EC+Cloth diapers= yeasty diaper rash. Wait- What?

[ChangingWoman]

So, my baby is 4.5 months old, and we do EC most of the day unless we are out and about. When not ECing, we do cloth, and then disposables for bedtime. I'm not sure how long ago, but, at one point, she had diarreah (sp?), which led to diaper rash, which led to yeast. I used GSE to treat it, but, it wouldn't go away. We ended up getting nystatin from the doctor and it went away. I also was sure to put several drops of GSE in the washer with her diapers. Then she gets diarreah again. Same thing. I just went straight to the Nystatin. It cleared up. Now she has a yeasty rash for no apparent reason. She didn't even wear a single diaper yesterday! I'm stumped. Also, I have noticed her bum looking red and irritated after a full day of EC before. What's up with that? Anybody????

[buriedtobloom]

I don't know for sure what is happening in your case, but it could be that the diaper rash and yeast are not a direct result of either the EC or the diapering.  It could be that your child needs a little more probiotics to help even out her digestive tract.  I've given my 2 month old son a little probiotics to help with some diarrhea that he was having.  Culturelle for kids is a powder form of L. acidophilus that infants can take by dissolving into some expressed milk.  I actually just dissolved the contents of some gel caps that I take myself.  It might prevent the diarrhea and help to displace the yeast for long-term prevention.

[RedSamhain]

Are you BFing?  I found that my cloth-diapered daughter got terrible diaper rash if I ate dairy products.  If you are BFing it could be something you're eating that she's allergic to, diary, chocolate, wheat, and garlic are the worst offenders.

[Brambleberry]

Do you use diaper cream every night?  We found that it was necessary for prevention.  A simple zinc oxide cream is a good moisture barrier to protect the skin from wet overnight diapers.  I liked burt's bees, but due to the price I decided to just get the ingredients to make my own.  it was really very simple and just involved melting a little beeswax and lanolin, mixing in olive oil and then adding powdered zinc oxide with a hand blender.  You can get the ingredients from soap supply places online.  I think I spent about $30, but I think it made around 64 ounces or more - I can't remember.  I sold some at our farmer's market stand, used some as baby shower gifts and we are now on our last tin two years later.

[ChangingWoman]

Hmmmmm..... I do BF and take probiotics myself, but have never thought about giving them directly to her. It seems like even the slightest irritation turns into a yeasty rash for her. Maybe the yeast never fully went away? I hope it's not a food allergy. I LOVE dairy AND chocolate AND garlic!!! I only do butt cream at night if she looks like she needs it. Maybe I'll start doing it every night, though, as a preventative measure. I was also thinking that she poops more when we do EC b/c of the position we do it in ( me holding her legs up, with her over the potty), so, maybe that's causing irritation......

[wolfmama31]

we had the same thing happening and i stopped cloth 'cause i just couldn't deal and now use touch of nature chlorine-free disposies and TONS of bum cream with ALL changes and, every time, dab her butt dry before creaming. i used nystatin after the 1st rash got really bad and i'd tried every natural remedy out there. next time her bum started looking that way, i went right to nystatin again. her ped is a naturopath and says, for a drug, it's pretty benign and stays on skin layer and does not get into rest of system. 

i've found that the weleda calendula diaper care (with zinc) is only cream that works. tried most of the other natural-base ones and weleda is only winner over time. all the others dry her out too much. it's expensive but, if you buy from supersup.com it works out to $7 a tube which is way better than market price! and they have free shipping over $50. using cream have wanted to make my own too but it never seems to happen. 

if i see the little red bumps begin to show up now (like one or 2 bumps) i take a deep breath and try not to freak out then use straight neem oil on her. if it's nighttime i cover the neem with the weleda zinc cream. seems to work. sometimes i wonder if the neem is a bit strong but her skin doesn't seem irritated after a few apps and i think it stops any critters from multiplying.

i also gave her some powdered kid's probiotics but never was consistant enough to feel like it was doing anything.