Many babies get nappy rash during the first few months. It’s usually caused by:

• The ammonia that is in your baby’s wee combining with the poo; nappy rash is caused by dirty nappies not wet ones
• A change in what your baby eats, like a change from breastmilk to formula.

If your baby’s bottom does become red and sore:

• Treat his skin with zinc and castor oil cream, whenever you change his nappy, until the rash has cleared up
• If the rash stays for more than a week and is very bright red with a scaly edge, he may have thrush. See your doctor who will prescribe a cream to clear it up.

It’s better to try to prevent nappy rash than to treat it - try our tips to avoid it.

Tips to avoid nappy rash

Some handy hints to keep nappy rash at bay:

• Keep your baby clean and dry.  Check every couple of hours to see if his nappy needs changing.
• Change his nappy after a feed, and before putting him down to sleep.
• Wash his skin with water.
• Make sure he is completely dry even in the folds of skin before putting a new nappy on.
• Let him lie on a changing mat without a  nappy on as often as possible so that the air can get to his bottom.
• Don’t use plastic pants with reusable nappies as they keep the moisture in.