[megan sacha]

Hi DS has his first staph diaper rash and I don't know what to do. We treated with prescription anti-biotic for 10 days and it all healed up but once we stopped treating it started coming back. Our ND wants us to do another round, treat for another 10 days but then it occurred to me that maybe the dipes are reintroducing bacteria since they aren't sterilized between uses. I know a regular wash doesn't usually kill all bacteria, which is why a diaper service treats them with very hot water. Usually this isn't necessary when the dipes aren't shared among many households, but should we be doing this now to make sure they aren't causing more problems, or is that only necessary with yeast infections?

 

[brietta]

My son had a pimple on his bum cheek that ended up in a staph infection because some bacteria got in when it popped. I never use bleach, but I did use a bit on the load after we treated the infection. I have an HE washer, so I used about 1/4c in a full load with hot water. It seemed to work, because we've not had any reoccurance.

 

[HeatherB]

I would also go with 1/4c of regular bleach. We've been dealing with problems following an intestinal infection, and 1/4c is what fixed it. (I tried 1/8c and it wasn't enough.) You really do want to make sure something like staph is killed off, and the minimal bleach won't be worse on your dipes than the repeated infections and medications will be on your son. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/hug.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="hug">

 

[megan sacha]

I should have mentioned before that we have mostly bamboo fitted dipes, a few cotton prefolds and some pocket dipes (fuzzi bunz and bumgenius). Is the bleach ok on them all? I'm specifically worried about the pockets. Would it be better to boil them instead of bleach?<br><br>
Also, did you let them sit in bleach water or just add to the wash cycle or initial rinse cycle? We have a HE washer.<br><br>
Thanks! Getting ready to wash today.

 

[brietta]

I use fuzzi bunz-- that was what I bleached. From what I understamd, some pocket diaper manufacturers (like BG 3.0) actually recommend a regular (like, 1x/month) use of bleach to make sure all residual bacteria is eliminated. I wouldn't do that myself, but for this one time I figured it was worth it.<br><br>
I have an HE washer. After my regular cold rinse, I ran the diapers (inserts, pockets, wipes, etc.) through a Heavy Duty hot/cold cycle with about 1/4c of bleach. Then I washed in a Heavy Duty hot/cold cycle with a scoop of Charlie's Soap (which is our usual detergent), followed by an Express Wash hot/cold cycle (to make sure the bleach was well rinsed out). None of the diapers seem any worse for the wear. The PUL is totally fine, the colors are intact, and the elastic isn't worn. I think it's fine to occasionally do that sort of thing under special circumstances like staph.

 

[janasmama]

we had a staph infection that was recurring and it stopped when I started wiping his butt with an anitbacterial soap after he pooped and I started giving him probiotics. I think maybe he had an imbalance in his intestines/bowels and the probiotics helped it.<br><br>
I never bleached the diapers but I did use GSE in the wash. About 40 drops and I mixed it in water before I put it in the washer.

 

[Snapshot]

<div style="margin:20px;margin-top:5px;">
<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px;">Quote:</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">
<div>Originally Posted by <strong>janasmama</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/13011131"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">we had a staph infection that was recurring and it stopped when I started wiping his butt with an anitbacterial soap after he pooped and I started giving him probiotics. I think maybe he had an imbalance in his intestines/bowels and the probiotics helped it.<br><br>
I never bleached the diapers but I did use GSE in the wash. About 40 drops and I mixed it in water before I put it in the washer.</div>
</td>
</tr></table></div>
?what is GSE? and what probiotics do you give your son? mine has a sensitivity to some dairy...and soy...<br><br>
We started having problems with staph when we moved into a building w/ coin-op laundry. i never used bleach before, but will try that now i have read this. i've been having to pay to wash my dipes three times just to feel they are clean! and they still smell in the dryer! i guess bleach is the answer..

 

[janasmama]

<div style="margin:20px;margin-top:5px;">
<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px;">Quote:</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">
<div>Originally Posted by <strong>Snapshot</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/13011679"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">?what is GSE? and what probiotics do you give your son? mine has a sensitivity to some dairy...and soy...<br><br>
We started having problems with staph when we moved into a building w/ coin-op laundry. i never used bleach before, but will try that now i have read this. i've been having to pay to wash my dipes three times just to feel they are clean! and they still smell in the dryer! i guess bleach is the answer..</div>
</td>
</tr></table></div>
GSE = grapefruit seed extract. If you go to buy some make sure you don't make a mistake and get grape seed extract. It needs to be grape<i>fruit</i> seed extract.<br><br>
Bleach is not the answer. Try the GSE first, many people have used this to kill yeast infections when nothing else would work.<br><br>
My kids aren't sensitive to dairy or soy so I use probiotics that do contain those but you should look into getting some that are free of dairy and soy. I went through 3 really bad infections, 2 prescriptions and $300 trying to get this figured out. What worked in the end was cleaning his skin really good after a BM and the GSE with the diapers.<br><br>
Is your DC on anything else like steroids or an eczema skin cream? These weaken the immune system and work against any abx treatment. If he is than the steroids need to stop during the abx treatment.

 

[Snapshot]

We were lucky. we have some experience w/staph from raising animals and identified it on DD not long after the move. we switched to disposies and treated w/ antibiotic cream and it went away. it returned when we went back to cloth and then DS started getting irritated...we changed our diaper cleaning methods and have been kind of 'holding it at bay' but i still am not satisfied the dipes are really clean. they are due for a stripping, anyway. and my detergent has GSE in it. lately i have been adding bac out and crossing my fingers...<br><br>
another lucky us...we are not on anything but multivitamins! DS just has a few food allergies, mainly beef and chicken!(but that's a topic for another forum=)