What causes diaper rash?

The most common cause of diaper rash is when your baby’s skin becomes inflamed after contact with the chemicals in urine or faeces.

Diaper rash is likely to occur if diapers are not changed often enough or if your baby has diarrhoea. However, if your baby has particularly sensitive skin, it can occur even when the diaper area is frequently cleaned.

Sometimes friction caused by the diaper rubbing against your baby’s delicate skin or washing detergents that have not been thoroughly rinsed out of terry diapers (reusable disapers) can also cause diaper rash to develop.

 

When is diaper rash more likely to occur?

Diaper rash can affect your baby’s bottom at any time and the reasons can be unclear. Particularly as some babies naturally have more sensitive skin and may be more prone to the condition.

However, there are certain times when babies are especially susceptible to diaper rash, such as:

     

    During teething.
    Changing from breast to bottle feeding.
    When your baby feels unwell. (If your baby has a cold, their stools may be soft; meaning that diaper rash may be more likely to occur.)
    After antibiotics (Which can upset a baby’s digestive system causing diarrhoea.)
     Starting on solid foods.
    Sleeping a full night for the first time (Meaning that their diaper may be changed less often.)
    Drinking cow’s milk for the first time.