I'm a mother of twins, RDA accredited Cloth Diaper Circle Leader, and an RN discussing parenting tips, green living, and products I love!
Candida
If your baby has been fortunate enough not to have had a terrible diaper rash, count your blessings. Over a week ago my daughter pooed right after she went down for nap. I know this because, when I got her up from nap, her poor bum was already compromised. What exactly lead to the horrid diaper rash that was to follow, is a set of unfortunate circumstances. I recently sent some of my beloved GroVia AIO diapers back to have the elastic replaced. They have wonderful customer service and were concerned about the wear showing on my 9 month old diapers. They suggested I wash them on warm instead of hot and air dry them. I believe that the breakdown in my daughters skin, along with this change in wash routine is what led to a build up of ….. dum DUM DUM… YEAST!
I took my daughter to the doctor after having tried all my own fixes. Usually, persistent use of Aquaphor resolves any redness. I tried Aquaphor for almost a week. The red patches would not go away. I then decided to try adding corn starch to the mix to dry out the area. (I’m just gonna go ahead and recommend that you not use corn starch on a persistent rash.) I know this is a beloved home remedy, but if you unknowingly add corn starch to a yeast infection rash, then you actually FEED the yeast. What we wound up with were BLISTERS. I know most all of you have had at least one of those OMG moments, where you nearly cry because something happened to your baby that was out of your control or maybe you unknowingly contributed to their pain? This was one of those moments. Yes, I have had both babies get owies because I was just out of reach, but to see BLISTERS on your baby’s privates is horrifying to say the least! I tried to cure the rash with antibiotic ointment as well, after the Aquaphor and the cornstarch, to no avail. Anyways, the doctor swabbed the blisters to get a culture. She wrote for a prescription strength diaper cream. After having read the ingredients I could have made my own!
Diaper rash cream for yeast infections:
Lanolin, anti-fungal cream, zinc
For a more natural fix:
Cleanse with apple cider vinegar and water on a cotton ball
Mix coconut oil with a couple drops of tea tree oil for a barrier
Note: if you use cloth diapers you must have either a disposable diaper liner or a fleece liner so that the oils do not get on the natural fabrics which would cause them to repel liquid instead of absorbing it! Make sure to wash the liners separately!
I got on the internet and started digging for a way to rid my cloth diapers of the yeast that had surely taken over them. (At this point my son had started getting a bit red too!) I found several sites with good cleaning methods.
Here is what I did. First I stripped the diapers. I washed them with Tiny Bubbles with a drop of dishwashing detergent added. I put an oxygen cleanser in the prewash and then rinsed with white vinegar. I have a front loading washer so I washed on Hot/Cold with a pre-wash, extra water, and an extra rinse. I then dried on hot in the dryer. I then did a complete wash cycle with only vinegar instead of detergent followed by another dry.
Then I treated for the yeast. I put Baby OxiClean in the prewash, Tiny Bubbles for the wash, 3 drops of Tea Tree Oil in the bleach compartment and vinegar in the fabric softener compartment. I washed on the same cycle I used for stripping the diapers followed by a hot dryer cycle. (Please note that I have since learned that in order for Tea Tree Oil to be effective as an antiseptic it must be 4% in concentration. A few drops WILL NOT do the trick. See this post for more detailed info.)
Yes, if this is your regular wash routine, your diapers will die much sooner than they should. But once and a while won’t kill them – just the yeast! (I know, that was so not punny…) So that we won’t reinfect our cloth diapers, we are currently using GroVia AI2 diaper shells with biodegradable inserts, until a few days after we have clear bums!
For more background on yeast diaper rashes, and treating rashes and cloth diapers check out the following links:
http://allaboutclothdiapers.com/killing-the-dreaded-yeast-monster/
http://allaboutclothdiapers.com/diaper-rash-cure/
http://granolagoddess.tripod.com/yeastrashandclothdiapers/
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/yeast-infection-blisters.html
Please see my post on Ammonia Build up for another reason your little one might be getting a horrid diaper rash and for my latest update on diaper washing routine click HERE.
My daughter now 14 months and has had a rash with my grovia & bumgenuis diapers. She has had the rash for over 6 months. I have started with country save, then planet and now thristies soap. Thinking it was a allegeric reaction to the soap. I have started tea tree oil since her rash is now going to blisters. Plus I have gotten prescription medication creams to no avail nothing it working. What would recommend. I have now broken down and bought disposal diapers to try and get rid of the rash. Need help I love my cloth diapers but husband is getting frustrated with them. Thank u.
When did you start cloth diapering? We used an insert like GroVia’s biosoakers for the time we were getting rid of the rash. If the rash started soon after starting soon after you started cloth then it could be an allergy to any of the fabrics the diapers and/or inserts are made of.
If you started cloth quite a while ago it could be detergent has built up in the diapers and is causing irritation. The articles I read said to be careful applying tea tree oil to the skin because it can be an irritant. They also suggested applying vinegar with a cotton ball to the effected area with each diaper change for yeast rashes.
I can’t imagine dealing with this for 6 months! Try calling the diaper manufacturers to get any recommendations from them. I’d start by stripping the diapers first and go from there! Good luck and let me know how it goes!
My daughter is 14 months and I have clothed diaper the whole time. It started when started teething and eating solids. I will write the manufractures tonight. Will clorox beach do? Thank u for responding
It sounds like she is sensitive to the change in her poo & pee since starting solid foods. Yes bleach will do but it may be more irritating to your daughters bum. Make sure you do a whole wash after the bleach wash. Instead of detergent use vinegar and do an extra rinse. Try giving her lots of air time (especially since the weather is nice right now!) Then, try a fleece liner that covers the whole inside of the diaper. (you can go to your local fabric store, buy some white fleece and cut it to fit your diapers) This way you can feel free to smother her bottom with a protective barrier of Aquaphor. There are several great balms listed in the comments of some of the blogs I linked to in the article. I hope you can find one that works for you! Your diaper manufacturers will suggest that you wash these liners separately from your diapers to prevent the oils from effecting the absorbency of your diapers. If she is sensitive to the fleece i’ve heard that raw silk can work miracles as liners also! Let me know if these fixes work four you!
Thank you. Grovia told me to use 1/2 cup of bleach and bum genuis 1/4 cup. Thank you for the suggestions. I start today.
You’re welcome and good luck!
[...] sure this was a yeast rash, since it was so persistent. I treated the diapers for yeast (see post HERE) once with tea tree oil, stripping and oxiclean and then a second time with bleach (which you [...]
[...] sure this was a yeast rash, since it was so persistent. I treated the diapers for yeast (see post HERE) once with tea tree oil, stripping and oxiclean and then a second time with bleach (which you [...]