CLOTH DIAPERING WITH A YEAST INFECTION

A few months ago, when Weston was still breastfeeding, I got a yeast infection in my breast which turned into a nasty yeast infection/rash on his butt. The pediatrician gave us a prescription anti-fungal/steroid for his rash and prescribed two other over-the-counter remedies
to help clear it up a little faster: baking soda and cornstarch.  He instructed us to first prep the skin for the anti-fungal treatment by creating a paste of baking soda and water and spreading it over the infected area, keeping it on for at least 10 minutes twice a day. This helps to open the capillaries to accept the anti-fungal cream. The only problem with that is that he was a squirmy 9 month old who wouldn't be bothered with lying still. So, during our morning and evening nursing sessions, Dennis would prepare the paste and slather it on his butt while I was nursing him in the side-lying position. We put down a towel underneath him to protect the bed. He would squirm a bit, but the paste stayed on for the most part. After we were done nursing, we would wipe off the paste, put on the cream, and then sprinkle some cornstarch over the infected area before we put his diaper back on.

It can be really hard to get rid of a yeast infection when using cloth diapers, because any yeast spores left in the diapers (even after washing) could re-infect a baby’s little bum. We continued to cloth diaper for a few days during the infection but had to bleach the diapers during every wash. The occasional use of bleach to clean cloth diapers isn't really a big deal, but regular use of bleach can break down the TPU and elastic. Bleach is also a pretty harsh chemical, especially for little baby bums. So we eventually just switched over to disposable diapers until about a week after the infection cleared up. In the meantime, we put all of his cloth diapers through two rounds of a hot wash cycle with bleach and an extra rinse. Then one wash cycle (with no bleach) and an extra rinse to make sure all the bleach was out of the diapers.  I found this post by the Cloth Diaper Whisperer pretty helpful when dealing with the infection and Grovia’s website also suggested bleaching the diapers when treating any yeast or bacterial infection.

The infection stuck around for about a week and half, but once we started using the disposables, we saw a marked improvement in his skin.  So, if you are struggling with a yeast infection on your baby's bottom and cloth diapering, my advice to you is to just switch to an eco-friendly diaper that won't further irritate your baby's skin, such as the 7th Generation or Honest disposable diapers until the infection clears up.

Has anybody else battled a yeast infection while cloth diapering?  Do you have any tips to share?  If so, leave them in the comments below.