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keeping their butts open to air as much as possible helps so much. when my dd got her first diaper rash at about 20 months (bc I stupidly switched brands and I think that particular brand and size was too tight around the legs), she just ran around diaper-less as much as possible... Let's say, at least an hour after each diaper change (or until I would just anticipate she might have an accident). I also used that diaper-free time as an opportunity to try to start potty training too.

I also really like weleda and burt's bees diaper creams... and anything with calendula. put the cream on really thick.

What changed, either in diet or products? Sometimes food allergies manifest in diaper rash.

Our ped actually said no diaper cream during the rash time (or very minimal) to let the skin get dry.

When my daughter gets red and irritated we try to let her go without a diaper as much as possible. We leave off the diaper cream and just let it 'air out,'

We'll layer some towels and waterproof pads onto her crib mattress, put her to bed, then sneak in and take off her diaper once she's asleep. When we go to bed, we'll go in and remove the towels and waterproofing and put a diaper on her.

Most of the time we only have to do that once or twice and it clears up.

It kind of makes sense. If you had irritation 'down there' would you want it being damp with pee and smeared with cream all the time?!

Oh-- you only have to do the wet washcloth / bone dry thing until the rash clears up... then you can go back to wipes and no cream. We still use cream, just much less when he doesn't have a rash.

yes wipes are moisturizing, which is the opposite of what you want!

for RJ his diaper rash starts out as just red. Then it gets bumpy. Then you get into the raw stage. When they have diarrhea it's impossible to get rid of rash until the diarrhea is gone-- you can only maintain the current state.

good luck!! oh and I agree about the food-- diaper rash is the reason why I didn't let RJ taste tomato sauce until just recently!

I'm an RN, even though not on a pediatric unit. I have lots of geriatric patients and let me tell you, diaper rash is not just a kid problem! We see it all the time.

Cleaning with plain water and letting the area get completely dry before placing a diaper on will help it from exacerbating. And yes, the longer you keep him diaper-free the better it will be especially if he's already showing signs of a diaper rash coming on. You can put diaper rash cream, you may need to play around with different brands to see which ones work better for him. Every child is different, usually something with zinc works a little better. But you should only apply a THIN layer just to cover the area, not a thick glob.

For children, sometimes the major culprit is diet. I've read that acidic foods can give children diaper rashes.

I agree with all other PPs for the most part, but the only diaper cream/ointment that works for Liv is Earth Mama Angel Baby Bottom Balm. Im telling you, that stuff is AMAZING. Shes allergiv to all wipes except J&J skincare wipes, and all other creams seem to do nothing. We use this at every change now and she's only had a rash once

To help prevent diaper rash we actually use a dry, clean cloth wipe to dry my son before he gets a new diaper. Airing / drying is usually the absolute best way to handle diaper rash. When we do have diaper rash issues, we use Angel Baby Bottom Balm by earth mama angel baby and it clears up very quickly.

Our son used to have diaper rash. Then we started to wash his bottom in plain water (no wipes) and then pat dry with a towel with every diaper change. The idea being it's the pee & poop that's irritating, so you want to clean it off with without any sort of chemical residues. We've saved a ton of money on wipes - barely use them - and haven't had a problem with diaper rash since. This is a kid who has sensitive skin & eczema as a baby.