Diaper rash is miserable. It’s a totally common irritation of the skin in the diaper region that can be caused by a number of factors such as a too-tight diaper that inhibits air flow, a soiled diaper left on too long, antibiotics being taken by baby or nursing mother (which is then passed to baby), too many acidic foods/drinks that irritate the skin on their way out, sensitive skin, etc.
Our 18-month-old recently experienced an unfortunate encounter with the worst diaper rash of his life and, after several days of treating with our go-to diaper cream, it became apparent it wouldn’t be going down without a fight. I decided to reached out to our community of Mama OT Facebook fans and asked people to share their best diaper rash home remedies.
You guys really delivered. What a thread of suggestions! And some even sent MamaOT private Facebook messages so you could go into more detail. Love it! Thanks to you all, our little guy is now rash-free and back to his silly old self.
So, you wanna know what people shared about how to cure bad diaper rash without using traditional diaper cream? I’ve listed them below, looked into why they work, and have even found a few twists to throw in there. Keep reading to the bottom to see all the great (and some totally unique) ideas. Be sure to like MamaOT on Facebook so you can participate in our community and, please, if you have any other suggested home remedies for diaper rash, leave a comment so we can learn from you!
Please remember this is NOT medical advice. These suggestions were provided by readers. Each individual is responsible for doing his or her own research before implementing any home treatment program. Keep an eye out for diaper-area yeast infections or other secondary infections. Follow common guidelines for home treatment and contact your pediatrician if you are at all concerned about your child’s diaper rash.
Diaper Rash Home Remedies:
Our doctor recommended maalox or mylanta to be applied topically. It works amazingly well! The mint is cooling and actually makes my son giggle when we put it on a red tushy.
I love this!! I love that you are including your Facebook input too, as I always do that on my site. I’ll share it with my older sisters who have babies— not yet. In the meantime, check out http://www.bloomingwellness.com or find me ( Dr. Eeks) on Facebook. Maybe we can do a project together!
best, e
Never use cornstarch…..cornstarch FEEDS yeast, not worth the risk. A small bit of vinegar in the bath water is helpful too.
I must say, I’m a little hesitant to use some of the home remedies on the list. Either way, thanks for compiling and sharing it.
As far as over the counter stuff, A+D works best for me. What about vitamin E, would that help it heal faster?
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Butt Paste made my daughter’s poor buns blister and bleed!!! I’ll never use it (or Baby Aquaphor) again. CJs & coconut oil work for us if the redness is minor, but diaper-free time and a baking soda bath have never let us down.
Oh no! Every baby’s skin is so different and I know for us we cannot use Johnson & Johnson bath products because they dry out our little one’s skin and make eczema worse. Glad you’ve found remedies you can rely on.
tea tree oil mixed with coconut oil is working wonders for us right now! it was 10 drops of tea tree oil mixed into about a fourth of a cup of coconut oil and we apply it at every diaper change.
We are firm users of Vinegar in the bath and Triple Paste. We had a 3 week run with a terrible rash a few months ago and tried everything, the corn starch, baking soda, lots of no diaper time, coconut oil, every OTC cream known to man. The only thing that worked was vinegar baths and triple paste. Has yet to fail us since. The first signs of a rash the Triple paste goes on, that night she gets a vinegar bath and more triple paste and by morning no more rash! And my daughter has super sensitive skin most crams make her scream but this doesn’t. She cries for a second in the bath, but I think that is more because her bum is raw and the water hurts… but vinegar washes are recommended for rashes and sun burns. haven’t tried on a sun burn but I did burn my hand on the oven and soaked it in vinegar and water and the pain went away almost immediately!
We use bag balm on our sons bottom, it’s used to heal cracked cow utters and it works miracles! We tried powders, paste and creams nothing like the bag balm on the booty actually worked
Excellent suggestion! I am very familiar with bag balm. When I was a competitive gymnast with blisters and sores all over my hands, I used to lather bag balm on my hands every night, cover them with socks, and sleep with them coated in bag balm all night long. They were always refreshed and ready for another day of gym practice the next day. That stuff really does work wonders…how did I not think of it for baby’s sore bottom?!