Dealing With Diaper Rashes and Cloth Diapers #fallfluff
Posted by 
September 13, 2011 •
When I first started cloth diapering one of the things I thought about was how to deal with diaper rashes. Before I learned of the modern options, I was warned about rashes from lack of air flow through plastic pants and detergent. As I researched about cloth, I kept reading about needing to use cloth safe creams. But how the heck would I know what was safe for cloth or not? And what do I do with all the known rash creams that I already have (like Desitin)?
Overall, it seems like fluffy bum babies experience fewer rashes, but that doesn’t mean they can’t or won’t get them. Rissa doesn’t get really bad rashes but she will get some mild ones now and again. Right now we are dealing with the worst case we’ve ever had – one stubborn area is slowly getting better after about 3 days or so. Normally any irritation she has clears up within a day.
What Causes Diaper Rash?
Diaper rash is usually the result of baby’s delicate skin being irritated by the bacteria and ammonia from exposure to urine mixed with feces. Other things can irritate the skin too, such as certain materials and detergents. Diapers that are too small can also irritate the skin, especially if baby is mobile.
How to Prevent Diaper Rash
The most ideal way of dealing with diaper rash is to prevent it in the first place! Easier said than done, sometimes, I know! Some of my methods from earlier on just aren’t feasible anymore. I used to let Rissa have naked time when she was smaller. I could lay her on top of a few prefolds and let her pee as she pleased. Now that she’s mobile… well… that doesn’t work anymore! Here are some of the things I try to do to prevent diaper rash.
- Change frequently – every 2-3 hours. I will change prefolds more often than pockets though
- Air time – I try to let her air out a bit during changes. I also pat her bottom dry with a cloth wipe too
- Wash baby’s bottom after stooling – soap and water mix, a cloth wipe solution or baby bottom cleanser can be used
- Use pocket diapers or some sort of stay dry lining for naps and bedtime
- Wash and rinse diapers well
- Use cloth safe creams to provide a preventative protective layer
Cloth Safe Rash Treatment Options
No matter how much you try to prevent it, your baby will still likely be affected by diaper rash at one time or another. Here are some ways to treat it without ruining your stash!
- Avoid petroleum jelly and creams with “bad” ingredients cod liver oil and zinc oxide (like Desitin) because they will cause build up on your diapers
- If you do use a cream not deemed safe for cloth diapers, use a liner in the diaper. It can be a disposable liner or a fleece liner that you can wash separately from your cloth
- Breastmilk – I have not actually used it on a rash, but I’ve heard it can do wonders!
- Coconut oil – This is one of my favorite treatments. Baby smells yummy, it’s easy to apply, and it rinses out of your diapers.
- Olive oil – I have not used this method, but the idea is the same as coconut oil.
- Cloth safe rash creams I’ve used: Motherlove and Grandma El’s. I’ve also used a natural baby salve. While it wasn’t made specially for cloth, it doesn’t have the “bad” ingredients.
- Not sure how your rash cream or ointment measures up? Here’s a helpful chart with a rating system for cloth friendliness.
What are your secret rash fighting tricks?
Don’t forget to check out how Mama on a Green Mission and Formula Mom deal with rashes too!
Tags: cloth leaves nothing behind, diaper rash, diaper rash treatment, irritation, rash, rash cream
We actually had to stop cloth diapering because of pesky rashes. We tried everything under the sun to keep them under control but my poor girl was in pain. We would change her every hour, and for long car rides, naps and overnight we used disposables. I washed them 3 times with the second rinse on, and at least one of those was a hot water rinse. I also line dried them, but the rashes kept coming. Maybe her tushy is super sensitive but then i would think disposables would hurt too. We were/are dumbfounded and still have our stash in case we try again. I’d love to have her back in cloth again if we could not get daily rashes. Thank you for the informative post! Much to read over and think about.webraiven
have you tried different brands of cloth diapers. I hear some babies are allergic to some of the different fabrics.
Great tips! I haven’t tried breast milk either….but have heard it works wonders! I forgot all about that! :)April
We always run around naked in the backyard to get rid of rashes! If it is not nice out and we don’t have that convenience we just use CJ’s butter and change diapers VERY often!
For the diaper safe creams, I’ve also tried EAMB Angel Baby Bottom Balm with some success. It worked great for mild rashes but didn’t seem to have much effect if the rash was really bad. We also use baby powder (unscented cornstarch or talc) as a preventative.hollywilson82
I’m dealing with this now! For a pretty bad rash I applied breastmilk with every diaper change, and I also let her have naked time for about half the day. I won’t be able to do that forever though! The rash cleared up pretty much overnight, but now it is coming back. The only cream I have isn’t safe for CD’s, so I’ve been using a liner.
Thanks for all of the great info! Since Im still a CD rookie I admit that in the beginning I didnt know any better and used non CD safe creams and learned my lesson real quick! All it took was a quick google search to find tons of info and now I am working my way through the good ones and I hope to try some coconut oil soon!
Also thanks for the chart….its awesome (happy dance)
I love that you can use coconut oil on baby’s bottom. I have tried to avoid putting anything on him unless it is bad. Luckily that has not happened often.
i am just starting to deal with diaper rash now that we are on solids. I need to try some cloth safe creams. I’ve been using fleece liners, but they keep getting thrown in with the regular diaper wash.
From personal experience, if we get a bad rash, the first thing I do is hand express a little milk onto it. Works wonders! Also works on eye irritation and is rumored to work on ear infection although I don’t have personal experience with that one.
We also let little one’s butt air out between changes (unless we’re out and about). She gets about 5 minutes before we throw a diaper back on her. Since starting this 2 months ago, we haven’t had a single rash!
my mom-in-law suggested a hair dryer on low heat for a minute or two during a diaper change. seemed to really help.
haven’t had too many rashes so luckily haven’t had to deal with this much. That being said, when I have had to do something, I’ve used the desitin we received as a gift, and a disposable diaper so that it wouldn’t ruin my cloth ones. It’d be nice to have cloth diaper safe stuff on hand in case a rash does happen.stewartheather
My daughter had a pretty bad diaper rash right after we started full time cloth diapering…I think it was because she also had just started sleeping through the night…I bought some CJ’s BUTTer spray and that cleared her right up! I’m now trying different things on her at night time as a preventative! Next I am trying coconut oil! :)
My secret rash fighting tip is a nice warm bath.
I actually have used breastmilk on rashes before and like you said, it does do wonders. We are frequently fighting yeast for my daughter though, which can be a hard one to deal with :(
We switched to cloth with our first child because of rashes.
I’ve had good luck with the EMAB and California Baby diaper creams. Coconut oil is amazing as a preventative and just for an all over moisturizer as well. I like that the EMAB has some TTO in it. Great stuff.
If you use something like Desitin, you will end up with fishy smelling diapers. Vomit.