When your baby is in pain, the only thing you want to do is make it better as fast as possible. Sometimes that means grabbing the first tube of cream you can find. Unfortunately, most diaper ointments contain chemical ingredients that could do more harm than good.
If you want a more natural way to relieve diaper rash, look no further than skin-soothing lavender. It’s most popular in soaps, bath oils and cleaners, but its healing properties make it the perfect candidate for diaper rash cream.
Before we discuss lavender for diaper rash, let’s first review what causes a rash in the first place.
What Causes Diaper Rash?
If you have more than one child, it’s possible to have one that’s never bothered by diaper rashes, while yet another develops them all the time no matter how often he or she is changed or how clean their bottom was.
Despite what you may have been told, diaper rashes can have several different causes:
1. "Dirty" Diapers
Yes, baby's sensitive skin can be easily irritated by a soiled diaper. A baby with loose bowels or diarrhea is particularly likely to develop diaper rash.
2. New Products
A diaper rash could simply be a reaction to a new ingredient. Perhaps you’ve tried some new baby wipes, lotions or creams, a new detergent, fabric softener or even just a different brand of diapers.
It pays to check labels. A natural product with only a few ingredients is less likely to irritate baby's skin than a commercial product with mystery ingredients most of us can’t even pronounce.
3. New Foods
When little ones begin solid foods (or just expand their menu), their stool changes. This change increases the likelihood of a rash. Even breastfed babies can develop diaper rashes due to something Mom ate.
4. Tight-fitting Clothes
Diapers or clothing that's too tight can rub or chafe baby's skin.
5. Yeast (fungal) or Bacterial Infection
The parts of a baby covered by diapers are moist and warm - the perfect breeding ground for yeast or bacteria. Skin folds and creases are especially vulnerable.
6. Antibiotics
Antibiotics kill good bacteria as well as bad. Just as can happen with an adult, the balance that kept yeast growth under control can be upset. The resulting yeast infection often causes a diaper rash. Antibiotics can also cause some babies to develop diarrhea, again leading to a diaper rash.
7. Sensitive skin
Babies who develop skin conditions such as eczema may also develop diaper rash. Usually, however, atopic dermatitis and eczema affect other parts of the body.
The Many Benefits of Lavender for Diaper Rash
Lavender is considered one of the top 10 natural healing plants. No one knows how long it’s been used for medicinal purposes, but it has certainly become a staple in modern households worldwide.
Some of lavender's benefits have been studied by researchers while others are claimed by natural health practitioners as well as those who have experienced the natural benefits of lavender themselves.
Beautiful, fragrant and highly effective, lavender is known for its wide range of natural healing properites:
- Antiseptic and Anti-inflammatory: These properties make lavender very useful for diaper rash, bug bites and minor burns.
- Antifungal: The Journal of Medical Microbiology published a study showing that lavender could be effective against antifungal-resistant infections. Lavender oil was lethal against multiple strains that caused skin disease. Researchers believed that lavender oil, a potent antifungal, destroyed the membranes of the cells within the fungus.
- Healing Wounds: Another study published in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine determined wounds closed faster in the group using lavender oil than in the control group.
If you choose to try lavender for diaper rash, it's important to use only natural, organic varieties so as to avoid harmful pesticides. For best results, look for products that combine lavender with other soothing, skin-healing herbs.
At Khroma Herbs, we wanted a natural, powerful way to stop diaper rash in its tracks. We were frustrated by all the chemical-laden creams and ointments out there, so we created our own – Baby Smile Diaper Rash Cream.
Guaranteed safe for baby, it’s all organic with no artificial additives. We even used arrowroot powder instead of zinc oxide for a more gentle, soothing blend.
Diaper rash may be common, but it doesn’t have to be hard to treat. Simple, old-fashioned lavender can help your baby (and you!) feel better, quicker – without the use of harmful ingredients.