Very bad nappy rash with reusables - suggestions?

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Our 11-day old DD has had very bad nappy rash the last 2 days with both Totsbots and FuzziBunz, it seems that if she wees even slightly it angers her bum so much . She is our first so we aren't sure what the best creams are to use and don't want to try a million (or buy a million!) before something works so I wondered if anyone had any tips?

Really don't want to use disposables but wonder if they'll make her more comfortable?

what are you using to clean her? if wipes they can give newborns a really nasty nappy rash. Plain water and either cotton wool or reuseable wipes is best.

Also, how are you washing them? Even using the recommended half dose of non bio powder, I always give my nappies an extra rinse cycle.

Re the rash she has at the minute, there is a cream called metanium which you cen get in most chemists and supermarkets which is fantastic stuff. you only need the tiniest amount and it clears rashes up as if by magic.

Good Luck

Ask GP to take a swab. If it turns out to not be bacterial here are some good things:

rooibos tea
cornflour mixed with water or vaseline
emu oil
grapefruit seed extract
egg white
morhulin
conotrane
orabase
manuka honey
vegetable glycerine

if none of those work you can ask for these on prescription

nystan
aveeno
sprilon

When I tried re-usables for my DD, she suddenly stopped her usual 4 hour nap and woke up sopping wet, upset and red after an hour or less.
I re-instated disposals and she went back to normal.
I thought you could get bio-degradables now.
And Vaseline has always worked for me.

are you maybe washing her too vigorously with cleansers/water at changes? my DTS got nappy rash (with cloth nappies) which turned into thrush and my doctor said to wash only with water and ONLY when they have pooed and to simply change them every other time. they've never had nappy rash again, although i do use a preventative wax balm morning and night that i make made out of beeswax/olive oil/almond oil/apricot oil/essential oil for yummy smell. if you're interested i can post my recipe. works great as a body butter for mum's too!

Oh lulururu - please post your majic recipe!

I find that with cloth nappies you need to use a nappy cream most of the time, but with disposables it's not so necessary. The one I use is a Weleda Calendula nappy cream which smells lovely and is very good.

how about a fleece liner (very important to keep to keep her bum dry and it also protect the nappy from terrible yellow staining cream) and coat her in metanium. I think it is the best nappy cream for once they have a rash. If you want to stick with disposable wipes - boots expert ones really are excellent even for immediately after birth and babies with eczema (often on 2 for 1 - if not they are expensive).

lulururu- I would love the recipe too!

We always use fullers earth cream with DD in the day as we only use her reusable nappy's in the day and disposables at night otherwise she wakes up throughout the night.

Try just using water and cotton wool to clean her. Also be careful how you are washing the nappy's. My original HV (the good one, not the crap one I have now) told me to use half the amount of wash powder I normally would, also no fabric conditioner.

DD got this when she was very tiny and using the Cotton wool and water helped tremendously, as did the fullers earth (thanks to my great nana)

Oh and i second metanium for onece they have a bad rash, I use metanium and cover it with Vaseline, and it always gets rid of the worst of the rash after a couple of applications.

Hope your DD's nappy rash gets better soon.

I always used Cotton wool and Boiled (cooled)water with my DS and DD's.I used Sudocrem if their skin was red but unbroken,if it was broken skin I'd use Vaseline.

I started the Sudocrem/Vaseline as advised by my DB,(who had had 4 DC's)when DS had sore and bleeding nappy Rash,never had any problems after that using that "treatment".

I also never use scented wipes.Even when they are older.

I remember hearing, ages ago, that giving terry nappies a final rinse with dilute white vinegar before drying them could help prevent nappy rash - I assume that the vinegar neutralises the urine in some way that helps stop it irritating the baby's bottom.

However, it's 20 years since I was told this, and having not used reusables myself, I can't tell you firsthand if it works, but someone else may know more than I do.

Thanks so much for all the suggestions. We have been using just water & cotton wool from birth. I will try the extra fleece liner and have bought some metanium, not quite as bad this afternoon as it was yesterday.

luluru I would love that recipe.

I will try reducing the amount of washing powder as well and give them an extra rinse. Thanks mummies!

I'm not sure from your post whether you already use a fleece liner or not - if you are then don't put two in, that'll make it far harder for the wee to go through and will probably cause leaks.

