Yeast Diaper Rash and How to Treat it Naturally

My little Sunshine has a yeast diaper rash!  It is no fun to be a mommy and see your little one have something wrong! :(

I generally use cloth diapers, but I was having gall bladder surgery, and thought it would just be easier to use disposables during the surgery time when the kiddos would be taken care of by family, and then also once we got back home and I was recovering.  I decided to use up some cheap off brand (Up & Up) diapers I had gotten as a gift when Bug was a baby because I was tired of having them around the house.  My Sunshine's bum was getting red so I put some diaper rash cream on it, but it seemed to be getting worse, not better.  Then, it was kind of looking like dry skin, so I put some healing lotion on it.  That wasn't helping.  I went back to cloth, which made it stop getting worse, but it wasn't helping it get better.  I tried coconut oil and tea tree oil... guess what, not working!  I was at a loss!  I had Sunshine's 2 month check up a few days after I felt like I had tried all my options, so I waited to see what the doctor had to say until then.  

So I go to the doctor and talk about everything I had tried to heal the rash. Then he opens up Sunshine's diaper and immediately said, that's a yeast infection!  He asked me some questions and we figured it was just a diaper rash that got infected by yeast in his poo and turned into a yeast infection. 

The doctor gives me a prescription for Nystatin.  I go home, thinking this is going to just clear it all up and we can be done with this!  Well it wasn't working, and it still wasn't working, and you guessed it, not working still after using it for a week and a day.  Boy was I frustrated!  It was going on about three weeks total that Sunshine had had a diaper rash/yeast infection! The doctor said if it wasn't better in two weeks, to come back.  But I knew he would just give me another kind of cream and I didn't really want just another cream.  

So I turned to my friend the Internet to try to find some homemade and natural remedies.  And this is what I found...

This website is awesome!  But this recipe for yeast diaper rash cream is even more awesome!

I mixed up a double batch and started using it right away!  I have been using it for three days, and the yeast infection is starting to clear up!  I am sold on this!  I think the most important thing is that I got raw and unrefined coconut oil.  I'm not sure if you can just get that in the regular coconut oil area at a Wal-Mart type store, because when I bought my first jar of coconut oil, I was looking for refined so it wouldn't smell like coconut.  And since I had to go to the natural health shop for the grapefruit seed extract, I just picked some up there.  I also get my infant probiotics at a natural health food store.

Here is the recipe from the website that I linked above...

1 Tablespoon raw and unrefined coconut oil.

1/2 Teaspoon powder probiotics

About 20 drops of Grapefruit Seed Extract 

2-3 drops essential oil - Lavender or Roman Chamomile 

Like I said, I doubled the recipe so I wouldn't have to mix it up again super fast.  I also did not add an essential oil.  I might have added lavender if my essential oils had come in the mail before I made this, but I am new to the essential oil world and after going back and forth on whether or not they are necessary, I finally ordered some!  

I have continued to give my Sunshine his daily dose of probiotics. I have just been way more intentional about it, because honestly, some days around here are crazy and I forget to give it to my kiddos! :(

I also have been using disposables while treating this infection.  Cloth holds moisture right next to the bum, which helps yeast to grow (they like it warm and moist!).  Disposables wick moisture away from the bum.  I have been using a sensitive type of diaper, and while I would rather be using cloth, I think this has also helped in the healing process.  

Another thing I have been doing is letting Sunshine's bum air out.  I was kind of freaked out about letting him go without a diaper, but once I tried it, it really wasn't that bad.  In fact, more times than not, he doesn't even pee!  I just put him on a towel and we do tummy time for a bit.  Then, when he gets tired of that, I hold him sitting up and he just sits there looking around the room.  After I air him out, I definitely see an improvement in the rash.  

One thing to remember, and not get too discouraged about, is night time.  Right now, my Sunshine is sleeping for about 4-5 hours at a time.  Which means a wet diaper is on him for that amount of time.  So in the morning, it is going to look worse than it did when you put the baby to bed.  But if you keep up with the cream, airing out time, and lots of diaper changes through out the day, it will help the nights from getting so bad!  

I hope this works for you like it did for us!  It really was a sanity saver for this worried momma who didn't know what else to do!  It it so reassuring to know that the infection is on the downswing and I am using products that are safe and natural for my baby!

Cassandra :)

An update - A day after I wrote this post, I got a super bad ear infection.  I had to start taking antibiotics, and antibiotics make yeast infections flare up.  So I called the doctor because Sunshine's bum wasn't getting any worse, but it wasn't getting better like it had been.  He told me to just get some Monistat cream from over the counter.  I have been using that and it is slowly getting better, but I know the antibiotics I am taking are making the healing process so much slower!  

I just wanted to say that because of this silly ear infection, I was not able to see if the cream I made above of coconut oil, etc. really did work to totally clear up the yeast rash.