Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Nappy rash & cloth diaper

Ever since Ethan suffered his first nappy rash, I've decided to switch his disposable diapers to cloth diapers. I have read about cloth diaper (CD) even before Ethan was born, so when I see the nappy rash on Ethan, I quickly set my mind to give it a try as I didn't want to see Ethan suffers another nappy rash. Unfortunately, he did suffered nappy rash again even after I've put him on CDs...3 times to be exact. Once quite bad while the other two were a bit mild. When it happened again the third time, I was so upset and even thought of giving up on CDs (yeah even after that shopping spree hehe..). But I told myself, I should not give up just yet, as am sure something must be wrong, I thought maybe it's the way I wash the CDs, or perhaps the type of detergent that I use or the amount of detergent that I used, or is it because I didn't put on any nappy cream (I was told to avoid nappy cream if possible as such cream will affect the absorbency of the CDs), or most likely it could be the dettol which I used to disinfect the CDs. After several thoughts I suspected it could be the Dettol. As I noticed it was only after I started using it that the rashes seem to appear.

Anyway, I seeked advice from two CDs experts i.e. Grace of Lildanzell.com and Sandra of miabambina.com. I must say, I'm truly grateful to these two ladies for answering my emails especially Grace who actually called me up. Thank you so much ladies for your concerns and supports :) Both ladies told me that it could be the detergent that I used or the amount that I used (under or over use) and probably the usage or over usage of Dettol (Ethan might be sensitive to it as it does contains some chemical). Grace even told me that some babies are sensitive to micro fleece and Ethan could be one of them. I was then advised to wash all the CDs again with non-toxin and biodegradable detergent to wash away the residue on the CDs and then do a strip wash. I did just that on Sunday and even did one cycle of rinse and spin before and after the strip wash. Just to make sure all traces of dettol and soap residue is washed away. I think the strip wash was a good thing to do as the CDs smell and feel clean after that :)

I've put Ethan on CDs (he was on dispo on Sunday and Monday while waiting for the CDs to get dry) again yesterday and keep my fingers crossed that the nappy rash will not appear anymore. If it doesn't then the Dettol could be the culprit. Otherwise, he could be sensitive to micro fleece which will be a bummer coz what am I to do with his almost 40 pcs of CDs?? Well, if that really is the case, I am confident I could still put them up for sale as gently used CDs. But then again I hope I won't have to go to that extend as I do still feel CDs are better than disposable diapers. One example is that when I change his disposable diapers, I could feel the heat trapped inside as I open his dispo. But I don't experience this when I change his CDs. This shows how breathable CDs are. Another example, we still buy Huggies (for night use before he sleeps)as I have yet to put Ethan full time on CDs. But the amount has reduce tremendously - great cost savings for us.

Oh btw, Grace also recommended to me to use the Ecomax (powder form) non-toxin, biodegradable & environmental friendly detergent from Cosway which I bought for RM13.90 for the first pack and RM9.90 for the second pack this afternoon (its on promotion now) to wash the CDs (can be used to wash baby's clothes too). Another good detergent is of coz the expensive Charlie's Detergent which I find a bit too pricey for me. The price is RM59 for 2.64lbs. bag of laundry powder which however can be used up to 80 full wash load. You can get it from Baby Shasha & Mom . I will try out the Ecomax for now and see how it goes.

BTW, I saw this from BabyShashaNMom's blog and thought it would be good to share the info on how to wash CDs for all the CDs mommies out there :)


Here's the list of questions asked by Sandra when I told her about the nappy rash. This is just for my future reference on what could be the possible cause and perhaps you might find it useful too ;p

  • About nappy rash, is the rash dry or wet?
  • When you apply cream or medication, is it stick to the rash or slipped off?
  • How much detergent do you use and how many cd do you wash per time?
  • How much dettol do you use ?
  • Have you try to wash without dettol?
  • What nappy liner do you use? Have you try raw silk liner?
  • And again do you use pocket diapers only , have you try any fitted diapers? Or organic one?
  • Some baby got sensitive skin and will be better if they use cotton/organic material. This material wont give dry feeling on baby.

11 comments:

KaDusMama said...

Oloh!! kesian Ethan..last time, my son always kena nappy rash after he started on solid food. It's more obvious kalau he drink Orange Juice! habis merah2...
But my daughter kena 2 -3 kali saja so far..itu pun very mild, hmm..she drink less orange juice..could it be the culprit for ethan too??

