Diaper Hacks: "tightening" too-big disposables, ultimate rash cream, olive oil as wipe alternative

Sandy sent in three great diaper tips:

1)  If your child has outgrown the absorbancy of one size, but doesn't yet physically fit into the next size, you end up with "stuff" leaking out the leg holes.  You can fix this by fastening the velcro just below the picture on the front, instead of right over the picture.  That way, it takes up the slack, and you don't get as many leaks out the leg holes.

2)  A friend of mine gave me her doctor's recipe for the ultimate diaper rash cream.  Mix a tube of Desitin, a tube of bacitracin, and a tube of anti-fungal cream (lotrimin) together.  It works like magic!  In fact, we call it "magic goop."

3)  When your child has diaper rash, regular wipes can be very painful.  A much gentler alternative is to put some olive oil on a kleenex.  No more screams of pain with each wipe!

Tags: Baby, Diapers, Parenting

Comments

[Moxie]

If your child is getting a lot of doiper rashes, you may want to try different brands of diapers. In general, the fewer bells and whistles, the better, since the fragrances and colors and all that other stuff you pay through the nose for could be what's actually causing the rash.

I did a post on this, but the real gold is in the tips people let in the comments:
http://moxie.blogs.com/askmoxie/2006/05/qa_diaper_rash_.html

One really interesting thing I learned while writing that post is that zinc oxide, which is the main ingredient in many diaper creams, could actually be causing the rash or making it worse. Kind of makes you feel like the guy who finds out that Soylent Green is people, doesn't it?

[Terry]

1 part Neosporin/Aquaphor/petroleum jelly
1 part Zinc Oxide Cream
and enough cornstarch to make it a little thicker than peanut butter
------
Equals
------
Magic Butt Balm

[Terry]

I cannot recommend highly enough Boudreaux's Butt Paste. With our second daughter, we received a sample from the ped's office and were tryly amazed at how well and fast it works. It has literally wiped out a rash in a few hours on occasion. It smell like maple syrup to boot.

[Jim]

Our baby has acid reflux, and therefore very acidic poop. We've found that Bag Balm works the best. It comes in a little green tin at your local drug store.

[Meetu]

Every day after bath I apply aquaphor on my sons bottom and then balmex thin coating on the areas which are prone to diaper rash.I ve been doing this from the time he was a week old,to this day(hes 6 months old now) he has never had an episode of diaper rash.

[Kwiat'sGirls]

I highly recommend adding lotrimin cream to Desitin. I use this when I notice a "yeasty" rash starting--little red dots--and it clears it up in no time. I received this advice from my doctor as well and it was absolutely right on.

[cJw]

Don't forget a dry bottom is much less prone to rash than one that isn't so when a new diaper is reinstalled. ;)

[Alitza]

Thanks for the olive oil tip. Occasionally, my son has a sore rear end and baby wipes make him scream in agony. I've tried the "sensitive" wipes and warm, wet washclothes, neither of which seems any better. Next time, I'll try the olive oil.

[Lisa]

You'd be surprised how effective a large tub of cheap vaseline is when trying to provide a barrier between a rash and a wet diaper. Slather it on an already raw bottom everytime you change the diaper and the next time you "wipe", you take off the layer of vaseline rather than the skin. It was the last "trick" I ever had to try because it worked. There is no reason why you couldn't use the above-mentioned creams first to aid in healing and then top it off with Vaseline to provide the barrier.