Baby Care Blog

Must-Know Diaper Rash Facts

Whether you’re a new mom or a super mom, chances are you’ve got diaper changes down to a science—even those tricky nighttime “surprise” diapers that nobody’s expecting.  The one thing that can disrupt the ease of your diaper changing routine is diaper dermatitis AKA diaper rash.

Diaper rash can present itself in a variety of ways. Sometimes it just shows up out of nowhere. Baby’s tush is fine and then—whammo!—diaper rash. It can appear in the diaper area as red, flaky, chafing, warm to the touch, dry, raised bumps, liquid-filled bumps, dry skin or peeling.

The best thing you can do once you identify it is to treat it immediately with Boudreaux’s Butt Paste®. After baby’s behind is clean and thoroughly dry, just apply a thick layer of Boudreaux’s to form a protective layer against further irritants. The active ingredient, zinc oxide, helps fight the diaper rash.

The main trigger of diaper rash is prolonged wetness, but there are other factors to consider like friction, cleansers, pH levels and even chemicals in diaper dyes.

What’s the 411?

The main trigger of diaper rash is prolonged wetness, but it’s also a combination of factors. In addition to wetness, there are other things to consider like friction, cleansers, pH levels and even chemicals in diaper dyes.

Hard to clean

If you think about your baby’s diaper area, there are folds and creases in the skin that can make it hard to thoroughly clean the area. Plus, most babies are quite squirmy during a diaper change, so that makes it even more challenging.  

Normal microflora

Naturally, baby has healthy diaper area skin, because there’s a normal amount of microflora (good bacteria) on the skin that protects against harmful yeasts and bacteria.

Elevated pH

There are obviously irritants in baby’s poop that can affect the normal microflora.  The activity of enzymes in fecal matter increases with elevated pH levels. That’s why babies tend to get diaper rash within days of having diarrhea.

Not necessarily a pee pee problem

When you think babies and wet diapers, you probably imagine urine to be the main culprit for causing diaper rash. That’s not entirely true. Recent studies have shown that the ammonia in urine does not impact pH levels as much as other factors.

Check those baby wipes

The pH of cleansing products can greatly impact the microbiological spectrum of baby’s skin. Soaps or wipes with high pH values can increase the probability of harmful bacteria growth on skin, but soaps/cleansers with a lower pH of around 5.5 do not cause changes in the microflora.

Regular diapers with super absorbent core

While it may seem like a great idea to go for the diapers that are superabsorbent, if your baby has diaper rash and you can’t figure out why, it could be the dye in the diaper. You know how those special cores are blue? Some babies simply have an allergic reaction to the chemicals in the dye.

Boudreaux’s Butt Paste® to the rescue! Moms agree once they start using Boudreaux’s® with every diaper change, diaper rash doesn’t stand a chance. Got a story to share? Let us know in the comments section on the Boudreaux’s Butt Paste® Facebook page