Tell me about nappy rash and cloth.

Hi all,
OK, tell me what i need to know about nappy rash and cloth. Dd has it badly, the poor little thing. Normally I'd just slather her in Sudocream, but I have a vague idea that's not good for cloth.

What am I doing wrong? i think I'm changing her often enough, but maybe not... she came out in a bad rash after a sleep today, but I think she was a bit warm as well, and i wasn't waking her to change her nappy...

*sigh* ok, as you can see, I'm slightly frazzled by this... my cloth dreams are crumbling :( Any help appreciated.

If you use liners, you can use sudocreme. But I am not too much help. The only bad rash we have had, I went back to sposies for a day, caked sudocreme on bum and it was gone.

Could be a couple of things.


Teething? regardless of your nappy this can cause a rash.
She may be reacting to the inner of the nappy- people sometimes have issues with one sort of fabric or another. Mostly it is synthetics that cause issues but not always. What nappies are you using? You could try a silk liner which combats a lot of reaction issues for people.

You can still use a cream, but if you use a water based one it wont clog up and ruin your nappies. I use Moo goo soothing cream which clears up most rashes no prob. If we have a super nasty one for whatever reason, which we have had occasionally, i either put a girls in a disposable for a couple of changes and slather the cream on, or i use liners to protect the nappy.

Don;t despair, this is fixable!

Ok, I don't think it's teething- definately caused by the nappy. It's everywhere, but only light, if that's makes sense- not a small patch of concentrated rash, but a light sprinkling all over.

I'm using Pea pods, with the microfibre, and the rash started in that. But i tried an IB today and that made it much worse.

She's ina sposie now, with the Sudocream... is it possible that it's made worse by the hot weather? I did find she gets warmer in cloth than in sposies. Maybe I need to change her more frequently when it's hot...?

Sorry, thinking out loud here.

Ahhh, I'm confused. it wasn't the IB that made it worse, it was the tots Bots fluffy, with a Baby beehind cover.

Will PUL covers make nappy rash worse?

What they said LOL.

I find heat/sweat to be one of the worst things for DS and both nappy rash and heat rash, and use the opposite strategies to what I would use in the dry season. He's been in sposies for the last few months because my morning sickness was not too happy about the nappy bucket, but it has also helped the rash. In the dry season he is almost never rashy, at the moment it will take weeks to clear up even a small spot, even in sposies. Normally he would never get even the slightest bit of rash in sposies, where he might be more prone to it in cloth (many people find it's the opposite).

The tricks I usually use to combat the heat/sweat/rash are:
- very frequent changes
- sudocream (or castor oil/zinc cream from the chemist, same active ingredients without the fragrance) and microfleece liners. Lately I've been using curash (which I hate but until I get some zinc oxide to make my own), which helps to dry him out a bit.
- microfleece liners help wick moisture, but being synthetic, can increase heat.
- when at home, I'll have him in a natural fibre fitted without a cover, then I can change as soon as he's had a wee. Even though he doesn't react to synthetics/PUL, they do increase the 'sweat' factor somewhat in the heat. I've also had to stop putting him in clothes that are not natural fibre when it's hot. Or just have him in a nappy.
- because he often wees overnight or during a day sleep (possibly he has a wee as he is BFing, as he feeds to sleep), I'll either try to dream change him as soon as I put him down, or use sposies for sleep if he is rashy. Otherwise I use the most breathable night nappies I can find, preferably an AIO or fitted with a windpro or wool outer or cover. And slather in barrier cream with a microfleece liner.

In the dry season I wipe with a very damp cloth, moisturise on damp skin (absorbs better), and very rarely need barrier cream. When it's dry the rash seems to be exacerbated by dry skin, in the wet, it's the opposite.

Even if you find you need to use sposies occasionally to help clear up a rash, or for a sleep when it's really really hot, it doesn't mean that your cloth dreams are over. You can use barrier creams with cloth as long as you use a liner, and if you try a few things to see what works best for your DD, you may find you don't even need to resort to sposies at all.

