Allergy to Disposable Nappies

[redbaby]

Hi,.. my 7 month old daughter has recently developed an allergy to disposable nappies (we use huggies),. does anyone know of an organic, chemical free disposable? We are using fitted cloth nappies during the day, but want something more absorbant for night time,. Any suggestions would be very very welcome!

[mamafelix]

Hi

I don't know about a chemical free disposable, but we used cloth exclusively with Felix and when he got bigger he was a REALLY heavy wetter at night. Solution?

well there are a couple of options available. At first I was using two terry flats together under plastic pants- one in a kite fold and the other folded into a pad.
This work pretty well but it was really bulky.

Then I discovered 'pocket' nappies- These are usually made of polar fleece and PUL (a breathable waterproof fabric), they look a bit like a fitted nappy but have a pocket which you can stuff with absorbent material. Terry flats work prety well, but the most absorbent things are either hemp boosters or microfibre boosters (you can make these yourself fairly easily if you have the material or you can buy them online for about $5-10).

I loved the pocket nappy I had (it was a bugalugs one from www.bugalugs.com.au)- we used to stuff it with a hemp booster and one terry flat and Felix would be dry all night- and this was right up till he toilet trained at just under 2 years.

The other night time nappy that worked for us was an 'erica' (you can buy these on ebay) it was a hemp blend fitted nappy- so really absorbent, but the most important thing is a really good cover- I discovered the bummis super whisper wrap (made of PUL with velcro tabs) to be really excellent at keeping everything dry (I got this one from www.theweewuns.au.com).

Well as you can tell I'm pretty keen on cloth nappies. There's a new forum just started up which is just about nappies- if you want more information it might be a good place to start www.ecobubba.com or try modern nappies (an australian information site): http://members.optusnet.com.au/~truig/modnap/

It's worth checking out ebay- a lot of WAHM mums sell really good quality nappies there.

[Kassiasmum]

You could also try www.natureschild.com.au - a byron bay company dealing with organic items.

Tracey

[redbaby]

Thanks for that guys... I have actually found an organic disposable nappy that is imported from Germany,.they are called Moltex and are really absorbant,. the rash is still there though,.so I guess it is back to the Dr for more diagnosis!

[Supermum]

Hi there - my daughter also developed a rash at around the 4 month mark and we were also using Huggies.

It actually turned out to be a fungal infection.

I suppose since you've already been to the doc he's ruled this out?

What sort of products are you using to sooth the rash? I found Desitin to be a godsend.

Good luck to you and bubby.

[redbaby]

Hey,. After a visit to a paediatric dermatologist, we found the root of the problem. It was actually not the nappy (our GP had suggested it was, as the rash was all around the nappy line), but was a burn from a product we had been told to use in her bath to help ease the small amount of ecxema she had on her back. The bath oil, called QV Flare up Oil had burnt her skin! And the nappy was just irritating it even more,. We stopped using the oil and her skin came off like peeling after sunburn, and the new skin underneath is flawless,. Our dermatologist said that she had seen this problem time and time again with this QV product and that she was trying to get it renamed and to also come with a warning. She said that some in some cases, babies had burns all over their bodies,. poor little things. The only positive thing is that Scarlett was never bothered by it,. it didn;t hurt her, which was good,.... I am going to stick with the organic nappies now though as they feel better than Huggies,.

[Eleni's Mum]

HI,

Just a thought, my dd developed a rash from the more expensive nappies so we opted for the Aldi nappies which are low/hypo allergenic. Solved the problem and still very absorbant at half the price.

[blacktulips]

Hi Being an older mum 4plus 1 on the way.

My first baby had nappy rash only a few times. When she was born there was no disposable nappies.

She was the practice baby ( so to speak) anyway, with trial and error I found this to work for all of them and will do so with this one.

I didn't use baby powerder I just used a cream that had zinic in it and lots of it. A cream that is waterproof is the best. A nappy liner that is washable as some of the brought ones do have traces of chemicals in them and can sometimes be a little to irratating.

If possible keep the nappy of as much as possible so the air gets in. and also a little sun not to much also helps. Urine turns to amonia (sp) which burns
if left next to skin to long.

Of a night time I would put on a speical linner that draws the urine away from the skin it is totally washable.

If the anppy rash is due to a fungil infection while you are washing the nappy put a few drops of tee tree oil into the final rinse as this is a good way to kill off any left over bactira, as sometimes the nappy treatments don't get rid of all of it.

I did use disposable nappies( When they were invented) when I went out, but still put on lots of zinic cream.

With my little boys I did something different. When it is cold his testes would shrink causing the little folds in them being cold. I owuld use a warm face washer to de shrink so that I could get into the folds to clean properlyand dry throughly, apply the cream but not while they a shrunk as the cream cant get into the little folds. I would also put a litte extra on the tip of the penis for extra protection. He wasn't curcuimsised. And aired as much as possible.

So this methord worked very well for me my other 3 never had nappy rashes of any kind.

I hope this helps I know that some of these things may sound a little old fashion but it worked for me.

Cheers
Colleen

[our little treasures]

My dd is forever developing a mild rash from dispossable nappies, even though experts say that it is opposite. My dd is absolutely fine with cloth but we are sometimes lazy and we buy the dispossables the best thing i found was a bit of canistan thrush cream, you can buy a generic clonea works just as well. I find this clears her up as many other creams have given her a more raw breakout, i put this on then a zinc and castor oil.
good luck

[tbmum]

I was going to suggest Moltex Nappies!

I think it is great that they can be worm farmed or composted - we bury ours or empty them, it feels much better for the eco-karma, and they plant a tree for each bag sold, another plus.

- Charndra