How to Cure Diaper Yeast Infections

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My son has only had a few very bad diaper rashes. Whenever he shows any kind of diaper rash signs we put on Desitin or this homemade diaper rash cream and it goes away. A few weeks ago nothing was working.  The regular, extra strength and my miracle diaper rash cream weren’t cutting it and the rash looked a LOT worse, bumpy, and different than a regular diaper rash. Weirdly enough he wasn’t fussy about his rash either. After some research, I found out that he had a yeast infection.

Characteristics of a yeast infection:

“You may not be able to detect yeast in a mild diaper rash, but once a yeast infection is full blown you can usually tell that’s what it is because the rash will be well defined and beefy red, with slightly raised borders and “satellite” lesions (red lesions a slight distance from the main rash). Your child’s skin may also be scaly.

Another big clue: A yeast rash tends to hang around for longer than two days and doesn’t respond to traditional diaper rash treatments. It also usually shows up in the skin folds of the groin area.”-BabyCenter

What does it look like:

It is red, bumpy and darker in color than most rashes. It spreads to areas that usually don’t see much redness on a typical diaper rash (like in the folds of skin, near the top of the thighs, in the upper groin area). It looks different than a typical diaper rash. I didn’t want to put images of my two babies rashes online. But if you google ‘diaper yeast infection’ and then click on images you’ll see quite a few. That is what I did.

Diagnosis:

Because my son wasn’t responding like normal to any diaper rash creams (like he always does), the rash started higher in the genital area and was spreading to the folds of skin near his thighs, he wasn’t complaining or being fussy like with a regular rash, and it resembled most of those images, I was sure it was a yeast infection.

Treatment:

After doing many of the 10 steps below the infection stopped growing and started fading. It was completely gone in about 6 days. Just after his infection went away my daughter started getting a yeast infection. I saw the signs immediately and began the following protocol and a few days later hers is almost gone. Because I started treating it immediately, it never grew very large. My son was very spread out.

So here are 10 steps to take when your child gets a diaper yeast infection.

1. Stop giving them sugar of any kind (as much as possible). Yeast feeds on sugar. Try to keep them away from candy, sugary snacks, simple starches, and juices. We gave 90% water 10% juice to our son during this time and limited milk to just one cup instead of two a day.

2. Feed them probiotics. I got gummy probiotics for my son who is 2 1/2. I had him take two to four a day. Plain yogurt or yogurt with probiotics and little-added sugar is also great. The problem with most yogurt is there is too much sugar for the probiotics in it. Read the labels carefully.

3. Keep them as dry as possible. Yeast grows in damp areas. Make sure they are completely dry before putting creams on. Change diapers often (as soon as they are even slightly wet). If you are using cloth diapers dry them in the sun to naturally bleach and kill the yeast in them.

4. Let the area air out. If you can, let them be without a diaper as much as possible. I also went up a size in diapers so there was plenty of room for air to circulate.

5. Use natural wipes, a spray bottle with water, or watered down paper towels. Avoid using wipes with fragrances, chemicals, etc. on the infection. Wash your hands well after each diaper change.

6. Natural things to put on rash. Coconut oil, plain yogurt, open up capsules of probiotics and pour the probiotic powder on the rash.  These natural remedies were effective in slowing the yeast down from rapidly spreading, not stopping it entirely. I didn’t try essential oils (although I should’ve). Lemon, lavender, and melaleuca essential oils are also known to help combat yeast. Be sure to dilute oils if using on an infant/child and do the necessary research before using.

7. Over the counter things to put on the rash. Miconazole Nitrate cream (4%) aka 3 Day Monistat. We saw the BEST SUCCESS and dramatic results using Miconazole Nitrate (4%). It is also used for jock itch and adult vaginal yeast infections and comes in cream and spray forms. I used the spray a few times but it was too cold and strong for my son so I just stuck with the cream. I found Miconazole Nitrate (4%) in the tampon section of the grocery store. I bought the store brand (cheaper) yeast infection package for women (3 day treatment) and used the tube of cream inside the box and threw out the other items. I used 4 boxes (the tubes of cream are tiny). If I were to go through this with my kids yet again, I would get a tube immediately from the grocery store and then buy the cheaper larger creams from Amazon via prime (free 2 day shipping) here to save money.

Lotramin (yielded mediocure results). Although many see results with Lotramin (generic name: clotrimazole cream), they were not near as dramatic as the Miconazole Nitrate (4%) so I would not waste my time with this cream again. That said, if the Miconazole Nitrate (4%) doesn’t work for you, you could try clotrimazole.

Cherry Antacid liquid– Some people have had success with cherry liquid antacid (because it neutralizes the acid the yeast feeds on). Don’t ask me why but many doctors say to only use the cherry flavor.

Triple Paste AF (anti-fungal)– Some people I’ve read about put this over one of the aforementioned creams to help create a barrier and to help kill the yeast. Triple Paste AF is harder to find locally but it is on Amazon here.

8. Prescriptions. There are some remedies that are not offered over the counter. If the condition persists more than a few days and is not getting better, see a doctor for a prescribed ointment and/or medication.

9. If desperate times call for desperate measures then use Gentian Violet (1% solution in water).  If doing the following things and seeing a doctor is still not working, you could try Gentian Violet. Do the research on Gentian Violet first but apparently, it works, as this lady tried everything (even prescription meds) and nothing worked for her baby until she used Gentian Violet.

10. Things to avoid putting on the rash. Cornstarch, baby powder, talcum powder, regular diaper rash creams, tight diapers, wipes with chemicals or fragrances, and cloth diapers that have not been sterilized properly. These do not fight the yeast and/or can make it worse.

Finally, try to pin point what caused the yeast infection in the first place and avoid it. For our son, we were at the lake all day and he was constantly in and out of the water. He was wet the majority of the day. We’ve since tried to make sure he dries out really good for a few hours in between playing in the water.

With our daughter, we are not sure of the cause. Perhaps it is her sleeping through the night (being in a diaper longer). The good news is because I could spot the infection and we had the supplies to treat it immediately, her infection never spread very much and in a few days is almost completely gone.

Good luck treating your little ones’ yeast infections.

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