Could be the heat, but does sound like a reaction to the microfibre...... When you say tots bots fluffy, is that the bamboo one? Bamboo is usually good for nappy rash. :dunno:

I'd try silk liners.

PUL is breathable and shouldn't make it worse, but if you are concerned fleece is MORE breathable than the PUL so you could use a fleece cover.

How often are you changing? cloth needs to be changed a little more frequently than a sposie, but i don't find much difference really.

I'm changing her, say, every two hours or so? I'm using two or three more cloth than I would sposies in a day.

I'm not sure what the tots bots are, it's in the machine atm, I'll give it a look when it comes out.

I'm wondering if this is part of the reason why the PP's are so unpopular?

Btw, thankyou very much for your help evryone :)

Junglemum, a bit OT I know, but are you finding any difference now that you are in the tropics?

I've noticed that whenever we go down south for a week or so DS never gets the slightest bit of rash, and is usually fine in the dry season. I have to really rethink the way I use cloth in the wet - are you finding any difference?

:

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Junglemum, a bit OT I know, but are you finding any difference now that you are in the tropics?

I've noticed that whenever we go down south for a week or so DS never gets the slightest bit of rash, and is usually fine in the dry season. I have to really rethink the way I use cloth in the wet - are you finding any difference?

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I know this wasn't asked to me, but last week with higher temps and high humidity in Brisbane, both mine were getting rashes. Not bad ones, but there were slight rashes no matter what they were wearing (as soon as I bought disposables it cooled down :rolleyes:). DH mentioned this is more than likely the cause.

After our mild dose of humidity, I am just praying that the humidity isn't really bad when I head to Townsville and Cairns in April.

Suse- i am broadcasting from the depths of sunny victoria. Had a few Visa issues and are not going until the 8th of March. ;) So i'll let you know! :D

DS also got a little bit of a rash in the last few days as well, also in cloth and also in Brisbane... so maybe it *is* just the heat...

We have had a rash that sounds like you describe - light and all over. It was also on and off, it went when I used Sudocrem or a soothing cream on her at night only to reappear the next morning after a couple of changes. It was made worse by PUL AIO's and covers and started when the weather got hot and humid. Turns out it was thrush - I used Daktozin on her, just at night, and her little bum is lovely and smooth again :) Just a thought....

If you try this though, do use a microfleece liner - it is awfully sticky and would clog up nappies awfully without it.

HTH and hope you get rid of the rash soon :)

poor little pumpkin!! hope she's not too uncomfortable!
We thankfully havent had a bad bout of nappy rash yet with DD2, but anytime she's looking a little bit pink i put some moogoo msm soothing cream on her behind.
the girls tell me its safe to use with cloth without a liner. its about $25 for a big jar and u only need a little bit (smells fantastic too)
Hope u get it worked out soon hun

megsmum, it's funny you should say that, about the thrush, my SIL mentioned it might be that last night :think:

skybie, I've heard so much about the MooGoo,where can i buy it?

i buy it online, but their website has a list of stockists u can get it from, not many places stock it though

Just one more quick question-I know cornflour talc is not the best thing to use (especially on little girls)but it is the only thing that clears up ds's nappy rash.

Is it ok to use talc (cornflour so it doesn't clump) with cloth?

i do and havent had a problem, but im still new so probably not the best person to answer! lol

re the creams someone once said that if u put the cream on ur finger and run it under the tap and it washes away easily its safe to use with mcn's but if it doesnt then its best to use a liner or a sposie. i assume seeing as though powder would wash off very easily that it would be be safe

The deal with creams are: if it is a moisturising/absorbable cream, it's fine to use with cloth. If it's a barrier cream (eg: lanolin based) and doesn't rub into the skin, then it will also leave a barrier on your nappies.

