I'm a mother of twins, RDA accredited Cloth Diaper Circle Leader, and an RN discussing parenting tips, green living, and products I love!
Well friends, this is the last of the MommaWords First Birthday GIVEAWAYS! What a busy month it has been with so many giveaways! Thanks to all our sponsors. The last giveaway consists of two Cloth Diapering Packages. I recently wrote about our struggle with ammonia build up in our cloth diapers, how we treated the diapers, and how we treated our twins for the ammonia burn diaper rash. I wanted to help any parents who might be in a similar situation. So…. I put together two packages! The packages consist of 1) The herbal burn balm (Ching Wan Hung) that I got from my acupuncturist, 2) A homemade bath soak consisting of oatmeal & chamomile tea (enough for 8 baths), AND 3) Hand cut fleece cloth diaper liners (8).
Krystal of Blue Jasmine Acupuncture and Herbs has sponsored the burn balm included in these two packages. I am thrilled that Krystal agreed to sponsor this giveaway because she supplied me with an amazing healing balm! This burn balm works for burns, sores, blister, eczema, and psoriasis. The tiniest amount goes a long way which makes this balm a long lasting steal at $6!
When my twins were recovering from the ammonia burns I was at a loss for how to heal their bottoms as quickly as possible. My daughter had blisters where her skin was exposed to the diapers! I was scared to even take her to the pediatrician. Do you know that the pediatrician was as much at a loss about this “rash” as I was? Because she didn’t have much, if any, experience with cloth diapers, she couldn’t help me. All she could do was take a culture of the rash and later tell me it wasn’t yeast. After digging around on the internet, a fellow cloth diapering momma suggested that the blisters could be an ammonia burn. BINGO! I had even told family members “This is an awful rash! It looks like a BURN!” My point. I told Krystal about this ammonia burn that day and she said she had a great burn balm. It is brown in color, smells like sesame seeds, and works like a charm. I brought it home and applied it that afternoon after nap. Only 24 hours later, the burn looked 50-75% better and all blisters were dried up. At the 48 hour mark there were some completely healed areas and all of the blistered areas looked markedly better. By day three the worst areas were just a thin layer of skin peeling off (like after a sunburn). It was AMAZING. I applied the burn balm 3 times a day, at waking, before nap, and after bath – before bed. Please read the directions on the box and consult your doctor and/or cloth diaper manufacturer with any questions. I used disposable inserts while using this product.
The other treatment I used to heal the ammonia burn (it helps with all diaper rashes and any skin irritations like eczema, as long as there isn’t an allergy to the ingredients) was a bath soak. I used the Aveeno soothing bath soak a couple of times but then found a recipe for a homemade bath soak! I have included this bath soak in the giveaway package! The bath soaks are meant to be placed in a warm bath (not hot!) and swished around until the water looks milky. The soak bag can be used to gently wash baby’s skin. My daughter’s hair and skin felt super soft after using these bath soaks. The bath soaks are also great for any time baby has irritated skin such as, heat rash or a sun burn. I hope we all avoid sun burns! 
If your baby has very sensitive skin you may try using this bath soak instead of baby wash to clean him or her during bath time.
To read the complete post on “How to heal and ammonia burn and terrible diaper rash” click HERE.
Now I’ll talk a bit about the fleece liners. There are many reasons to get into cloth diapering. Some parents have chosen cloth to stay away from the chemicals like SAP (super absorbent polymers) found in disposable diapers. Many of these parents choose to use only cloth diapers made from organic all natural fibers. If this is the case, you may not be interested in using a fleece liner. I have tried using all organic cotton or bamboo soakers only in my children’s diapers and found that their skin felt very wet when I changed them. I also use another soaker that has a fleece top liner which did not leave my children’s skin feeling so wet. So for all my soakers or AIOs that do not have a fleece liner, I have cut fleece liners from fabric bought at my local fabric store. I have found that these liners are helpful in many regards. First, they keep my kids feeling dry. Second, they make clean up of poopie diapers easier because I can simply lift this liner and dump its contents in the toilet. Third, the liners keep our diapers looking nicer which means less work to get stains out.
