I post this follow-up for any reader-friends who also have a baby with recurrent diaper rashes so perhaps they won't go so long without knowing about this possible solution.
I had battled a bad rash on Margaret's tush for months, with it ebbing and flowing for most of her life, when I took her off alcohol- and chlorine- containing commercial wipes three weeks ago. Three babies in, she was my first one with obviously sensitive skin, so I hadn't realized that baby wipes contain such harsh chemicals as their primary ingredients.
Immediately Margaret's skin calmed down and a combination of zinc oxide 16% and antifungal cream could finally do their jobs, which they hadn't been able to do before because I kept re-offending her skin a dozen times a day with those wipes. Within three days, Margaret's skin was healthy. Then I switched her to cloth diapers and her skin went from healthy to perfect, so apparently something harsh in disposable diapers was bothering her too.
Her skin had been gorgeously healthy for weeks when I got lazy and used commercial alcohol wipes at a diaper change a few days ago. Within an hour, she'd broken out in angry, ugly red blisters! (I have a friend who hasn't used commercial wipes for four babies because hers have such sensitive skin, they "rash up" immediately upon use of wipes, and I hadn't known what she could be talking about till I saw this "break out" in Margaret.)
Now I know just how sensitive her skin is!
Some friends asked me (showing I'm not the only ignorant one) whether there are commercial baby wipes without alcohol. Yes, there are! I bought a few boxes from Seventh Generation*, including a little travel pack to keep in my purse. They are significantly more expensive, so I plan to continue with my home-sewn flannel wipes and homemade spray except when I'm traveling. Huggies carries an alcohol- and chlorine-free wipe (but the ingredient list is more man made than Seventh Generation's and the first ingredient is not water). Lastly, I found Dynarex baby wipes, which are free of alcohol (unknown other ingredient list) and sold online by medical suppliers.
*Seventh Generation Wipes Ingredient List:
Aqua (water)
Glycerin (vegetable oil derived)
Citric acid (provides stability and pH balance)
Cetyl Hydroxy-ethylcellulose (plant-derived cleaning agent)
Tocopheryl acetate (vitamine E acetate)
Sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate (food-grade preservatives)
My homemade wipe spray ingredient list:
2 cups water
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp castile soap
2-3 drops tea tree oil (antibacterial)
I like these too:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.gdiapers.com/shop/baby-wipes-and-extras/gwipes-biodegradable-baby-wipes
Janeane: Those gWipes look great!
ReplyDeleteWhere do you get the Castille soap? Aidan has very sensitive skin and I've been thinking of going that route.
ReplyDeleteChristine: I think the most commonly sold in stores is Dr. Bronner's castile soap (with the zany labels). It's sold in most health food stores, even as mainstream as Trader Joe's. I just did a search on Vitacost.com (a company I like) and it seems to sell many kinds of castile soap, different brands too. Dr. Wood's almond-scented with shea butter sounds good to me!
ReplyDeleteChristine: I just remembered that I saw Dr. Bronner's castile soap even at our local Target, which is very mainstream.
ReplyDeleteDr Woods isn't as "natural" as Dr Bronners. There is more chemically junk in there. I'd suck it up and buy the wacky label (in fact, I do ;) )
ReplyDelete