Metanium is wondrous stuff - I used it to clear up some nasty nappy rash that DS had when he was a few months old. I don't use any nappy cream/barrier on a regular basis but if there is the merest hint of redness I put metanium on and it seems to stop any rash developing.

Washable wipes are also great (there are loads of threads on these if you search the nappy topic) and really easy to use if you're already using cloth.

I love my washable wipes too! but if you are considering the boots expert ones I have been in to boots today and they are currntly on 2 for 1 again (i bought a few packs as my DH and mum sometimes use them).

lulururu - can we have your recipie???? PLEASE???????????

Weleda Nappy cream is the bestest!!! DS has eczema and this stuff has prevented any rashes or iritations on his skin.

oooh i have just come bak from being away - will post recipe tonight for sure (my time so your guys morning cos i'm in new zealand). very easy to make and very very cheap. bak soon.

THE RECIPE OF ALL RECIPES FOR PREVENTING NAPPY RASH AND MAKING BABY BUMS SMELL YUM

1 block beeswax (my blocks come in 64gm blocks)
1 1/3c olive oil
1/3 c apricot oil
1/3c almond oil
1 Tb Vit E oil (optional luscious extra - good for healing skin and wrinkles for us oldies)
1 Tb glycerin (optional also just makes it more slippy)
Few drops of scented essential oil - lavender/rose/jasmine etc whatever you like.

put beeswax in bowl over pan of water. simmer water til beeswax melts then add everything else until all melted together. don't boil the mixture as its not good for the oils.

i then decant it into a whole heap of small containers - reusing things like hair product pots and old moisturiser pots. so much so that now i use a version of this as a body wax for myself and actually ask for pots from other people! in summer i use it just like this recipe and in winter i mix it with some aqueous cream when your skin needs a bit more emollient kind of cream. i don't know if its the same in the UK but here in NZ you can get big tubs of aqueous cream free on prescription here so it makes it a huge saver.

if you're mixing it with aqueous cream for a body cream for yourself as well, its best to add it to the wax while its still hot and liquid and then beat it with an eggbeater til smooth and creamy otherwise it curdles and beads. once its beaten its perfect and doesn't change.

this amount of ingredients makes about 1210mls which is HEAPS. i still double the mixture when i make it so i don't need to make it very often. i worked out it costs me only equivalent £9 to make this mixture which is very cheap considering a tub of body butter from the body shop would be about that (from memory since 2 years since i lived in london) and i'm making well over 6 times that.

as far as getting ingredients...boots have aqueous cream, holland and barratt MAY stock beeswax, not sure where else but they def stock apricot and vit e oil as would most supermarkets most likely. asian stores/turkish stores often have huge bottles of almond oil as well which can keep the price down. glycerin should be in the baking aisle in the supermarket. shop around for cheap beeswax, mine only cost me equivalent 40p per bar which looks like a bar of soap. you can get it in pellets too but often more expensive that way and no advantage either.

honestly this is a recipe that won't let you down and has saved me heaps and also got me out of the loop of buying moisturisers and balms and butters. this is my standard stuff now. although i do have a face cream - day and night recipe as well if you're after that too...

oh this has gotten very long..am i ALLOWED to write this much!!!??

good luck and please let me know if you like it!

lulururu, that recipe sounds absolutely delish, I am gonna make some. Can I just ask about the weighing bits as I get confused easily. When you say 1/3c and 1 1/3c and 1TB I don't understand what that means sorry.

I think she means cups and tablespoons. 1 (American) cup measure is 237ml, though I'd round to 240!
Apologies if I'm wrong -I'm not taking any responsibility for dodgy cream
It sounds gorgeous though, I'm definitely going to try it.

She definitely means cups and tablespoons as those are the standard abbreviations for them in NZ. Thanks for the recipe, lulururu. Whereabouts in NZ do you live? I'm in Auckland.

The one thing that ALWAYS works for ds' rashes is Boudreaux's Butt Paste...however not sure if you have it in the UK.

No idea SamsMamma but I love the name!

I used at every change the organic babies soothing baby salve from waitrose-it was fantastic, never any rash and we use it on all kinds of bumps and cuts now too.