To enter to win this GIVEAWAY you are required to do the following:
“Like” Blue Jasmine Acupuncture & Herbs on Facebook AND “Like” MommaWords.com on Facebook and tell me in a comment on this post that you have done so. If you do not have a Facebook account and would still like to enter, you may leave a comment on this post telling me what other product or treatment you are interested in on Krystal’s Blue Jasmine Acupuncture & Herbs website.
To qualify for extra entries you must leave a comment on this post stating that you have done one of the following for EACH entry:
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This giveaway closes Friday September 2, 2011 at midnight. Winners will be drawn on Saturday September 3rd, 2011. I will post the winning results as soon as I can that Saturday! I will also notify winners via email. Please check your spam folders! Winners will have 48 hours to reply before a new winner is chosen.
THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.
We have been dealing with this NEVER ENDING diaper rash in our house! I started to REALLY research what else could be wrong. I thought it was a yeast rash. It wasn’t. Not only did I treat my diapers for yeast twice, but my dear daughter’s (DD) bum tested negative for yeast when the pediatrician swabbed it for a culture. So what the heck was causing this blistery rash that looks WAY too much like a burn? I mean, I was AFRAID to take DD to the doctor the first time because this rash was SO BAD!
So, what have I learned? I have learned that it probably was a burn. Apparently, if ammonia builds up in your cloth diapers, it can cause a burn. Ouch. Ammonia build up sucks. I will write a blog on how I got rid of the ammonia at a later time, once I have made sure that it is really GONE FOR GOOD. I am waiting for my DD and DS’s little bottoms to completely heal before I attempt to write about how to fix the problem.
What I do want to write about is how to help heal this burn. The first thing is to get them out of those diapers while they are healing and treat the diapers. We have been using a biodegradable, disposable inserts in our GroVia AI2s as well as GroVia biodiapers. Second, get some Ching Wan Hung Soothing Herbal Balm. I was telling my acupuncturist about this ammonia burn rash and she said, “I have this great burn balm!” Great? You can say that again! I have applied half a pea sized dab on my daughter’s ammonia burn area 4 times now. As of the third application she was 50% healed over most of the worst area and almost 100% healed on the less affected areas. Wow. Ok, so that’s not all I’ve done, but I give the herbal balm most of the credit. I also started using GroVia’s Magic Stick and Aveeno’s Soothing Relief Bath Treatment. I also read somewhere along this blog-o-rific journey, that you can make your own soothing bath treatment. Um, yes please! I’d love to save some money!
Homemade soothing bath soak for diaper rash, burns, and skin irritations:
1/2 cup whole oats, 1 Chamomile tea bag or spoon full of loose tea, wrap in a small square of cheese cloth and tie off.
Use a new bag with each bath. Do not reuse the soak!
Place in a warm (not hot) bath and swish around to release oat milk and tea. My DD’s hair and skin has been super soft as an added bonus!
So, to recap, I have been applying the Herbal balm when the twins wake, before nap, and before bed (after the bath soak). Because they have been in disposable inserts, I have covered the balm in either Aquaphor or Magic Stick (remember that you shouldn’t use Aquaphor in cloth because it can decrease absorbency of your diapers), and use the Magic Stick alone for all other diaper changes. This is the quickest this type of rash has EVER healed, and I am super excited to give you another option for those of you that are dealing with similar problems!
For those mom’s that dealt with burns from some of the chemicals in overnight disposable diapers, I would think that this concoction would greatly help you as well!
I’d love to hear your feedback in a comment on this post!
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.
I’m probably going to get in trouble for posting this pic some day but when I think of diaper rash this is the image that comes to mind. So cute! This is one of my little ones on a diaper rash day. This was a great set up I am happy to share! Get your handy dandy boppy pillow and lay it on the floor. Then place a waterproof crib liner over it. [I got a couple that are full crib size and a couple that are changing table size. I can't tell you how often these liners have come in handy. They feel like cloth but have a waterproof inner layer.] Then lay a towel over the water proof layer (or you could place a cloth diaper right under baby). Lay baby over the pillow with bum exposed! This is perfect “air time” for pre-crawlers. When my twins got older and needed some serious “air time” I put baby legs on them with a shirt, socks and shoes (or a dress for my daughter) and let them run around outside. This can be difficult for the crawling but not walking stage. A couple times I got a massive blanket and layed it out for them to crawl on. You just have to cross your fingers and hope that they get enough air before they make too much of a mess. “It all comes out in the wash”!
