Treating a Yeast Diaper Rash Naturally
One of the most horrible things I've had to watch my babies endure has been suffering with a yeast diaper rash. These rashes are very hard to treat and put up a good fight. Thankfully my children only had one of these and very little regular diaper rashes. However, even watching them scream in pain once during a diaper change was too much for me. With my daughter our pediatrician recommended using Lotrimin to treat the rash. While it was effective and worked, I have been steering away from using medicines containing chemicals and so when Joey developed a horrible yeast rash right before his 1st birthday I wanted to find a natural treatment.
Good facts to know when battling a yeast rash:
- Yeast thrives on sugar. Make sure your baby isn't eating anything that's been sweetened with sugar during the time he/she has the rash.
- Yeast loves dark, moist environments. Just like when you place your bread dough in a dark, moist place to rise and let the yeast work, a yeast rash will also grow in the same conditions.
- Acidophilus (a good bacteria commonly found in yogurt) will kill and neutralize yeast.
With this information you need to gather your ammunition!
You will need:
Soft cloths
1 Cup of Warm Water mixed with 1Tbsp of Baking Soda
Homemade Diaper Rash Cream (Recipe HERE)
1 Acidophilus or Probiotic capsule
Plain, unsweetened yogurt.
Cornstarch.
Plan of attack:
1. Change baby frequently making sure to keep your little one as dry as possible.
2. Wipe baby clean with the water/baking soda mixture.
3. Pat dry with clean cloth.
4. Either blow gently on baby's skin to make sure baby is completely dry or let baby go "free" for a few minutes to air dry.
5. Mix 1 capsule of probiotics into the homemade diaper rash cream and apply to baby's skin. (I prefer this method over applying the yogurt because the yogurt had too much moisture and wasn't doing the trick for us).
6. Apply a generous amount of cornstarch to baby's bottom making sure all remaining moisture is absorbed. (I had a friend tell me she believed the cornstarch did not help....if you find your baby is sensitive to this skip this step. It worked great for us).
7. Eat yogurt. If your baby is under 8 months old, Mom, eat some plain, unsweetened yogurt. This will pass into your milk and help. If your baby is 8 months or older trying feeding the yogurt directly to them. *If it's your first time feeding your little one yogurt just give them a little bit and make sure they are okay with eating it.
Keep repeating this process and soon the rash will go away!! :-) It worked great for us! I was so excited when my little one started to see relief. I'm sure this will help you as well. Be diligent. We started seeing improvement after about a day or so.
