When our second son was born, I had a plethora of baby supplies on hand and felt prepared for anything. I had never had a problem with diaper rash with my first son so my experience with it was limited. Once my second son reached seven months and was beginning to experiment with solid foods, it became clear that I was going to have to find a remedy that would soothe and heal the diaper rash that cropped up whenever we found a food he was sensitive to, while we learned which foods he needed to avoid. Over the next six months or so I tried several different diaper rash remedies with varying results.
A&D; Ointment
This classic diaper rash ointment was one of the first I reached for when we originally saw a rash on my son. I know that my parents used it when my siblings and I were babies, and it is familiar and trusted by many moms and dads.
A&D; Ointment goes on so easily and smoothly, and the tube with the flip top cap makes it simple to apply even if you are wrangling a wiggly infant with one hand. The scent is pleasant and the ointment did not seem to sting or bother my son in any way. In addition the price was low compared to some other diaper rash products.
I didn’t pay any attention to the ingredients in the ointment at first. A&D; consists of primarily petrolatum and lanolin. Minor ingredients listed as “inactive” include cod liver oil, fragrance, mineral oil, microcrystalline wax and paraffin. On more careful consideration, my preference is to avoid petroleum products; this ointment is full of them.
Another consideration when choosing A&D; is the effect it may have on the diapers we use. When using disposables, there’s no problem, but an oily, waxy ointment like A&D; is not good for cloth diapers as it can cause build-up and make your diapers less absorbent.
The final and most important element of choosing a diaper rash remedy is its effectiveness. Despite the ease of use and application, the A&D; ointment never did provide any healing or prevention that I could detect. It seemed to have no effect whatsoever on my son’s rash.
Weleda Calendula Baby Cream
In my search for diaper rash remedies, I came across this brand at a natural foods store and decided to give it a try. The brand does offer an ointment specific to diaper rash, but I wanted a more versatile product that I could use elsewhere on his body so I chose the Baby Cream. At first it seemed inconvenient that I should have to go to the natural foods store to buy it. I soon found that it is also available online and since that time, a major chain of drugstores has begun carrying Weleda products, making it more readily available.
The packaging of the Weleda cream was simpler than the A&D; packaging, and while not quite as convenient to use because of a separate cap, it was not a big enough difference to bother me. The cream itself had a smooth light texture, went on easily and smelled wonderful. It did not appear to cause my son any discomfort when I applied it to his rash. While the Weleda was considerably more expensive than the A&D; ointment, I felt that it would be worth it if the cream proved to be effective at healing and preventing my son’s diaper rash.
Weleda Calendula Baby Cream was a very different formula than the A&D; it was an emulsified product that contained herbs, vegetable oils and essential oils. I was hopeful that a more natural approach would be the remedy we sought for our son’s diaper rash.
After the first few applications it became obvious that the Weleda Calendula Baby Cream was a very effective remedy. Our son’s rash faded away quickly. I kept a tube of it in the diaper bag and on the changing table, and have had excellent results with it ever since. I never felt that it had a negative effect on our cloth diapers, since it was an emulsified product it seemed to wash out easily.
After using both A&D; Ointment and Weleda Baby Cream it was clear that the Weleda had a far greater effectiveness at healing diaper rash, and I intend to use it again if we should need a diaper rash remedy for our next child.
