Preventing and treating nappy rash
As nappy rash can be a common condition, prevention is always better than cure, but how can you do this?
Preventing nappy rash
In theory, nappy rash would never occur if baby’s bottom was always cool, dry and completely protected from irritants and infection.
However, this is rarely the case, so the following tips can be used to help prevent nappy rash occurring:
- Change your baby’s nappy as soon as you can when it becomes wet or soiled. As a guideline, you may find that a newborn baby requires changing about a dozen times a day and older children at least 6-8 times a day.
- Carefully wash the nappy area with warm water and cotton wool, gently patting dry.
- Leave your baby’s bottom exposed to the air whenever possible
- Use a suitable cream, such as Sudocrem, at each nappy change to protect against irritants, such as urine and stools.
- If you use terry or re-usable nappies, wash in mild, non-biological washing powder or detergent. Always rinse nappies well.
- Change your baby’s nappy before putting him or her down to sleep.
- Be alert to potential triggers of nappy rash.
Treating nappy rash
Despite your best efforts, your baby may still get nappy rash, so when this happens you need to do the following:
- Soothe the soreness
- Ensure the skin heals as soon as possible
- Protect the skin from further attack by irritants or infection