About “air time”… This is the best method of clearing up diaper rash. That and frequent changes. If baby has a bad rash change him/her every hour AT LEAST. Sitting in a wet or soiled diaper makes it worse. I have even heard of parents taking a blow dryer on low heat to a baby’s tushy with every change. A friend of mine was able to clear up her daughter’s diaper rash by applying a bit of breast milk to the area with each change. If it works on nipples, why not bums?
Diaper rash creams
Because I am not a fan of petroleum based products, finding a diaper rash cream was a challenge for me. I am a fan of Arbonne skin care products and so this was our first stop. They sale in 4.7 oz tubes and the price varies depending on if you are a consultant or not. Retail price is $14. This is a cream with no petroleum or mineral oil product. It goes on smooth and wipes off VERY easy. I think it wipes off a bit too easily. I’m not sure how much protection it offers between changes. Bummer, but how often do you get a winner on the first try? I should know better by now….
Next we tried the California Baby Calming Diaper Rash Cream. It comes in a 2.9oz tube for $11.49. This was pretty much the same story as the Arbonne cream. It may be a bit thicker. When you apply this cream you can feel on your fingers that there is a kind of cooling sensation. I thought this would be great for a bad diaper rash. Think again. When I applied this cream on a normal bum all was fine and well. When I applied this cream to a rash, there was crying and screaming. How awful do you feel when you have done something to make your baby scream. I really don’t like giving bad reviews but if it will help anyone else from having this experience I gladly do it.
I was at a loss and in need of a barrier to cover my babies’ bums, so I swallowed my dislike for petroleum products and went with Aquaphor. It comes in a 3oz tube for $8.99 or a 14oz jar for $17.99. I know lots of people who use this, not only for their babies, but also for themselves. Aquaphor has come to be our tried and trusted old stand by. It is a clear jelly that never burns, goes on easy, and doesn’t leave a mess. When my son had breakouts on his face due to irritation from food, my pediatrician suggested I put Aquaphor on his face before meals. Yes it worked. I am irritated to be using a petroleum based product, but it works, so I’ll stick to it.
The hospital sent us home with packets of petroleum jelly for post circumcision care and I used it for diaper cream in a pinch. A 13oz jar of Vaseline will run you $3.29. If you are on a tight budget and like the Aquaphor samples your pediatrician gave you, give it a shot. It is messier than Aquaphor, in that it doesn’t go on quite as easily, but there is quite a price difference to make up for it.
Boudreaux’s Butt Paste comes in a 4oz tube for $6.60. This is one that I never got around to trying but several friends said they loved it so I wanted to put it on the list and let you try for yourself.
Diaper area care
Another issues with diaper rash is cleaning the affected area. Have you tried baby wipes? Most baby wipes have alcohol or some other ingredient that stings when the skin is compromised. If you don’t want to give up using wipes you may want to keep some California Baby Diaper Area Wash on hand for those times when baby has a rash. It comes in a 6.5oz bottle and runs $11.49. Sounds like a lot but the directions say to dilute it 10/1 in water. I use this all the time with cloth wipes to clean up my twins and have yet to buy a second bottle. My babies have been fine when this is used to clean a rash. Please let me know if you have had any other experience!
Please note that most cloth diapers suggest you don’t use a diaper rash cream with each change. Petroleum products have been known to build up on cloth and decrease absorption. Some companies make a cream that IS compatible with their diapers. I have found that this is not a problem with the gcloth inserts I use because of the top fleece layer. Fleece seems to be a magic fabric! If you use cloth diapers made from another fabric like organic cotton or bamboo, you may want to go to a local craft store and get some fleece to cut up and add as a top layer next to baby’s skin. It seems to keep baby drier than any other fabric I have found!
