Diaper Rash and Teething
My goodness, wouldn't that make for a great band name. "Tonight, on the mainstage, let's give a hand for Diaper Rash and Teething!" Well, outside of my fantasy-land, it seems that they do often play onstage at the same time. Catchr (my son) has had the perennial Desitin white-ass for about the past 7 months and has been teething off and on throughout. At about 3 months of age, Catchr developed his first case of diaper rash, and it was bad...bad with a capital "B". My wife and I thought that maybe he had been sitting in a dirty diaper too long through the night (about 6 hours) and pondered waking him up to change him...until we stumbled upon a little known hypothesis. It goes as follows:
During the teething process, children salivate excessively. The extra saliva swallowed by the infant shifts the pH balance of any stool that is produced during this time, subsequently causing irritation when left against the skin. Sara and I have noticed over the past 7-8 months that any time Catchr shows any sign of diaper rash, he also begins to cut new teeth. As such, his little behind is frequently coated with Desitin to alleviate the burning and help heal the area.
We have tried other ointments (from Burt's Bees and other "natural" brands), but nothing has come close to the quick results we've had with regular Desitin (not the extra-creamy, or whatever they call it).
Oh yes, and just to clarify, letting your baby wallow in their own filth for extended periods of time will also cause diaper rash (or so I've heard). We change Catchr about every 3 hours...more if need be. He is our FIRST priority, so we make it a point to keep him clean and happy. Also, excessive use of moist wipes can cause the area to become raw...only wipe as much as necessary to clean YOUR baby. Don't try and wipe the disgusting images from mind's eye by way of your baby's bottom.
