Diaper Rashes in Cloth Diapers: The Epic Rash of 2014

Linking up with Kristin at Mama & Mou for Baby Talk Tuesday!

I think it's finally safe to say we're done with this horrible diaper rash.

So, if I blog about it, it won't come back....right??

It all started around before Christmas. Harper had a diaper rash, which her doctor deemed a yeast rash. Please do yourself a favour and do not Google that. Anyway, we treated it with some cream that came from the pharmacy, and it got better, but never really went away. I started treating my cloth diapers with tea tree oil, after reading that it was effective on yeast.

Over the course of a few weeks, between December and mid-January, the rash would get a bit better, and then worse again. I had so many people say "Just take her out of those cloth diapers!" Well, I didn't want to do that. Just before we left for our cruise, I took her to the doctor again, and he gave us more cream for a yeast rash.

While we were on vacation, my in laws had her, and they used disposables, not wanting to deal with washing/drying our diapers, which I don't blame them. By the time we got home, the rash was gone. We put her back in her cloth diapers as soon as we got home, and in the matter of 3 diaper changes, the rash was back, and as bad as ever.

So, I took her out of her cloth, and treated her, and her diapers for yeast. I bleached them, which worked wonderfully. They have never smelled so fresh!

Just a little side note, I don't recommend bleaching your diapers regularly. It can seriously damage the PUL linings. I received a diaper that I had bought from a buy, sell, and trade group, and it smelled strongly of bleach, and when I picked it up, it felt like a swim diaper. The PUL was so badly damaged that it was barely there anymore. I would really only recommend bleaching them when absolutely necessary.

Anyway, she was out of her diapers for over 2 weeks, but the rash really never got better, even while being treated for yeast. Finally, after her suffering through having a gastro bug (the same one that I ended up spending a day in the hospital with), the 'rash' was so bad that she would scream and scream if I even looked like I was taking her to get her diaper changed. She had gotten an acidic poop burn from having the bug. I took her back to the doctor again, and he prescribed another cream, this time with a stronger steroid in it. He said it should help within a couple of days.

By this time, she was back in her cloth. I took her back again to see the doctor, who finally decided that it must be a strep infection. He gave her a cream, and at my persistence, an antibiotic.

Well, it worked! I can't even express how happy I was to see her bum finally clear up!

Every time I spoke to her doctor, he insisted that she was fine in her cloth. He actually said that if I just treated them with a bit of vinegar in every wash, that it should keep any bad bugs away. So far so good, it's been over a month with very little rash, and I'm pretty sure the one she had was a teething rash, which cleared right up after a day.

So, what was the final diagnosis? Hemolytic Strep Infection in her Acidic Poop burn.

Yep! That was a mouthful! Her doctor said that it was really rare to see it in a diaper rash, which is why he didn't really think of it in the first place.

It has been a long road to get rid of it, but I'm glad to say it's finally over.

After that, my cloth diaper routine has changed a bit.

-I use a liner in my diapers.
-I use a zinc cream, instead of coconut oil (yes I know, buildup, but I'm willing to strip them more often if it means a clear bum).
-I stopped using The Laundry Tarts diaper soap, and went back to Tide Free and Gentle.
-I switched back to disposable wipes, to absolutely ensure her bum is getting clean.
-I add some vinegar to my wash cycle of my diaper laundry every time.



Has your little one ever had a persistent diaper rash? How did you finally get rid of it?



Comments

  1. I'm glad your little sweetheart is feeling better! It is hearbreaking when something is wrong and we can't figure it out. I'm glad you were insistent with her Doc!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! It is terrible when you can't do anything, but know they're suffering! I'm happy with how well my doc did...he was surprised at what it ended up being.

      Delete
  2. I obviously don't have kids yet, but my Hubs and I are thinking about trying sometime in the near future. All your talk about cloth diapers has got me really interested and I'm thinking about doing it myself!

    Glad Harper is feeling better!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks :) I hope you do choose cloth! It's great in so many ways!

      Delete
  3. Great tips here - sounds like it was quite a process but there has been great progression in the diaper rash department ! good luck !

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment