5 Ways to Prevent Diaper Rash
We have been very lucky so far with Max in that he has yet to experience a real diaper rash. This is partly due to the wisdom shared by people with far more experience than I. So now it is my turn to share how I have managed to avoid diaper rash for Max.
Prevention on a daily basis:
1. Blow dry/air dry the butt after each poopy diaper.
One of the top causes of diaper rash is moisture. I only use baby wipes for poopy diaper changes which leave the skin moist. So in order to prevent moisture from being trapped in Max’s butt cheeks, I have a mini blow dryer set up near his changing pad area that I use on a low/cool setting to make sure Max’s butt is dry before putting a new diaper on. On the go, I just get up close and personal by blowing on his nether regions. But not something I would recommend if your baby tends to pee in between changes!
2. Use Aquaphor after each poopy diaper.
Aquaphor Healing Ointment acts as a barrier to prevent moisture from having contact with the skin. After I dry Max’s butt, I apply Aquaphor generously in between his butt cheeks and inner thighs (basically, where there are skin folds). I originally used Burt’s Bees Diaper Ointment, which I thought would be great because it uses zinc oxide as a barrier which is considered more natural. However, I think as a result of the constant residue (since it wasn’t easily wiped off during diaper changes), Max ended up getting little rash-like bumps in his butt area. I asked the pediatrician to take a look at it and he recommended that I use Aquaphor instead. I made the switch and the bumps immediately went away. I’ve used it religiously ever since.
3. Pay attention to diet.
Another leading cause of diaper rash is when new food is introduced into the baby’s diet that he/she may be sensitive to. This is not something that you can necessarily avoid. But it is something that if you pay attention to, going forward, will help to prevent future diaper rash. So far I have found two food items that have caused Max to have minor irritation to his butt area: 1) eggplant and 2) whole wheat bread. After Max ate an entire slice of whole wheat bread, the resulting poop was somewhat mucusy. And his butt hole looked red and irritated. The same thing happened when Max had eggplant. So those are two foods we avoid for now.
