Diaper Rash can interrupt the peaceful routine of an otherwise carefree baby, and it won’t do much for your quality of life, either. Babies have this knack for making their problems your problems, and if baby has diaper rash, you have it, too.

During the first two to three years of life, just about every parent on the planet gets to share in the diaper rash experience at least once. Thankfully, nearly 50 percent of all diaper rashes go away by themselves within one day. What about the other 50 percent? They can last ten days or more (though it’s likely to seem longer).

If you’re reading this, you’re probably sharing the diaper rash experience right now. Here’s some trivia to welcome you to the club. Did you know that breastfed babies have less diaper rash than bottle-fed babies? Even better, research has shown that this resistance continues long after a baby has been weaned.

What? Your obstetrician didn’t tell you about that? Well, he didn’t tell is either. But we found one that did. Here’s what else we found out.

Give’em some air. The oldest advice is sometimes still the best. “Give that baby’s bottom some air”, says Ann Price, educational coordinator for the National Academy of Nannies, Inc. (NANI), in Denver, Colorado.
Simply take the baby’s diaper off and lay him chest down, with his face turned to one side, on towels underlaid with a waterproof sheet. Leave the baby that way for as long as you’re there to keep and eye on him. Remember: An unwatched, undiapered baby is trouble waiting to happen.

Superdiapers to the rescue. “These new superabsorbent diapers seem to be a good idea,” says Morris Green, M.D., chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine. “I think they’re the best thing there is for preventing diaper rash.”

Recent studies confirm Dr. Green’s observation. Diapers containing absorbent gelling material (Ultra Pampers, for example) have been shown to significantly reduce skin wetness and leave skin closer to its normal pH than either conventional disposable diapers or cloth diapers.

Blow-dry that baby. Keeping the diaper area clean promotes healing, but drying with a towel can irritate sensitive skin. Option? “Try a blow dryer,” says Linda Jonides, a pediatric nurse practitioner in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Dry the diaper area with a hair dryer set on “low”, which avoids abrasion to wet skin. After the area is dry, zinc oxide ointments such as A&D or Desitin may be applied.

Give cloth diapers a vinegar rinse. “Adding vinegar to the final rinse when washing diapers will help bring the pH of cloth diapers into line with [that of] the baby’s skin,” says Price. She notes that diaper rash enzymes are most active in a high-pH environment, which often exists in cloth diapers after washing. Add 1 ounce of vinegar to 1 gallon of water during the final rinse.

“Actually, I believe there’s a lot to be said for diaper services,” Price notes. “They go to a lot of trouble to get the pH balance right, and they’re not all the expensive either. If you’re using cloth diapers and your baby has a bad rash, I recommend giving them a try.”

The cranberry connection. When urine and feces mix in the diaper area, the result is a high pH that irritates the skin and promotes diaper rash.

Unorthodox as it may sound, Jonides notes that 2 to 3 ounces of cranberry juice given to older infants will leave and acid residue in the urine, helping lower pH and reduce irritation.