Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Prefolds and Rashes, What's the cause?

I was just inspired by a local friend's question. Her 8 month old is in cloth diapers and she's been using a lot of prefolds with covers.

Suddenly, her son seems to be getting red and almost developing a rash when he's in prefolds but not when she uses cloth pocket diapers.  What could be the cause she asks?

There are a couple reasons this could be happening now and not in the past.

First, babies tend to be able to control their bladder more as they grow older.  This means they're peeing more and their diaper is much more wet than when they were little.  Their urine can also be more concentrated than when they were tiny and constantly emptying their bladder.

It's no secret that ammonia can cause redness and rashes, so when urine remains in contact with a babies skin for a lengthy period of time, redness and rashes are bound to appear.

Second, pocket diapers are innovative and popular because they have a synthetic interior that will keep baby feeling dry while the moisture is held in it's absorbent core.  With prefolds, wet cotton is in direct contact with the baby's delicate areas over and over unless baby is allowed times of being diaper free.

This is where stay-dry liners come in.  Made from microfleece, the same material as the inside of a pocket diaper, these liners come in long sheets.  They're placed on top of the prefold or flat and give baby the same stay-dry feeling that is achieved when using a pocket diaper.

Stay-dry liners are also perfect for those days when you need a little extra diaper rash cream and don't want to risk staining your diapers.  They're inexpensive, easy to care for and easy to use.

So what are your thoughts?  Have you noticed more rashes with prefolds than with pocket diapers and have wondered how to resolve it?  Have you tried stay-dry liners?  Did they work for you?


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