When my baby got a HORRENDOUS diaper rash from antibiotics, our pediatrician had us mix equal parts of the following into a "magic butt paste" and it really worked! About 2-3 days of the rash not getting worse and then it got better by using this every diaper change. (Off brands are fine)

-Zinc oxide 40% (such as Desitin max strength) -Clotrimazole cream 1% (such as Lotrimin) -Aquaphor -Liquid antacid (she recommended maalox but that is no longer available so we went with mylanta)

The amounts don't have to be exact.

Use a spatula if you can - you'll get thicker coverage that way. Before putting the cream on, DRY the skin well with a tissue, diaper, cloth, fan, anything. And remember, when putting on diaper cream, use a lot - like way more than you think is reasonable. Frost that booty like a cupcake.

Just a tip I saw when panic searching on here when my baby got her first rash. Everything should be aimed at keeping her as dry as possible:

• have some diaper free time daily. You can do this on towels or pee pads
• utilize a blow dryer after wiping. Game changer. If not a blow dryer blot dry with a dry cloth and then fan with another clean diaper. This is key. Do NOT go in with creams right after wiping.
• utilize powders. Baby powder is fine but I like the one with zinc oxide in it a bit better.
• if you aren’t doing much of what is above it’s ok! Just know there’s a higher risk this could be a yeast rash. From comments on here lotrimin can clear it right up and is safe. I actually use it about twice a day when I start to see a rash.

Other tips in summary from other posts: -hypochlorous acid spray can be helpful. Make sure you dry the area after spraying before applying cream

• some recommend mixtures of diaper rash cream, lotrimin, and corn starch or have a similar holy grail mixture. You can search on here but I have found it effective to use mostly powders and focusing on keeping the area dry and then using mixtures of things when a rash breaks out
• if you somehow find there’s a rash that is getting ulcerative or just terrible there’s an autoimmune skin condition that could cause it
• there’s a wound care protocol on here where you basically layer different things including stoma powder to create a barrier if things get REALLY bad and nothing you do that the doctor recommends is helping

My daughter has really sensitive skin, especially when she’s teething and her poops get weird. We use Honest Co. wipes, Millie moon diapers, and Tubby Todd diaper cream every diaper change and it does the trick. I’ve also heard epsom salts baths can help but I haven’t tried it yet so can’t really speak to it.

We found Huggies gave our son SO much diaper rash! We switched diapers and it made a huge difference. I also used the feather & bone diaper cream - super good! Only 3 ingredients. Hope it helps! 

Don’t use wipes when she has an active rash. If the it’s just a pee diaper, no cleaning at all. After pooping, rinse with water instead. I literally hold my babies butt under a cool running tap, he sits her in an inch of water. My girl gets these terrible welts after she poops and if I touch them with a wet wipe, the skin literally comes off 😭.

When she had an ongoing rash as a newborn, I would change her on a doggy pee pad and rinse her with a peri bottle.

I also use Fullers Earth Clay (bentonite clay) in powder form when the rash is very bad and weeping.

Using a combination of these strategies, her rash will usually clear up in 24-48 hours.

Wipes really are the worst though.

My son had the nastiest diaper rash for a good 5 months. The dr basically said while the frequency of poops decreases it will go away (basically when they start solids). I found that less is more. I ditched wipes, when my son would poop I would wash his butt with water. I would literally take him to the sink and wash. His poop was runny at that point so it didn’t damage the pipes or anything. I didn’t wash or wipe if he only peed. Pee doesn’t really cause diaper rash cause the diaper does a good job keeping them dry (vs poop, the liquid part gets absorbed in the diaper only). I also used Desitin daily defence, and a lot of it at each diaper change, pee only changes included. Air dry the bum really well before applying the diaper rash cream. And lastly diaper free time. I laid out a doggy pee pad, put him on his tummy for a good 45 mins each day and let it air out.

I also found that sizing up in the diapers helped a lot cause the poop doesn’t always stick so tightly to the bum that way.

Some diaper rashes are actually fungal from all the moisture and heat. The rash has very obvious borders and also small red dots (google moisture associated dermatitis). If it is that you need to add in an antifungal cream (athlete’s foot cream) in small amounts to the rash 2-3 times a day underneath the diaper cream. If you use zinc based creams don’t scrub hard to wipe all the cream off with diaper changes. Only wipe enough to get the poo off and then recream. I have tried soaking baby in a cooler bath with baking soda added as well to help soothe the area.

TLDR: Look up Jacquet’s Errosive Dermatitis if your baby’s diaper rash has craters/wounds. 

Sharing the below in case it helps anyone in a similar position. I know I wish I had come across this information much sooner! 

My daughter was born 6 weeks early and spent time in the NICU. She came home with a slight diaper rash, but nothing serious (the NICU team wasn’t concerned). 

