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In this Discussion
- autumnbeck April 2012
- BastiansMommy April 2012
- Nananda April 2012
Fluffy TalkCloth diaper related discussion » Problems!!Rashes, reactions, red marks, wing droop...Have a problem? Put it here.
leg red marks (rash?)
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We have been cloth diapering my 7.5 month old since she was about 3 months old. We use the best bottoms diaper system (an AI2, liners that snap into shell). She has rather sensitive skin and does get regular diaper rash every now and then. We've been using coconut oil on it which works most of the time. However, my problem is with awful red marks she gets, not in the actual diaper area but on her thighs where the leg gussets are. I guess I'm not even sure if it's techniqually diaper rash or something else. The skin on her thighs get very red, hot, sometimes swollen and eventually gets kind of chapped looking and then begins to peel. I have tried everything I can think of... loosening the diaper (to the point where it often leaks), generously coating her legs as well as her diaper area with the coconut oil, changing her frequently, never using the same shell twice in a row, stripping the diapers 100 ways to sunday... nothing seems to help. The only thing that clears it up is switching to disposables for a while, but the rash always comes back within days of switching ther back to cloth so she has now been in disposables for a couple weeks bc I feel bad about continuing to put her in the cloth ones and "giving" her a rash. Has anyone encountered something similar and/or have suggestions for what may be going on? I've considered an allergy to what ever kind of elastic is in the gussets but the elastic is covered in cloth so I don't see how that would be an issue...
Any thought/suggestions would be appreciated! 
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I wish I had some wisdom to share on this, but I can say that I've had that (or something similar to that) with my son once or twice before. I wasn't sure it was a rash, maybe chaffing??? I always figure it's because his thighs are so chunky ;) It's so hard to say with these mysterious things that pop up in the diaper area and on babies skin in general. I am constantly freaking out about some weird spot on my son's skin. If I hear of anything I'll let you know. One thing, have you tried another type of cloth diaper?? When I notice irritation from the gussets of one type, I put a different kind on him to see if that helps as far as wear it touches his skin. Maybe try a "minky" type diaper which is softer around the legs? I have a Kawaii bamboo minky pocket diaper that is very soft. Good luck mama!Lea
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It is very possible that she is allergic to the PUL right there rubbing her leg. Do you have the funds to buy a cover that doesn't have binding like BestBottoms? It is worth trying out.Autumn Beck
owner and author of All About Cloth Diapers
Christian homeschooling mom to 5 children -
I had this same problem with my DD a while back with her Rumparooz and Ohkaty diapers. She was fine for the longest time and suddenly she started getting chapped and red where the leg elastic touched her skin, and not really anywhere else. I did the same thing as you (stripping, switching detergent, oils, disposable) and she'd start to heal and the peel. I finally resorted to putting Rumparooz fleece diaper liners on the edges or her diapers to protect her skin. That worked but was ridiculous. I thought maybe she'd developed an allergy and needed only natural fibers like cotton and bamboo. I stocked up on a bunch of expensive goodmamas.
Anyway, cutting to the chase: I finally figured out that it was trapped detergent. Her diapers seemed clean but not all the detergent was able to wash out of all the scrunched up fabric. I've since found that doing an entire normal hot/cold cycle with no detergent after the normal wash seems to do it. No more problems after that. We have an HE front loader and it seems to take that extra wash to completely rinse everything out.
My current wash routine, which isn't perfect but as close as I've gotten to it in 8 months is this:
1) prerinse with bac-out biokleen
2) heaviest load with hot/cold and about 2 tbs of rockin green (I used country save too and liked that almost as well)
3) low spin so that the yucky water is squeezed out but the next wash will weigh heavier and use more water.
4) restart wash on normal with hot/cold again, not soap and some Mrs Meyers fabric softener (in basil, yum!) to soften up those seems that can get a little crunchy feeling, even when all the detergent is out.
Really hope that helps. The extra wash did the trick that merely stripping didn't seem to do.
