Nappy Rash
In babies, having nappy rash between the ages of 9-12 months is considered to be common. Therefore, at some point of your parenthood, you will have to remove your baby’s diaper and deal with a bottom that is tender-looking. This will occur whether you are using disposable or washable nappies on your baby.
What is the appearance of Nappy Rash?
When your baby suffers from nappy rash or irritation, you will find it out. The skin of your baby that has been in contact with the nappy will appear inflamed and red. The rash may affect the bottom, outer skin folds of thigh, and genitals of your baby. The areas that are affected can look moist or dry and sometimes may even look pimply or shiny.
When not treated right away, nappy rash can result to the development of more serious skin irritation including:
• Yeast infection like candida or thrush. This kind of infection is known to be common among babies who are taking antibiotics. The reason behind this is that antibiotics can kill good bacteria, which normally act to keep yeast away. Thrush on the other hand starts as small red spots that multiply and becomes blotch and solid red.
• Bacterial infection. When your baby acquires bacterial infection, fever may occur and pus-filled pimple or oozing patches that are yellow colored may be visible.
What causes nappy rash?
This rash is triggered by wetness due to contact with poop or wee in the nappy. Newly born babies are susceptible to this because they often have runny poo and often wee.
Even using the super absorbent nappy can still leave some wetness on the delicate skin of a baby. This makes it difficult for the skin of your baby to act as barrier, which results to skin irritation.
Babies wearing dirty nappy over a long period of time are more susceptible to rash development. But nappy rash also occurs to babies with sensitive skin regardless if their nappies are changed often.
The combination of poo and wee in nappies can have bad reaction on the skin of your baby. When your baby suffers from diarrhea, the susceptibility to a rash is greater. This happens because your baby’s poo is wetter compared to normal poo and spreads on wider area.
At times, the rash is triggered by other factors. The allergic reaction of the skin of your baby to a specific product, which has been in contact with it may lead to a nappy rash. This skin reaction is known as allergic dermatitis, although babies rarely acquire this condition.
Allergic dermatitis can be set off by nappies of different brands, baby wipe, or cleanser. Sometimes a rash immediately occurs when you have switched to a different product brand.
What is the best treatment for nappy rash?
When your baby have nappy rash, it can be treated by yourself. It will be gone in 3-4 days and will no longer disturb your baby.
Here are some tips on how to treat a rash from using a nappy:
• Your baby’s own nappy should be changed frequently and your baby should be kept dry and clean. Make this a habit after the nappy is filled or wet.
• Make sure that your baby’s behind is always clean. You can clean it by using alcohol-free and fragrance-free baby wipe; (you can check the product’s label),or moisturizing, mild soap. Then rinse the baby’s bottom with plain water then pat it dry.
• Allow your baby to be nappy free for longer period of time to speed up the healing process. In a place or room with warm temperature, place your baby on a cloth. When your baby can already move around, place the baby in the room with a floor that can be cleaned easily. When the weather is warm, taking the baby outside is a good option.
• Before you let your baby wear fresh nappy, you can apply barrier ointment or cream in thin layer. Applying thick layer of cream is not necessary. You only need to apply a little amount of cream and do it in a way that will enable you to still see the skin of your baby clearly. The cream you applied will act as protective cover between any poo or wee and the skin of your baby.
• Bathing once a day can be enough. When washing your baby, use water with bath emollient or baby cleanser with neutral ph. Bear in mind that if you use bath emollient it will make the skin of your baby greasy, making bathing a bit difficult.
• To limit the moisture on the skin of your baby, you can opt for a disposable nappy that is super absorbent. But there are no strong evidence that a disposable nappy is more effective in preventing or treating nappy rash compared to a cloth nappy.
• If the nappy rash has been triggered by an allergy, it will clear up by itself. Just make sure that you avoid using the product which triggered the nappy rash or irritation.
How long will it take to heal Nappy Rash?
For a normal type nappy rash, it can be cleared up in 3-4 days under home treatment. When the rash is still present even after 3-4 days or becomes worse, seek advice from practice nurse or health visitor.
The nappy rash of your baby might become bacterial infection or thrush, which can be uncomfortable or very sore. When this occurs, application of antifungal cream, antibiotics, or hydrocortisone may be prescribed by your nurse or health visitor, depending on what has caused the nappy rash.
When the nappy rash has been triggered by thrush, use of barrier ointment or cream must be avoided because it can worsen the irritation.
How to prevent nappy rash?
To avoid nappy rash, make sure that the baby’s bottom should be kept dry as much as possible. In order for your baby to avoid having nappy rash, try these 5 steps:
• Your baby should be free from wearing nappy for a period of time. Wearing nappy is the primary cause of the rash, anyway.
• Always change the nappy of your baby immediately after each wee or poo.
• After poo, the bottom and genitals of your baby should be cleaned thoroughly. Make sure that the skin is dry and clean before you put on a fresh nappy.
• Always apply ointment in thin layer on the baby’s bottom right after changing the nappy.
• Avoid applying talcum powder. This powder cannot protect nappy rash rather it will trigger irritation and friction on the skin of your baby.
• The nappy of your baby should be fastened in a way that it will be loose enough to let the air circulate on the baby’s bottom.