Never before had either of my boys battled diaper rash. Sure, we’d dealt with the occasional and slight redness, but nothing a little California Baby Calendula and/or Burt’s Bees cream couldn’t fix. So, when G developed the nastiest case of diaper rash I’d ever seen — thanks to playing all day in the water — and I couldn’t cure it, I didn’t know what to do.
When I say it was a nasty case…y’all, it was bad. It hurt him so much and it broke my heart. I tried everything: California Baby, Burt’s Bees, Desitin, Aquaphor, Vaseline, Boudreaux’s Butt Paste — the list goes on and on. Even after throwing caution (and sanity) to the wind and letting him go diaperless several days in a row — knowing that exposing it to the air might be our best bet — the rash remained. (Oh, and let me tell you how “fun” that was…cleaning up after a toddler who isn’t potty-trained is almost worse than having a new puppy.)
Finally, I called our pediatrician in hopes of getting a prescription-strength cream for my sweet baby. Instead, however, one of the nurses suggested that I try yet another remedy before bringing him in. Begrudgingly and VERY skeptically, I did exactly what she suggested. And…IT.WORKED.MIRACLES.
What you’ll need:
- Maalox (Maalox has been backordered so we actually used Gaviscon. Try that or the store’s generic for Maalox.)
- Aquaphor or A&D ointment (We used Aquaphor.)
What you’ll do:
- Using a cotton ball, coat the affected area with Maalox and let it dry completely. The Maalox takes away all the burn and redness. (To be honest, I just dipped my {clean} hands right into the bottle and smeared it all over his little bottom.)
- Once the Maalox has dried (it will look chalky) rub a layer of Aquaphor and/or A&D ointment over the affected area. (This will create a protective barrier.)
We noticed major results after the very first application. Immediately, G stopped complaining that his bottom hurt and the redness was pretty much gone. By day two, his rash was complete history!
Now, I’m trying to think of other things I can cure simply by coating it in Maalox…
Here’s to hoping you have the same success if you ever need this little remedy!
Good to know!!! But, hopefully something I won’t NEED to know (at least not again)!!! Been there, done that with the monster diaper rash once or twice. Not. Fun.
Agreed. Let’s hope you are never again in need of a mega-cure.
It heals eczema, too! When Mac was in daycare, a teacher told us to have a pharmacist mix Maalox with Aquaphor and use it at night on his face. So I went to Target and asked if they could do it–and they said they had before–but that it takes awhile. I think they were a little annoyed at having to combine the thick mixture, but it worked awesome for him. Never thought to try it on the bum.
So glad G is feeling better!
Wow! You can ask a pharmacist to make a mixture? That’s awesome!
This Maalox+Aquaphor thing is starting to sound like the Windex joke in My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Something hurt, broken? Put the Maalox mixture on it! HA HA HA!