The best ways to heal and prevent nappy rash
From experience, the best thing you can do to reduce nappy rash is to ditch using disposable wipes on your baby's bum.
Having had our first baby suffer from chronic nappy rash from about 6 weeks until potty training, I was determined to avoid it as much as possible with my second.
What I’m about to say might come as a surprise…. But avoiding disposable wipes at all costs includes all wipes and definitely still the super sensitive "made using only water" marketed wipes. Even these are not suitable for cleaning such a sensitive area.
If you try wiping your own face with one, see how it feels against your own skin. It scratches and stings. Disposable wipes are abrasive to delicate skin, and even if they claim to not contain any perfumes of chemicals, or are termed “biodegradable”, the abrasive texture of the wipe itself is enough to cause nappy rash.
Disposables are not the only option
Cotton wool and water is a viable alternative solution and we used this on Mr Monkey for the first 3 months with rarely an issue. The only time Mr Monkey might get a bit of a rash is on a day when he has pooed 4-5 or more times, more due to repetitive cleaning than anything else.
There is little you can do to help this, but if so cotton wool and letting air get there is the most gentle method. Also giving your baby a bath every other day or less, reducing the amount of bubble bath you use and switching to an eczema friendly one can help.
Fleece liners work wonders
I do however believe reusable nappies help prevent rash. A fleece liner is a wonderful thing that changed the game for me. Their softness keeps your baby comfortable and dry. It acts like the top layer of a disposable, filtering through liquid, but the dry surface also keeps the poo in place and from spreading or leaking. Even breastfed poo and weaning poo. And it's the combination of wee plus poo together that breeds nappy rash. Add to this the toxic chemicals in disposables that have been proven to seep back though to the skin, and this is why I will never go back....apart from holidays and dire emergencies.
You can of course use disposable liners as well, but considering they feel and look suspiciously the same as a disposable wipe, but just not pre-wet, I wasn’t surprised when disposable liners sometimes aggravated my baby’s bum in a way that a fleece liner never did.
Washable wipes - the bigger the better!
Washable wipes are a great solution for nappy rash. My favourite are by Muslinz, they are generously sized and softer than most others but have a grippy texture on one side.
I can clean a full pooey bum with only 1 of these wipes, using the grippy cotton side to clean off the worst of the poo and then folding over and using the clean softer pile bamboo side to wipe clean.
Then I pat dry with a linen muslin square which I usually loosely drape in a nappy shape and tuck under his sides to help prevent his little fountain creating another puddle. Although this is also inevitable with a boy!
To learn how easy they are as a swap, have a read of my blog on Washable wipes.
Creams and potions
Nappy creams have their place, and again this is an area for debate in the cloth nappy community. I had read great things on groups and heard about on a webinar by the Nappy Lady, about a well known calendula nappy Change Cream, however having tried it I truly hate this cream. It may be natural and full of essential oils but it left such a stink on my nappies and in my wetbag, and I could still smell it after washing.
It was so obvious which ones it had infected I smelled it as soon as they came out of the machine. And also slightly on the rest of my precious stash (shock horror!). This is the only time I have ever needed to do a troubleshooting wash on the affected liners and boosters (on at 60 and with bio powder). Troubleshooting did remove the worst of it and eventually after a couple of weeks of normal routine (non-bio at 40) it did work its way out. This shall be forever known as "the calendula incident". I shall not touch this cream again with a barge pole.
Nappy creams I like to use
This is why I recommend something fragrance free, which is also better for your baby's bum:
x Sudocrem always gave my daughter a rash so I avoid it anyway, and it is also scented enough to prevent your nappies from smelling freshly washed.
x Metanium is also too harsh.
I like Aveeno Daily Barrier Cream, it's suitable for even eczema prone skin but is the thickest barrier I know of.
The supermarket fragrance free ranges can also be a good alternative if you are on a strict budget.
Drapolene is also an oldie but a goodie that works well on a rash problem if you can get hold of it. It seems to be water soluble and does not leave a residual smell.
Help guides
For more straight forward practical tips on how to switch to reusable nappies, have a read of my further blogs: