Diaper rash is an irritant dermatitis affecting the most plump areas of the buttocks in direct contact with diapers. If it can appear from the 3rd week of life, it occurs especially between 6 and 12 months.

Diaper rash is like a W covering the inside of baby’s thighs, buttocks and pubis. It most often spares skin folds. The affected skin is red. It may, depending on the case, be dry or oozing, and may or may not be covered with pimples.

A still very fragile skin barrier, frequent contact with irritating urine and stools, a layer that promotes friction and maceration … In babies, all the factors are combined to create the local inflammation at the origin of the disease. nappy rash. A phenomenon that is further amplified in summer, when temperatures rise. It can also be accentuated by poor hygiene, diarrhea, teething, thrush, ENT infection.

Note that in some children, the consumption of foods such as spinach, citrus fruits or tomatoes, can systematically result in diaper rash. It is not then an allergy but an individual reaction due to the change in the pH of their stool.

Usually not serious, diaper rash can spread and become superinfected if not properly treated. The priority? Keep baby’s skin as dry as possible. To do this, change her diapers every 2 hours and leave her buttocks in the open air as often as possible. Using 100% cotton diapers (sold in pharmacies) until symptoms disappear can also be a good idea, but their cost can be a drag.

At changeover time

At each change, once the baby’s bottom is clean, cover the redness with a thick layer of protective cream type “water paste” or copper and zinc based. These products protect irritated skin from acidic contact with urine and stool while preventing the growth of bacteria.

To promote healing, you can simultaneously give your child 1 granule of Chamomilla 15 CH and Arsenicum Album 7 CH morning and evening, with 1 dose per week of Médorrhinum 15 CH.

If these treatments are not sufficient, consult your doctor.

At the time of the change, no need to multiply the toiletries. Wanting to do well, you risk modifying the hydrolipidic film that protects your child’s skin. Some healthcare professionals recommend a simple rinse with a cotton ball soaked in lukewarm water. They reserve the soaping with a syndet or a surgras soap for stools and bathing. Others advise using these cleansers at every change. The use of oleo-limestone liniment is also a good alternative. To be banned on the other hand: homemade oleo-limestone liniment, Marseille soap, the systematic use of wipes. These should be reserved for outings.

The priority: drying

Finish each change by drying very carefully, without rubbing but by dabbing gently, especially at the folds. Even if it is still sometimes advisable, forget the hair dryer, responsible for accidental burns, and the talcum powder. On the other hand, you can apply a protective diaper cream. And above all, change its diapers regularly to limit maceration phenomena as much as possible.

Usually, these measures are sufficient to prevent the irritation from returning. If not, you may need to consider switching brands of diapers. Because if all are equal, they are not necessarily suitable for all babies. Be careful, if you use washable diapers, they can cause problems. Since their return a few years ago, doctors have indeed seen cases of severe diaper rash which had almost disappeared from consultations since the generalization of disposable diapers. These cases do not appear to be related to cloth diapers per se. But rather to the detergents used to clean them, to the fact that parents change them perhaps a little less regularly, to the plastic overlays which promote maceration.