If it's a heat rash, powders containing zinc oxide & cornflour are much more effective than creams of any type, as they will dry out the skin. Moisturisers and barrier creams are more likely to exacerbate a heat rash.

:yeahthat: Also if you are using a zinc oxide based cream definitely use liners/sposies. I've never used talc but I would think that it would be OK. If you aren't sure though I'd use a liner first and then wash it and check that it comes out clean. If it does then it is OK KWIM?

One other thing I should have said yesterday too Lolli, if you think it might be thrush get some Canestan rinse as well and use that in your wash when you wash her nappies :)

Have you recently switched to cloth??

It sounds like exactly the same thing I had with DD when we switched to cloth at about 3 months. I was thinking 'great, she's going to react to all the nappies I bought and I'll have to get special liners etc' and I really couldn't be bothered. But it got better. I think it lasted about a month. I think she was actually just getting used to the cloth on her skin. I would do cloth one day and sposies with sudocrem the next to clear it up. I found paw paw ointment worked great with the cloth for clearing up the rash too (the one in the black tube is ok with cloth).

I remember Arimeh told me the same thing happened with her DS when they switched to cloth too.

Hopefully it's the same for you!! Now DD never gets a rash unless she's teething. I never have to put cream on her!! It's great! When she was in sposies she needed cream at every nappy change or she would get nappy rash. Hang in there!

I would so a strip wash and a Canestan wash on your nappies.
Nappy rash with cloth can be fungal, and it will keep recurring and getting worse, better, worse, better, etc.

Canestan wash in hot water and sun dry.
Oh and steer clear of powders on girls.

megsmum, you must be pyschic ;) i literally wrote Canestan rinse on the shopping list, like, thirty seconds ago.

And yep, Heaven, we have *just* started in cloth about 5 days ago, I was wondering if maybe if was a little bit of her skin 'settling in' to the new nappies. And that's exactly how I feel- oh no, I'm going to have to buy all this new stuff, and it's all so confusing...

Well, the good news is, after a night in a sposie slathered in Sudocream, and powder at nappy changes, the rash has gone right down *fingers crossed* it stays that way.

ETA- Lime, just saw your post- what's a strip wash? :o

ETA Again- Witht he canestan, do I use a full app or half? TIA :)

On a full wash use full amount of Canestan, and an extra hot rinse.

Strip wash will get rid of the build up on the fibres int he cloth. Hot wash and a couple of drops of washing detergent, and an extra rinse should do it. If you use washing powder like Omo or Drive, etc you should do a strip wash every 4-6 months or when you notice th nappies becoming less absorbant. If you use bicarb or mineral detergents like EcoStore etc then you don't need t do it as often I found.

The Canestan though will kill the fungus. Also, Lavender oil is ace for that, a few drops in the rinse cycle every wash will help keep it at bay.

Thanks so much Lime :)

Is there much difference between using the powder or liquid, for washing? I only use about a quarter amount to wash anyway, because ds gets excema.

not really, I used powder to begin with, and switched to EcoStore which is mineral salts, so not liquid lol and never had a problem. Think it is just personal preference.
Having said that though, I will be using the EcoStore from the beginning next time, the commercial detergents really aren't good for the nappies and can cause the rash in the first place on their delicate skin. The less chemicals the better.

Lolli, I'll second what Lime said about the Ecostore powder too. I used to use Omo on DD1's nappies and had a terrible time with smelly nappies and reduced absorbancy due to it. With DD2 I have only used Ecostore - and I only use about 1 tablespoon per load of nappies - and it is great. Just a bit exxy first time up, but will last ages.

BTW, when I first started DD1 in cloth, she got a little rash but it only lasted a couple of days. If it stays around longer than that I'd say its not the cloth.

HTH, and yay for the rash improving :dance:

i was just popping back in to mention detergent, but seems the girls have it covered! My girls get a rash if i use regular detergent. I use Purity or nothing. :)