However once she was home and eating more, my husband and I noticed that she was steadily doing tiny poops all day long. Despite our best efforts, it was impossible to stay on top of all these tiny poops. For example, she could do 7 tiny poops in 10 minutes and that was “normal” for her. This frequency caused a diaper rash that we could not get a handle on. It wasn’t your normal red cheeks diaper rash. It was deep sores/wounds. It was horrible for her and we felt like we were at a loss as to how to help her. 

We tried every diaper rash cream on the market, went to the pediatrician multiple times and to two different dermatologists (10+ appointments in total). 

Ultimately a pediatric dermatologist identified her rash as Jacquet’s Erosive Dermatitis. “Jacquet’s Dermatitis is a rare, severe variant of irritant diaper dermatitis, which presents with punched-out erosions or ulcerations with crater-like borders”. It is caused by prolonged exposure to fecal matter (hello, tiny poops). It also used to be more common when cloth diapering was the norm (less absorbent than today’s diapers) and from what I can tell from reading up on it, seems to be more common in premature babies because of their immature digestive systems. 

While it was still hard to get the rash under control, as a parent it was such a relief to know what it was and that it wasn’t just some anomaly our baby had.

In terms of what finally worked for us it was a combination of:  Using soft wash cloths with water instead of wipes (sometimes we’d even just rinse her off in the sink/tub) Baking soda in her bath water  Drying her tush very well (blow dryer on cool setting, patting dry with another soft cloth) Using the crusting method (stoma powder and barrier spray) Using a sensitive skin diaper cream (we used Honest brand) Using more absorbent diapers (we used Coterie) Frequent diaper changes during the day Waking her in the middle of the night to change her diaper so she wasn’t in a dirty diaper for too long Lots of no-diaper time (laid her on absorbent pee pads for easy cleanup)

Obviously consult with your doctor about it, but I’m hoping this information helps other parents. When we were going through it I felt like I had read every Reddit post on diaper rash and this type never came up. 

I will be positing this on multiple pages for maxiumum reach. 

Unfortunately you’ll have to both just wait it out. I’ve been through this several times ….. best advice is change their diaper often, like every hour or so it’s always always clean and dry, apply diaper cream each time. Eventually after 2 days it’ll clear. You can most def let them go diaperless to air out their bum for 30 mins - 1 hr (but most likely they’ll poop and pee) so just be prepped for that.

Also- I always wash my child’s bum with water after they pooped, dry with a towel - I avoided wipes completely in that area until it’s healed.

My baby had a terrible diaper rash. Literally open sores all over her butt. Here’s what we did:

1. Ditched wipes and used organic cotton rounds and water. I would dab and try not to wipe away the poo. Would also sometimes use the cotton rounds and dip into Vaseline to make it less abrasive.
2. After cleaning any poop I would dry the area with the little handheld fan before putting on any creams.
3. Had to do a technique called wound crusting for her. Not sure what kinda rash your baby has but I can give you more details if you need that. Otherwise for just redness and irritation I would slather on tons of desitin and then Vaseline on top. Also used a cream called calmoseptine that seemed to work well.
4. A lot of diaper free time. Got some puppy pee pads and let her chill on that for a few times a day, sometimes 30 min a time
5. If you can expose the rash to some sunlight that is good too!
6. Lastly just changing her diaper all the time. If I knew she pooped I would do it asap. Otherwise I was changing her like every 1.5 hours. It was rough for a while especially during the night.

It eventually went away ! Diaper rashes literally suck so I’m sorry you’re dealing with this. I got a cream from the pediatrician which didn’t do anything for my babies rash but def worth calling them if it persists!

If the rash is redder in the center (and like a deep, solid red), it might be a yeast rash and you’ll need special cream for that. The OTC option is Lotrimin AF but my daughter never responded well to that so we got prescribed Nystatin whenever she had a yeasty rash.

If not, I would consider switching to something like Aquaphor 3-in-1 so you get the zinc and barrier cream in one.

ETA a Hail Mary option is Magic Molecule hypochlorous acid spray. I personally haven’t used it on my kids (yet), but I use it on my insanely sensitive face and it’s listed as safe for any age over one month.

diaper cream really stings, as do wipes so that’s why it hurts so much for her.

the best thing is naked time, and heck might as well get out a little potty just incase

The cream can really sting as well. The wipes also. If possible use clean cloth and water then dry.

If it gets worse ask chemist what to use.

I would use warm water & a very soft washcloth instead of wipes, lay out a towel & let her air dry, then use a baby butt spatula to apply a thick layer of Vaseline or Aquaphor baby healing ointment instead of rash cream & then put the diaper on (I always have better luck getting a thick/even application with the spatula vs using a finger)

Aquaphor was our magic ointment. We did the Aquaphor fast relief diaper cream when there was an actual rash and then regular Aquaphor at any sign of redness. It would take it away so fast.

You’ve already gotten a ton of great advice, but I just wanted to add that if the rash is stubborn and not going away it could be fungal and worth making an appointment with his doctor. My daughter has had a fungal rash twice and the prescription cream was a miracle at clearing it up!

