Battling a Yeast Diaper Rash

Yeast.  We all have it and it floats around the atmosphere naturally.  But when it gets out of control you have an itchy burning mess.  Left untreated a yeast diaper rash can cause the skin to break, but also a full on infection that requires antibiotics.  Plus a super unhappy baby.

Yeast thrives in a warm, moist environment.  Hello diapers.  Two easy steps to preventing or lesson the severity of the dreaded yeast beast are exposed skin, and cleanliness.  This is why naked time is good, for drying and cooling.  Just lay a towel under baby and make sure baby is warm enough.  Secondly, keep the infected area clean.  Gently rinse or wipe after every change, and bathe the area after every bowel movement.  Avoid some wet wipes, particularly with alcohol or "fragrance," that may irritate the area or feed the yeast.  When in doubt, just rinse your wipes in warm water.

How did it get out of control?  Well, four things happened at the same time, it could have been any one or the combo of all, or it could have been a fifth unknown.  We got a new bag of the same kind of diaper detergent we've been using, but the texture looked different, the formulation may have changed, and this one had lavender and mint added.  Then, Daddy did diaper laundry and used twice as much detergent as normal.  She started solids, a new food every 3 days.  Carrots, White Potatoes, no problem.  But by Peas she started to break out a little, Pears (store bought with Citric Acid-may have an allergy or intolerance) we had a full on rash,  by Sweet Potatoes it was diarrhea city.  So until she clears up, no more solids.  Finally, her two bottom teeth broke through, I'm not sure how this plays into it.

Here are the remedies I long researched and our experience:

Apple Cider Vinegar or Grapefruit Seed Extract (NOT Grape seed Extract) Wipes:  We tried the first, it is 1 part ACV to 10 parts water.  It seemed to help, but we had to move on with treatments after 2 days, although I am still using it on wipes at changes because I do see a difference.  GSE is 10-15 drops per cup of water.  You dip your cloths into the solution to cleanse the area when changing a diaper.  Make sure to let the skin dry thoroughly before applying any ointment or oil.

Tea Tree Oil:  5 drops to 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil or another skin oil.  This definitely helped soothe baby, but she would cry when she urinated.  She would look better in the morning, but worse again by bedtime.

Coconut Oil:  Unrefined, cold expeller-pressed, great for the skin and has natural anti-fungal properties.  I'm sorry I didn't try it.  I'm getting a tub since it's safe to use with cloth diapers.
Update:  I've got a tub and now we're using this with her reusables because the disposables are now giving her a rash.  Also, I can tell better when she needs to be changed with her cloth diapers
Day Two:  The Coconut oil finished the job in 1-2 days.  We continued the ACV wipes after every change.  She looks almost back to normal.  And I'm so glad to have her back in cloth.

Probiotics:  Natural "good" bacteria, found in yogurt and other fermented foods, can suppress the "bad" bacteria and support a healthy immune system.  While her formula claims to have probiotics in it, buying a baby powder and adding it in to food would have been a good idea.

4 Layer Treatment (suggested by pediatrician): Neosporin Plus, Hydrocortisone 1 percent, Lotrimin AF, Desitin:  After 3 days of rash battle, I called the Dr. and she suggested this combo, but to call back in 3 more days if no change.  And of course discontinue and call back if condition worsens.  I bought the generic forms of the first 3 creams, and used Bordeaux's Butt Paste instead of Desitin, both are Zinc Oxide.  We also began using disposables with all these creams.  And I will have to disinfect and strip all of our reusables in the interim.
Day One:  After a few changes I saw a difference, but by the morning it looked just as bad as ever, no worse.  We are wiping with every change and washing the booty after a bowel movement.  And I'm trying my best to get her right after she goes, luckily she makes a sound when she pees as well as poops.
Day Two:  Looks like we're under control.  I began wiping her with the ACV wipes and air drying before applying ointment.  While the yeast beast spread all the way up to the top of her butt crack, it is dying.  The pimply spots are gone-there is no rough texture except at the top of her butt.  I may treat that area one day longer than the rest.
Day Three:  So, I had daddy do the nighttime change...big mistake.  While it did not come back badly, she had the worst time getting to sleep and was a bit broken out by this morning.  Why don't daddies follow directions?  These came from the Pediatrician, not me.  I had planned on discontinuing treatment at the end of day 3, now...?
Day Four:  Almost completely gone, except there is an outline of where it used to be.  There are still some rough patches in the back.  And her outer lips still seem swollen, hopefully this does not mean she has a vaginal yeast infection.
Day Five:  Still rough in the back, red and slightly swollen in the front, but it looks like it's mostly cleared up.
Day Six:  Same as Day Five.
Day Seven:  Although the redness and swelling of her outer lips is gone, she now has a different rash on her belly and legs from the disposable diapers.  I discontinued disposables and thus the 4 layer creams.  We're back to reusables and now coconut oil, still using the ACV wipes between changes.  Hopefully this finishes the job.

Disinfecting and Stripping Diapers:  The disinfecting part sounds easy.  Yeast is killed at 140 degrees Fahrenheit, but I found no evidence that the dryer is sufficient.  So I put her clean diapers, not covers, in a pot of water on the stove and voila!  To strip them of oils I added some Dawn dish soap to the water.  After a hot water/soap on the stove, we drain, and put them all in the wash with no detergent for some rinsing.   For the covers I just threw them into the machine for that final wash.  Then, make sure they don't still smell like Dawn, or wash/rinse them again no soap, before immediately drying them-no time for bacteria.

We have hard water.  The founder of Rockin' Green detergent says that Borax should not be used with hard water, it binds to the calcium and magnesium in the water and creates a residue.  She says you should use twice as much detergent because 1/2 will go towards neutralizing the minerals, unless you use a water softener like Calgon.  But we found that too much detergent is irritating to our baby's skin.  We were using about 3 Tablespoons per load, I've cut that down to 1 + Tablespoon.  We always do a rinse cycle first to get out the worst before we wash.

I think from now on I'll be dedicating one day a month to sanitizing diapers.