Unknown said...

Yes. Kadus mama , sometimes certain food can cause diaper rash. So if it is helpfull, if the baby got diaper rash , take not what food /drink he ate the day before. Just to be sure.

And if not food/drink caused it, then for sure can be something else.
Detergent and other thing can caused it also. Some babies are more sensitive than others, so to disinfect your diapers I think wash it regularly with hot water will do and don't over use detergent.

Some babies are allergic to microfleece but this is a rare case. One mom tips : just use nappy liner ( either store bought or biodegradable one) and lay in on top of any CD with microfleece, so it wont directly touched baby's skin. Or there are also raw silk liner to be used

anyway ,occasionally whether a baby with disposable or CD , diaper rash can happens. As long as it doesn't happen too often, and we know how to prevent it as much as we can, our baby can have a smooth bum again soon :)
My Maya will got diaper rash if she poo and then I didn't change it IMMEDIATELY ( like in 5 mins) sure she will got spotty red spot after that.

Aunty J said...

KadusMama:
Ohhh...didn't know that...tau la first time mom re orange juice and rashes...a bit blur2 masi haha...thks for the tips..will keep tht in mind...Ethan belum minum orange juice...so far the fruit juice that he takes is the juice from the grapes.. What organce juice u gv ur babies? Natural orange juice or commercial ones?

Sandra:
Ya ba..even wt CDs rashes do appear...but my expectation on CDs was bit high after hearing such good stories on it hehe..and tot nappy rash will be like non-existent like...now I know better...and CDs may not be the only cause for nappy rashes...food is one of the possible cause too right :)

chanelwong said...

keep checking n trying...you will sure find the reason behind it...

Great that you didn't give up easily....

Nick Phillips (15/03/1967 - 04/11/2022) said...

Poor Ethan, I hope you figure out what really is causing the rashes ...

Missy Sasha N Mini Myra said...

I'm happy you posted the diaper links here, so those mommies aware what to do when their bb have diaper rash problem.

No need to use dettol or hot water at all to disinfect the cd everytime. The best disinfect is sunlight. Make sure you don't used too much detergent, if possible use natural detergent.

Your cd must line dry under the sun and make sure is fully dry when you collect back. Hot water/stripe wash only apply when cd has build up residue or else don't do it frequently coz it will shorten the CD lifespan especially if CD is made of PUL materials.

Good Luck..:)

KaDusMama said...

The orange juice is the commercial one..nda ingat pulak apa nama..but the more acidic the stuff he ate or drink, i think lagi prone kena rashes..
My daughter doesn't really like juice, now both anak minum yakult and vitagen jak..hehe
Well..i hope ethan punya rash ok sudah..wish you and family a nice weekend..

Joan D'Arcy said...

So kesian oh kena nappy rash.. I am one of the DETTOL allergic person! It hurts my skin so badly coz it cause drying.. My skin doctor even says that he would never use dettol soap to mandi, not even for his doggie...

Hope Ethan gets well and you find the culprit soonest!

Unknown said...

yes some baby can get reaction to dettol. Normally the amount is just about half cup for full load.
but I would say to use it only if you feel like too, some moms using in daily wash and other once a week.
Some moms wash their CD with baby's clothing so this will help to clean it. But normally use once every 2 days.

And as for hot wash you can try to wash in hot once a week or any other period that will work for you but do it regulary .
This will help to rinse out detergent residue as well. As detergent residue can cause rashes in some cases.

And most of the imported product will recommend to wash CD in hot water, hot here mean 60-80 degree, you can check in the washing instruction.

I am not a rash expert. I only helped a few moms overcoming their rashes problems. :) and each case I see there are no ONE rules solutions.
Some add dettol and work great, some add vinegar and baking soda and work well, but other might find problem/reactions too. So you see, there is no 100% right or wrong.
it is all test and trial and to find what work best for your routine.

Some moms swear to use one kind of brand of detergent. but other get bad rashes using that brand. So what I would say it try with the simplest routine wash that works for you. If there is a problem then we try to figure out why and what cause it and then from there we try to see and avoid the problem to comeback again

anyway just share my opinion :)
Happy weekend!

Aunty J said...

Thank you all for your inputs :) I really appreciate it v much and my special appreciation goes to BabyshashanMom and Sandra for the great advice on CD :)

Anonymous said...

THis stuff is totally amazing, you have to try it on nappy rash :)

the nappy rash website

Jenny