We didn’t put cream on every time to give the kiddos skin a little time to breath during the day, but did but it on overnight. We also slathered it on there at any sign of redness switching between the Weleda arnica based cream and the Boudreaux’s Butt Paste. The Weleda seemed to be a bit more healing and Boudreaux’s had a thicker barrier.

I use aloe vera gel up&up brand

I have tried Boudreaux, A&D, Destin, Vaseline etc…

Absolutely nothing worked. Until I discovered the magic of : Boogie diaper rash SPRAY.

Literally started clearing up after 1 use. And completely healed and gone by the 3rd diaper change. It was a legitimate miracle.

Aquaphor every diaper change.

Zinc oxide cream to treat. Desitin worked for us. When it was bad we did just wash with mild soap and water and allowed to air dry. Seemed to help too.

We also discovered diaper size may be the problem. We are first time parents and ended up keeping our LO in size 1 diapers too long. The min we sized up the diaper rash went away.

A lot people experiment with different brand diapers. Or even cloth diapers due to sensitive skin.

We had a pretty stubborn little rash between weeks 2-3. Tried every cream under the sun. aquaphor fast relief worked wonders.

We were at a checkup and our pediatrician gave us a prescription. It has made a huge difference!!!!

Bepanthen, it works for me. Zinc cream made the poop difficult to clean. Water is the best.

Struggled with rash for weeks! Turns out the wipes were causing it. We used pampers sensitive and switched to Huggies sensitive and rash is gone. Other things that helped were airing out after change and patting dry before putting on triple paste. Would also rinse bottom with warm water under faucet and air dry once per day. Good luck!

Zinc cream, naked baby time, and milk baths if you can

Stop using wipes and switch to cloth with water.

Any kind of zinc cream plus as much naked time as possible, if possible. During naked time I'd actually do less or no cream to let it dry out even better.

Make sure skin is completely dry before applying any topicals. thickly layer the paste to create a barrier. pat dont rub to clean. size up on diaper if possible.

Hey Mamas,
As a mom to a super active 2-year-old, I’ve learned that summer can be tough on our little ones’ sensitive skin especially with diaper rashes popping up more often. What’s helped us is staying on top of frequent diaper changes, even during short naps. I make sure he gets a little diaper-free time every day on a waterproof mat it really lets his skin breathe.

For soothing any redness, I stick to a gentle natural rash cream or cold-pressed coconut oil, which cools and calms his skin quickly. I also avoid synthetic fabrics and opt for breathable options his bamboo and muslin cotton nappies from Cocoon Care have been a game changer.

And wipes? I’ve ditched the chemical ones for pure water-based wipes or just warm water with soft cotton. Keeping things clean, airy, and natural has made a big difference for us. Hope this helps another mama navigating the summer chaos!

Petroleum jelly (aka Vaseline) is a godsend for diaper rash and pretty much anything else. Whenever I change diapers in the day, I preventatively rub vaseline in the butt crack, inner thigh crotch, butt, and any other high friction area.

You don't have to buy Vaseline; the Amazon off-brand is exactly the same and like 1/3 of the price (and TBH spreads easier than Vaseline).

Not sure if this is good advice, but worked for my eldest and doing it for my newborn as well. Hope it helps

Use aquapor baby instead of diaper cream for a few days should really help the rash heal.

Also be sure to diaper cream up at night to prevent future rashes although with poops it is tough of course. Not your fault, our kiddo has had a stealth poop diaper rash here and there too.

As much as possible clean skin with water and not wipes for pee. Try to let them go diaper free as much as possible to. Easier said then done I know. Change every time there is a any pee, even the tiniest blue line, until fully cleared.

Calmoseptine is amazing. You find it in the adult diaper area. It helps heal and protect. This is recommended from Pediatricians. It works really well for bad diaper rashes. You might also need to go no diapers for short periods to help the rash area dry out.

https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/calmoseptine-calmoseptine-ointment-to-prevent-%26-heal-skin-irritations/ID=prod3285901-product

I’ve found that a mixture of Boudreaux’s Butt Paste and Lanolin Nipple Cream works wonders.

Aquaphor is my go-to. However, in extreme cases, I use Destin Extra Strength. It is a thick white paste but clears up the rash within the day. Then, Aquaphor after to help with friction and healing. Sidenote: I use regular diapers through the day but overnight diapers for any sleep, including naps. The extra absorbency is good for early nap #2's that are wet. GL

Absolutely no way I'm ever giving up the baby wipes sorry bruh. And aquaphor is the best imo

Step 1: Wet wipes step 2: A+D ointment

I think we're good, but thanks!

We do coconut oil, great product.

We use a cream of 50-50 Boudreaux's Butt Paste and aquaphor and never have any issues when we apply it to the typical areas. Butt paste dries out, aquaphor seals in.