DD gets terrible nappy rash in reusables...

[DoesntChristmasDragOn]

I've suspected this but it was proved over Christmas when she was in disposables and her bottom was not red at all. Within 2 days of being back in reusables, she was all red again. She's back in disposab;es today tio see what happens but is it likely to be the paper liner that's irritating her or the nappy itself?

I would guess it is the liner - have you tried fleece ones or silk ones? (Silk is particularly recommended for sore bots).

Thats exactly what has happened with my 2 dcs?? I started another thread to see if anyone could recommend other nappies to help this, lets hope someone comes along with some advice soon! Sorry I am not much help am I

There are quite a few things to try:

1. you could have a build up of washing powder in your nappies - wash/rinse them through a few times without any washing stuff and dry as normal - powder/liquid can build up without you noticing and irritate skin.

2. ditch the paper liners - if your babys skin is sore the paper liner will stick to it and make it sorer

3. use fleece liners to keep bum dry and soft
   (make your own or buy cheaply off ebay)

4. try silk liners for natural healing - but do need handwashing and are expensive

5. try a good barrier cream like vaseline or metanium for a couple of days

I had problems with my second when he was about 1 year old and whenever I put cloth near his bottom it would go red - but using fleece sorted him out straight away - along with metanium. Metanium can stain your nappies esp if cream/white so a fleece liner will protect them if you do use it.

Hope that helps!

Emskilou - you put put fleece over your prefolds if that is the problem - when you said they were rubbish - thought you meant the whole nappy system e.g. leaks but if just rash then replace paper liner with fleece liner. HTH!

DD had similar trouble. I switched from paper liners and moved to fleece. Also stopped using lavender oil when soaking the nappies - tea tree was better.
I used surcare powder and totsbots nappies. Final rinse in white vinegar neutralises the ammonia.

Funny, I find the complete opposite! I recommend Kamillosan btw for red bits (pre nappy rash). I put it on at the last change before bed and let it work overnight.

I'm using the paper liners because it makes the whole washing lark more pleasant. (pmsl at the thought of putting silk in her nappies for her to poo on and then hand washing them ) I should probably ditch theliners altogether as I'm using BumGenius which is already fleece lined. And thinking baout it Iread somewhere that liner + fleece inner doesn't work (although it doesn't seem to be an issue so far as the nappy working)

I don't think its a washingpowder problem as she doesn't have any sort of rashes from wearing clothes which are washed the same.

Oh I can't bear the thought of dealing with the poo without a paper liner! It was foul enough when she was breastfed

Thanks

The rash appears on her inner thighs too so it's not confined to the immediate nappy area.

Nappy rash is mainly caused by wetness, so have you thought about what nappies you use? Have you tried a really absorbent nappy like a hemp or bamboo one - or could you boost your current nappies with hemp? Just a thought!

dd is exactly the same

we've tried:

switching to fairy washing powder (usually use tesco)

dtiching the liners altogether (was using flushable ones and tots are fleece lined so don't really need liners)

Tumbling the nappies instead of drying on radiators which does make them pretty hard.

None of these have worked.

Wee lamb her skin is red and flaky dry. Not nice. 2 days in disps and it's cleared up. Puts me right off using reusables... might try again in a week or two...

How do you do a final rinse in white vinegar?

