How to prevent diaper rash

You may not always be able to protect your baby from diaper rash, but there are steps you can take to significantly reduce its occurrence.

Keeping your baby’s bottom healthy

• Keep baby’s skin clean and dry.
• Allow diaper area to dry before reapplying diaper.
• Allow diaper area to dry before reapplying diaper.

Clean your baby’s skin

First, it’s important to keep your baby’s skin as clean and dry as possible. That means changing wet or soiled diapers right away. Since you may not always know when your baby needs a change, check the diaper at least every two hours. In newborns or babies with diarrhea, you will need to check even more frequently.

If you use wipes during diaper changes, make sure you choose ones that are mild, gentle, and designed for baby’s special needs. Your best choices are wipes that have been clinically tested or proven mild to the skin.

You may prefer to use a soft, wet washcloth to gently clean the diaper area. Warm water should do the job; use a mild baby cleanser only if the stool does not come off easily.

Whether you use wipes or a washcloth, it’s important to avoid irritating skin. Use your wipe or washcloth to gently pat skin, being careful not to rub.

If you have already applied a diaper rash treatment at the previous diaper change, don’t worry about removing the ointment. Clean the soiled, outer layer and leave the ointment on the skin to avoid damaging the skin as it heals.

Allow diaper area to dry

One key step to healing diaper rash is keeping the area clean and dry. Once you have finished cleaning your baby’s bottom, pat it dry (no rubbing!) before applying a thick barrier of protection. Better yet, allow your baby to go without a diaper for a little while to let her bottom air-dry and then apply a thick barrier of protection when you do re-diaper.

Apply a diaper rash treatment to protect baby’s tender skin

Applying a barrier ointment or paste protects the skin from further injury while creating an optimal environment to allow the skin to heal. It will also help prevent friction from the diaper. Apply diaper rash treatment, such as AVEENO® Baby Soothing Multi-Purpose Ointment, at each diaper change to soothe and protect your baby’s irritated skin.