always an indication. It’s normal for bowel movements to slow down as a baby ages, and poop to change consistency as they start on solid foods. Normal varies from baby to baby.  For instance, while a newborn may go several times a day, a six-month old may poop just once a day, if that. Grunting and/or turning red, again, is also not always a sign of constipation, some babies just do this.

-You’ll likely notice your baby’s digestive system is faster than yours, and what goes in comes out somewhat unchanged when it comes to solid foods.

So there you have it, whether you ever expected to be reading about it or not, you now know all about your baby’s poop. Welcome to parenthood.

Are Disposable Diapers Safe? The Real Unbiased Facts

are disposable diapers safe

There’s a great deal of debate between cloth diaper and disposable diapers advocates. As a mother who has made the personal choice to use disposable diapers I was a bit insulted when cloth-using parents suggested I was harming my baby’s health. I set out to make this an unbiased look at the health issues associated with diapers, however when you look at the disposable-cloth diaper debate most the stones are thrown at one side. This article will still be an unbiased look. It will still present the actual studied, confirmed facts on each claim made, unfortunately since most the claims are made from the cloth diaper side it may seem as if this article is biased and defending disposable diapers. On the contrary this article is meant to remove propaganda and fear tactics and provide parents with the facts so they can decide which type of diapers to use on their own based on those facts alone without being convinced a decision based on personal preference could negatively affect their baby’s health, whichever diaper that decision leads them to.

Health risk claims for Cloth and Disposable Diapers:

Health risk claim: Disposable diapers contain dioxin.
This health risk claim does contain some truth. It is not untrue that disposable diapers contain trace amounts of dioxin. Dioxin is a toxin produced during the paper-bleaching process that can have negative effects on  reproductive, developmental, and immune function as well as increases the risk of cancer. The usually unmentioned truth to this disposable diaper health risk is that dioxin is present in a great deal of sanitary items such as tampons and upwards of 95% of human exposure is through food not diapers, tampons, or other items containing trace amounts. Furthermore studies performed on cotton cloth diapers produced even higher trace levels of dioxin than disposables. In the end, levels in both cases were not significant enough to contribute to dioxin exposure or to create long-term health effects.

Health risk claim: Disposable diapers contain Tributyltin (TBT).
Tributyltin was found in the year 2000 in Pampers Baby Dry, Paul Hartmann Company’s Fixies Ultra Dry, and Ledysan Spa’s United Colours of Benetton Junior unisex disposable diapers. No other brands are known or mentioned to contain tributyln which is a hormonal pollutant that can cause health issues in humans. In 2001, the Institute of Textile Technology reported that there were no health risks to babies from levels of tributyltin present in these brands.

Health risk claim: Disposable diapers contain sodium polyacrylate.
Sodium polyacrylate is a type of super-absorbent polymer (the gel like substance you may see in a disposable diaper when extremely wet) used to make disposable diapers hold more liquid without leaking. Sodium polyacrylate was previous removed from tampons due to causing a bacterial illness called toxic shock syndrome. However, toxic shock syndrome was caused by sodium polyacrylate being placed within the body for extended time periods. External exposure such as that in diapers is not known to cause any health issues. This is because toxic shock could be prevented even in tampon use with regular replacement. Sodium Polyacrylate simply creates a breeding ground for bacteria. As long as disposable diapers are changed soon after becoming dirty no more risk is present than with that of a cloth diaper.

Health risk claim: Disposable diapers overheat the genitals of baby boys.
Studies have confirmed that higher temperatures of the scrotum can decrease sperm count and may increase the risk of testicular cancer, however studies also show that cloth diapers used with the usual protective coating created the same temperatures as disposable diapers. In both cases, these temperatures did not exceed maximum scrotal temperatures and are no worse than an adult wearing underwear and pants. The exception was in boys that had soiled themselves and were not changed quickly.

Health risk claim: Disposable diapers cause an increased occurrence of diaper rash in infants.
This is actually a disposable diaper myth, studies done in 2006 actually showed that disposables decrease the risk of diaper rash. Claims that cloth and disposables cause diaper rash at an equal rate are also unsupported. Rates of diaper rash were found as follows with the different types of diapers: cloth with plastic outer cover 60%, cellulose disposables 39%, absorbent gel disposables 29%, absorbent gel disposables with breathable covers 13%. Diaper rash percentiles for uncovered cloth diapers were not presented. Rates of diaper rash, in any case, can be reduced with frequent and prompt changing.

Health risk claim: Cloth diapers are unsanitary and can cause infections.
I was unable to find any supported sources on either side of this issue which leaves me to believe there have been none. Anyone who knows of any (actual studies I do not want cloth diaper supporting pages with no citation, etc.) please leave them in the comment section. The closest “study” found that cloth diapers after being washed properly had no more bacteria than other clothing we place on our babies every day. I am inclined to agree, however this article is about fact not belief so this claim will be left in “unknown” status.

Health risk claim: Disposable diapers cause asthma.
There was indeed a study done in 1999 that confirmed that mice showed more extreme asthma like symptoms when exposed to disposable diapers. (It should be noted cloth diapers also presented “small changes.”) Russ Rader (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Spokesman) states that these results have yet to be seen in humans. It was said the study was being sent to a toxicologist but no newer information can be found. Previous tests on torn open disposables with the inner gel layers did not produce respiratory or skin issues. The diapers were found to be safe.

It’s important that those trying to use facts to support their choice in diaper remember that finding a website that “says so” does not prove something to be true. This article makes an attempt at finding actual scientific studies and facts presented by reliable unbiased sources to support health claims against diapers. In the end, no validated health claims can be found leaving a parent’s choice in diaper to be purely personal choice once again supporting my favorite motto, “The biggest myth in parenting is that there is a right or wrong way to do it.”