Hi there, I hope her skin is on the mend now. Is it clearer with the disps? If it stays red then it could be thrush as this tend to cover the entire nappy area with redness.
There is a difference between soap powder in nappies and in clothing, because clothing doesn't have urine (well not too often) on it.
Washing powder and liquid is designed to stay in clothing, so that the perfume stays on clothing for longer, each time you move tiny little particles release more 'fresh' smelling fragrance. Probably not ideal for nappies though.
Soap powder build-up in nappies can react with the urine and cause nappy rash. This was a problem we discovered with our little boy when he was around 9 months (I had been using biological powder, which I think is even worse for nappy rash).
We stripped the nappies by washing without detergent at 60 degrees until there were no bubbles in the water. This took about three washes, which kind of highlighted the amount of powder that builds up on fabric.
Since then we have switched to an eco-ball for nappies and put white vinegar in the fabric conditioner drawer - so the fabric ph is similar to the skin's ph.
I find Metanium does a great job of clearing up any redness, you only need a tiny amount.
For us Kamillosan didn't work - I use it on my chapped lips to great effect, but my ds was allergic and had a red bum when I used it on him?
Fresh air is great for clearing up redness as well, a bit of nappy free time is good.
Paper liners I found didn't help us, they seem to hold the wetness next to the skin.
I have a nappy blog here where some cloth users have left reviews for paper liners, so perhaps you will find a better brand there.
If not perhaps ditch the paper liners and just give the nappy a quick sluice as you flush the loo and then stick it in the nappy bucket.
Also forgot to say - nappy soaks can cause reactions, and shouldn't be used with pocket nappies as they attack the waterproofing.
Just in case that's an issue.
Hope it is cleared up soon though, poor little thing.

It's clearing up nicely in disposables (it was only at the bright red stage rather than sore sore IYSWIM). If it were thrush, I assume it wouldn't clear up just by switching nappies.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Once she's nicely pink again I guess I'll try without the liners first since that's the easiest

Fingers crossed.

Have had similar problem with DS. Prob seemed to occur from time to time rather than all the time and eventually I think that I can confidently say what was causing our nappy rash was: 1 leaving him in the nappy too long esp a wet nappy, 2 nappy bacteria build up (so now I wash the nappies only (not wraps) at 90 degrees every two months (MEOS), and 3 most definitely teething trouble, even if not evident at the time. Fleece and paper liners didn't really make that much of a difference. I would love to try vinegar as fabric conditioner - think it might help with the bacteria build up -where can you get large bottles from cheaply?

you could also try washing nappies in napisan - I use the aussie equivalent for washing the nappies in rather than washing powder.

napisan conatins some harsh chemicals - there are some gentler alternatives like bambino mio fresh or onelife pure or the bio d one which may be better on sensitive skin.

the aussie one must be more gentle than the UK one as my dd2 who has sensitive skin has no prob with it.

Right, ditching the paper liners didn't work - she's back in disposables. The rash is, oddly, also around her legs outside of the nappy so I guess it;s a chafing problem or an allergy...? She's got a "heat rash" type rash on her tummy where the waist goes too. And she gets is in the Little Lambs she's worn over night too.

How about giving her as much time as possible without a nappy on? More frequent changes? You've probably tried both of those I'm sure but can't think of anything else yet. Have you tried a barrier cream - although obviously that wouldn't work for the legs outside the nappy.

Soupy, I gave up on cloth for similar reasons. ds1 was allergic to the wraps and to the paper liners (he had an exzema-like rash all over his bottom but especially round his thighs where the wraps touched his skin. Tried fleece liners but they didn't improve matters, and I hated the mess. I didn't find a solution unfortunately. ds2 is in Nature nappies to ease my conscience a bit (he also reacted to cloth and to Pampers).

Actually I'd say that if you can't find a solution just go with the disposables. I know it's expensive and not environmentally friendly, but if it's better for your DD...

PS I knew my ds1's rash was an allergy not nappy rash because I tried a bit of hydrocortisone on it and it got better.

I actually think barrier creams make it worse. The frequency of changes doesn't seem to make any difference really.

I'm unsure about whether it's an allergy because I think it's only been the last, say, 4 months that it's happened. Maybe since weaning... Oh poo (snigger) I really don't want to go back to disposables as I was so pleased with myself for having switched. I used disposables for both DSs so I'm not a die hard reusable user.

Anyway, I washed all the outers on a 60 degree cycle with no detergent at all so when the rash has cleared up I'll try them again.

Soupy, allergies can take several months to develop.