What We Learned about Diaper Rashes

After battling a month of severe diaper rashes on both girls we wanted to document what we learned!  That way next time we'll remember exactly what to do and if any friend ever asks for advice we can just send this link.  Oh we never thought we would ever get rid of those horrible diaper rashes!  We are PROUD parents once again to say we conquered the diaper rashes (with 2 visits to the Dr).

Both girls had a severe diaper rash but of course they both were slightly different.  Kenzie's was bright red all over with little white head bumps but it didn't seam to itch her.  Lexie's was red in a small area with broken open sores that went fully away then came right back with avengence!  Lexie's itched so bad that any time she went pee she would cry as it stung her!  That meant every 2 hours she woke up crying and trying to itch her diaper off!  Both were painful to the eye and so hard to get rid of!  We had lots of tips from our friends on facebook, twin mommy friends, dr websites, and dr visits.  Finally we figured out the right combination of products that worked for us. 

We were told there were 4 main types of diaper rash:

1. Friction/Normal Irritation Rash (too small diapers/wet diapers/food changes)
2. Yeast Infection (use nystatin or lotrimin)
3. Bacteria Infection (use muupirocin)
4. Allergic Rash (change in food/diaper product)

We ended up with #2 & #3.  Therefore, we used the following tips on both girls to just wipe out the diaper rashes completely!

• Took warm baths nightly with 2tbsp of baking soda
• Cleaned area with Kleenex, warm water & soap instead of stinging with diaper wipe
• Ensured we dried the area (used hairdryer even at diaper change time)
• Gave as much "naked" time as we could handle to dry out area
• Changed diapers frequently after any potty to keep area dry
• Smothered the area with Desitin Max Strength cream for the diaper barrier
• Rubbed Hydrocortisone 1% ointment NOT cream on the area before the Desitin to reduce the itching of the rash. (ointment just works better than cream)
• Also, rubbed Lotrimin to reduce the rash itch which were told is the same as using Nystatin prescribed ointment.
• Got a Nystatin prescription from Dr. (typical diaper rash infection)
• Got a Mupirocin prescription from Dr. (bacteria infection)

The perfect combination was rubbing Hydrocortisone 1%, Nystatin Ointment, Mupirocin, then smothering the area in Desitin Max diaper cream.  After we got this combination together it took 2 days to start to clear up a month's battle!  The Desitin Max does stink since it has fish oil in it so a friend recommended using the Dr disposable gloves to apply!  Brilliant idea if you don't want to smell fish on your hands the rest of the day! :)  We also relied on those frequent diaper changes and letting the area completely dry before applying our combination of creams.  Thank goodness this battle is over!  Such relief for everyone!!

Pictures of our favorite products to BEAT diaper rashes!