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Irritants include:

• Common irritants include Fungus, namely the same fungus that causes thrush infestations. Such irritants enjoy the moist environment provided by the nappy, and therefore effort should be focused toward ensuring this environment is kept relatively dry. Fungal infections often present with white, flaky areas. Dermatitis and ezcema are also common causes of nappy rash. Essentially however soaps are the main offenders.
• Less commonly, bacteria may be the cause of the infection. Viruses such as herpes are also less common.

What can you do to prevent and treat Nappy Rash?

The use of irritating chemicals on the skin, breaks down the skins protective layers, making them more vulnerable to breakage. Once the skin is broken, bacteria and other chemicals from the babies faeces may enter the area, irritating it further. Such as environment is welcoming for fungal infections.

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Prevention:

Make sure you use highly absorbant nappies, whether they be dispoable or cloth nappies. Change the nappies every 2 hours, this will ensure the area stays dry. You should also avoid using soap, instead use alternatives such as Cetaphil and QV products, which are soap and fragance free. Due to the potential irritants in baby wipes, you should void these and instead use damp cloth baby wipes.

To reinforce the skins natural barriers, you should also apply a barrier cream, which contains zinc and castor oil, this is available from the local pharmacy.

If the nappy rash is more severe and the above measures don’t seem to be helping, you should visit your doctor or your pharmacist who may recommend a 1% cortisone containing cream along with an antifungal (Hydrazole is product containing a combination of less concentrated hydrocortisone 1% and Caneston).

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If the inflammation persists you best seek advise from the doctor, who may recommend a stronger medication, if bacteria or more resistant fungi are present.

Parents will change approximately 4500 nappies for each of their children. When we think of this in terms of disposable nappies, thats an extra 4500 nappies, that will need to be disposed of. This is a huge figure when we multiply this by the many thousands of children born each year. Its a figure that will likely cause a significant environmental impact, due to the inherent lack of biodegradability of these items.

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Not only are modern cloth nappies better for the environment, but many parents find their children perform better when using cloth nappies as opposed to disposable ones. Some of the benefits of using cloth nappies include:

• Less leakage
• Improved comfort for your baby
• Cloth nappies look more attractive and are nicer to touch
• The cloth system is easy and efficient, once your organised
• Less expensive (it is estimated that parents spend $3000-$4500 on disposable nappies for each child)
• Cloth nappies allow your child freedom in movement, without hinderance
• Good quality cloth nappies are made from breathable materials, therefore your child is less likely to suffer from ezcema and nappy rash
• Cloth nappies have high absorption ability, therefore your child is less likely to remain damp, and bacteria are less likely to flourish.

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Therefore, the benefits tend to lie with cloth nappies, and the environment will certainly benefit from the trend toward more parents using the modern cloth nappy system.