WFMW: Natural Diaper Rash Home Remedy
I’ll admit that sometimes my ideas for Works For Me Wednesday tips are a bit, shall we say, “fluffy.” But not this week. This is a good one.
When our third son was on heavy antibiotics for an extreme ear infection, he got a terrible, awful yeast-based diaper rash. It was really bad. Very, very bad. We tried everything we could think of. Finally, our midwife friend told us this:
Mix about 1 part tea tree oil to 2 parts extra virgin olive oil.
Apparently, the tea tree oil acts as an antifungal and the olive oil helps repair the skin. It works in both ways to zap that diaper rash fast! (The rash doesn’t have to be yeast-based though. It works on any kind of diaper rash!)
You can find tea tree oil at many regular stores now (in the pharmacy herbal section), but if not, go to a health food store. It seems a bit pricey per ounce, but you don’t need a lot. An ounce goes a long way for this!
Originally, we had mixed it in a small container and were dabbing it on with a cotton ball, but even that amount of touch hurt the poor baby. I eventually, got the bright idea to put it in one of those small spray bottles and just mist the area after each diaper change. Much relief for him — and much less mess for me.
Please note: The tea tree oil has a strong “woodsy” / pine-like aroma to it, so your house may smell a bit like Pine-Sol, but it’s totally worth it.
This stuff really works. When my son was already on so many meds, it was nice not to have to give him yet another. This is soothing, doesn’t smell terrible, and is easy to keep on hand. Make it. You’ll love it!
For more make-your-life-a-bit-easier tips, go see Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer and read her Works for Me Wednesday links!
October 16th, 2007 at 11:24 pm
Thank you so much for the tip! My son has had a terrible diaper rash lately (I think because he’s teething) and NOTHING is working. I’ll have to give this a go and see if we can fix it naturally. Thanks!
October 17th, 2007 at 1:38 am
Thanks for the tip - I will be trying this one RIGHT NOW!! My DD (2) had anitibiotics about 2 months ago for a Urinary Tract Infection. The result? No more UTI, but a whopper of a yeast based diaper rash! She has had it for over a month now, with the anti-fungal creams barely making a dent in it! (She also has eczema, so intially we thought it was an eczema flare up and kept moisturising it all day. OOPS!) I would really, really like a full nights sleep some time soon! If it works, I will sing your praises to the high heavens (in a non-blasphemous, non-idolotorous way of course!)
October 17th, 2007 at 3:52 am
Hi…I’ve just mixed up some olive oil and tea tree oil. Can I ask, how long did you use it before you saw any results? DD’s rash seems to be spreading, and her skin is burnt and peeling….
October 17th, 2007 at 6:13 am
Wow. I have never heard of this before. I don’t have babies anymore, but I do know that the Arbonne ABC diaper cream is pretty amazing stuff. I’ll forward this on to my nieces.
TM
October 17th, 2007 at 10:47 am
Hi Nikki, I think we started seeing results in about a day. It takes a few days to a week to totally get it all gone (if it’s really bad), but you should see some improvement within the first two days for sure. Let me know how it goes. We’ll be praying for your little one!
October 17th, 2007 at 11:12 am
This tip comes at such great timing for me. My 2 yr old has a REALLY bad diaper rash right now and he cries the whole time I’m cleaning him up and putting stuff on it. I may have to go out to cvs sometime today and see if I can find the tea tree oil and a misting spray bottle. Thanks for this wonderful tip. Ta for now dahling!
October 17th, 2007 at 11:34 am
We found switching to cloth did the trick. Found your blog via WFMW. Glad I did.
October 17th, 2007 at 7:40 pm
This is such wonderful timing…I just figured out yesterday that my 2 yr old’s rash is yeast-based (after a round of a-b’s) and really hope this will work for her. Thank you!
October 17th, 2007 at 7:57 pm
thanks a TON - we will be trying this - dd#6 has had several bad boughts of rash. I’ve always know TT oil is GREAT for many skin ailments but that it can burn a bit going on full strength
October 17th, 2007 at 9:15 pm
I love that solution! I wish I had known that way back when I was cloth diapering the kiddos. It has been a long time since we’ve had a diaper rash in this house, mostly because we have switched to disposables. However, I have filed that idea in my ‘brilliant ideas’ folder and will use it at the first sign.
Also, love that bottle with our “yum-o” hero on it, Rachel Ray! Yay!
October 18th, 2007 at 4:20 pm
YOU CHAMPION! IT IS WORKING!! After nearly two months of battling this darned rash - 2 doctor visits, 5 tubes of anti-fungal cream, baths in so many different things, no disposable nappies, no nappies, no knickers, IT IS CLEARING UP AFTER 2 DAYS OF THE TT OIL AND OLIVE OIL! Pass it round, the world must know this treatment!!
October 18th, 2007 at 6:35 pm
I love this idea! No more messing with messy creams!
October 18th, 2007 at 7:49 pm
Maybe I’ll start suggesting this in my peds clinic.
November 2nd, 2007 at 4:44 pm
I read that 10-12 drops of TT essential oil to 2 oz carrier (olive, grapeseed, etc.) oil, if ppl are curious about a ratio. kudos for your input!!
June 10th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
Be careful with tea tree oil (melaluca oil) LOTS of people are allergic and it causes a terribly itchy rash that would resemble diaper rash. And you can call a pharmacist and make sure the tea tree oil won’t interfere with normal medications the child is on. I only think of that because I had a reaction from a med and st john’s wort! It was bad, so my suggestions are check with the dr and do a test area on a non-rashy area. Sounds like a great remedy… the tea tree also works great for acne!