New parents don’t have to be told how sensitive a baby’s skin can be. Diaper rashes are extremely common in young children, some more so than others. If you are considering cloth diapers, you may be concerned with how well they will work with your baby’s sensitive skin. If that is the case, here are a few things to consider.

While some may argue that cloth diapers are better than disposables when it comes to diaper rash, the truth is that both can cause diaper rash for different reasons. However, if your child is suffering from diaper rash, the main thing to do is to try and find its underlying cause. For some, this may be a matter of trial and error, while others may never figure out what’s causing the irritation. All the same, here are some things you can try to make your cloth diapered babe’s diaper rash disappear.

Try Switching Detergents

The detergent you are using could be causing your baby’s diaper rash. Try switching detergents to see if the rash goes away.

Build Up

Your baby’s diapers could have a build up of detergent or diaper rash creams that weren’t meant for use with a cloth diaper. To get rid of this build-up, wash the diapers in a hot water rinse without detergent or hand wash with Dawn dish soap until there are no bubbles.

Try Switching Diapers

Your child’s diaper rash may be caused by moisture or the synthetic fabric of the diaper. If this is the case, try using natural fiber pre-folds and stay dry liners.

Yeast

Sometimes the cause of a rash could be a fungal infection. The yeast produced can stay in the diaper, causing your child to get re-infected. To eliminate this, you can soak and wash diapers in Bac-Out which will kill the yeast. Then put diapers in the sun to dry.

Frequent Changes

Sometimes a child’s skin is so sensitive, if he or she is not changed immediately, it can result in a rash. To prevent this from happening, be sure to change your child’s diaper frequently.

Rash Creams

If you are using rash cream to treat your baby’s diaper rash, you may find that the cream is ineffective, and it could even be making the irritation worse. To keep this from happening, try switching creams. Natural creams that contain coconut or olive oil are recommended. You can even use non-cloth diaper safe cream if you use a liner to protect your diaper or forego the cream completely and see if that works.

The bottom line here is, diaper rash happens. With a baby’s sensitive skin, he or she is likely to see a couple of rashes before they grow out of diapers, whether they are wearing cloth or disposables. As a parent, you can only use the trial and error method until the problem is eliminated. If you are cloth diapering, hopefully, these suggestions will help to keep your baby happy and rash free.

 Inspired by www.diaperjunction.com