Are Diaper Rash Home Remedies Safe/Effective for Baby?

You have probably received a ton of advice once you announced you were going to become a parent…some good advice…and some not so good/borderline horrible advice. “Use this, use that, mix these things together and it will take care of everything?”

But is the advice you are getting from your random friend, family member, or acquaintance legitimate? Is it safe and effective for baby? Do your research before subjecting your child to any “at home remedy” and always check with your doctor (even if it’s just a call to the nurse’s line) before treating something like a rash that could be infected.

Before we get into diaper rash home remedies, let’s first discuss what is diaper rash.

Diaper Rash: Inflamed skin that appears as patches of bright red skin on your infant’s bottom. Diaper rash is also known as irritant diaper dermatitis, nappy rash, baby butt rash, diaper rashnoun, miliaria, eruption, nettle rash, prickly heat, heat rash, efflorescense, urtication, and roseola

Are Diaper Rash Home Remedies Safe/Effective for Baby?

Today, we will be going through all of the “home remedies” that are supposed to help with diaper rash and explain why most of them don’t work and why they can even make matters worse for your baby.

Generally, these are “home remedies” for a reason, because if it was actually effective, someone would have bottled up the substance and put a label on it. There are the exceptions to the rule (for instance, diet is huge in healing the body), but as far as a topical homemade powder or ointment for a diaper rash, it’s not likely to be a beneficial diaper rash remedy and will not help your baby’s sore bottom.

Home Remedies and Their Effectiveness:

  • Can you use Cornstarch for diaper rash?
    • No, one reason is that, especially in newborns, it could impair breathing; there are instances of infants being brought into the emergency room because their parents used cornstarch as a baby powder
    • Also, cornstarch can actually make a diaper rash worse and turn into a candidasis infection (aka yeast infection)
  • Can you use Burnt Flour/Browned Flour for diaper rash?
    • No, similar to cornstarch, it can cause respiratory issues in babies
    • Also, it will most likely irritate your baby’s already so sensitive skin (i.e. yeast infections, etc)
    • You may see on some sites that this “does work” but this is not backed by science and could negatively affect your child’s health. It’s not worth it. Don’t do it.
  • Can you use Milk of Magnesia for diaper rash?
    • There is mixed information on the internet about this treatment, but because Milk of Magnesia contains a starch, among other things, I would not use it unless under the recommendation/supervision of a doctor because of respiratory issues (a doctor might have you mix it with a liquid). Some may also use Maalox as a diaper rash treatment as well, again, not advised with a doctor.
    • Also, again, along with cornstarch and burnt flour, it could make a yeast infection worse, so you would want to speak with your doctor before trying something like this remedy.
  • Can you use an Egg White for diaper rash?
    • According to the ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, this “treatment” can cause a florid urticarial rash (a severe case of hives that is extremely painful) that covers the baby’s whole body and made the baby generally even more unwell
    • It also states in a report that in one case, once the “home remedy” of egg white was stopped, the baby was well again within 24 hours, so in case you need someone to tell you: NO, this is not safe.
  • Can you use Witch Hazel for diaper rash?
    • Per MayoClinic, a study was done with 309 children with diaper rash, an ointment made with witch hazel was used and did help with the diaper rash.
    • The study did not show the exact effectiveness, but Witch Hazel is a common first aid ointment. Based on Mayo Clinic’s study, it is SAFE to use but it probably depends on what kind of diaper rash on whether or not it will make the rash go away.
  • Can you use Coconut Oil for diaper rash?
    • According to WebMd, it is a great way to “gently” treat baby’s diaper rash; because it is so mildly, it might not be strong enough to heal a really bad rash (And will not heal if it’s a yeast infection)
    • Per Heathline, it may reduce skin inflammation, itching and irritation but there is not enough research to show
    • Obviously, if your child is allergic to coconut anything, do not use but this could be an option to try for a mild rash
  • Can you use Lavender Oil for diaper rash?
    • Per WebMD, it seems to have antibacterial and antifungal effects on adults but does not have any proof of being effective at reducing eczema (atopic dermatitis) which is one of the causes of diaper rash
    • As far as babies go, essential oils are shown to cause harm to baby’s skin by degrading the lipid barrier in the skin, so they should be used sparingly (and diluted with water)
    • (They also listed oils that should NEVER be used with infants: Idaho Tansy, Hyssop, Sage, Clary Sage, Wintergreen, Eucalyptus)
    • So no, lavender oil probably should not be used for diaper rash

So now you know what home remedies are safe, not safe, and which ones are not effective. Now we need to go over what actually causes diaper rash in the first place.

Causes of Diaper Rash:

  • Wet/Dirty Diaper is on a baby too long
    • This is common when babies get older
    • If they sleep in poopy diapers
  • Baby has an allergic reaction to their diaper
    • In a lot of popular diapers, there are ingredients like chlorine that may irritate the baby’s skin
  • Baby’s skin rubs or chafe’s against the diaper itself
  • Baby gets a yeast infection
  • Baby gets a bacterial infection

How to Treat a Diaper Rash

So you may be asking what’s good for diaper rash treatment then? Here is a list of how to treat diaper rash and you won’t have to worry about cornstarch vs baby powder for treatment (don’t use either!!!) because we listed everything out that you need to do to make sure the diaper rash for your little baby boy or girl is taken care of:

  • Change your baby’s diaper frequently: every hour or if they go pee/poop (whichever is sooner)
  • Bathe your child everyday, make sure to use soaps for sensitive skin with no fragrance (sorry, no Elmo bubbles for a little bit little one). A very mild soap diaper rash treatment bath will do wonders!
  • Either use very mild wipes (ones without fragrance or alcohol) when cleaning the baby’s diaper area or use two clean, soft washcloths – one wet, one dry: Pat Baby Dry – do not rub or it will further irritate

  • Make sure diaper area is completely dry/clean before putting on a fresh diaper

  • Go diaper free to air out diaper area for awhile – let baby hang out on a towel or just let them go for a few minutes right after they go potty

  • If you use cloth diapers, you might want to switch to disposables to see if maybe the diaper isn’t getting clean enough in the wash or the detergent is irritating the baby’s bum

When to See a Doctor

I obviously recommended calling the doctor to treat the rash but here are some signs where you really MUST call (also have a conversation with your doctor about your baby’s diet, something may need to change i.e. dairy, etc that is causing the rash):

  • Your baby has a fever or does not seem as they usually are
  • There are pus filled bumps or crusted areas on the diaper region (your doctor might need to prescribe you antibiotics)
  • There is a red rash with scales, pimples, redness in folds of baby skin – might mean a yeast infection and needs to be looked at by the Doc. (they can prescribe an antifungal med)
  • The rash gets worse/treatment doesn’t work after a few days

***Do not use baby powder or any kind of talcum powder: this has caused respiratory issues in babies and caused ovarian cancer in female babies (possible later on in life) Also, Talcum powder is in other things like potentially powdered foundation so check your make up ladies!!!.****

*I did not include this in the main part of the article, but the MayoClinic says breast milk may help diaper rash in some way. The reason I did not include this is because some women are triggered in a very negative way if an article suggest breastmilk as the cure. Some women are unable to produce enough milk, their babies may not be able to latch on, or they have other personal reasons why they may not, so I like to stick with the more scientific reasons for treatment anyway.*

Wishing you and your baby the best!

Sick of changing diapers all together? Check out this post about potty training:

5 Potty Training Must Haves

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