prevention of yeast
This week we are going into some tips and tricks for prevention of yeast if your baby has battled it more than once.
First, one cause of yeast could be antibiotics. If you are nursing and are on antibiotics, or if your baby has to be on antibiotics, all of the good bacteria along with the bad will be killed, and the overall chemistry of your baby’s skin will be more susceptible to yeast. If your baby is old enough, talk to your pediatrician about giving him/her probiotics. It wouldn’t be a bad idea for you to take some as well if you are nursing, there are safe supplements for babies and toddlers, adults can take over the counter acidophilus tablets. You may or may not see thrush in the mouth of your baby, it can appear in a few different forms, but if you see any changes inside your baby’s mouth or it seems painful for them to eat (nursing or bottle), let your pediatrician know ASAP.
If your baby isn’t on any antibiotics and you are not either (if nursing), but seems to be more yeast-prone, ask about probiotics anyway, it can definitely help keep the yeast away!
Now, the next step will seem completely pointless if you haven’t battled yeast, but I have to throw it out there. We see yeast happening as much in natural fibers as in synthetics. It really just depends on the baby, some cannot tolerate the wetness from natural fibers, and will flare into yeast quickly. Others cannot tolerate synthetics, and need natural fibers to promote breatheability. If your baby is battling yeast, look at the diaper system you have. If you have solely natural fibers, consider investing in some fleece liners to use to see if it makes a difference. On the flip side, if you only use synthetics, switching to a more air-flow friendly system can help.
Keep an eye on your nighttime system as well, for baby boys often yeast will start as a very red penis, sometimes with or without blisters, if your baby boy presents this symptom and you don’t see it clear up with ointment within a day or two at the most, take him in to get diagnosed.
We will go over some more on this next week, but one last thing to remember with yeast.
If your baby’s skin is completely clear, and has been for at least a few days, cornstarch is fine to use to help absorb moisture to keep yeast away. However, if your baby has any skin symptoms at all, cornstarch will feed yeast with the sugars present, so do not use if there is any skin rash present to suggest yeast.
cloth diapers and yeast issues
We tackled a lot of yeast issues this week with customers. We have written quite a bit about yeast in past articles, which you can find here.
But the main points I want to readdress are:
-Over the years, we have found the best way to get rid of yeast the first time, when you are prescribed the antifungal, pick up a pack of disposables at the pharmacy. Keep the baby in them until the skin has been clear for 48 hours, then they can move back into disinfected cloth. If your baby is allergic to disposables, we will have to find some other alternatives, it is best if you have prefolds or flats that can withstand multiple disinfecting sessions to keep the baby in cloth while they are being treated. Remember, yeast doesn’t come from the diapers, but it can live in the diapers and reinfect the child.
-To disinfect the diapers, we recommend all diapers, wipes, inserts be bleached. To do this, wash/dry as normal, then wash with just hot water and 1/3 cup clorox bleach. PUL is dye fast and will not fade. If you have dyed or cotton print diapers, color safe bleach can be used for these items, although remember color safe bleach uses hydrogen peroxide to disinfect, which in rare yeast strains may not be enough. If you go this route and the yeast comes back, you may want to consider using chlorine bleach to kill the strain.
-After you go back into cloth, changing frequently the first 1-2 weeks back in cloth are important while your baby’s chemistry gets back to normal, also, if the yeast is completely gone using cornstarch in the diaper to promote dryness is good. Cornstarch feeds an active yeast infection though, so be sure your baby is completely healed for a few days before starting this.
-If you have dealt with more than a few yeast infections within a 6 month period, we need to evaluate the diaper choices and your wash/disinfecting routine with you, so please email us. Some babies truly are more yeast prone than others, and analyzing what you are currently doing can help find a solution. Also, some babies with medical conditions that require continuous antibiotics will be more prone to yeast as well, so if this is your baby please let us know and we can offer some tips to make cloth successful.
-And as always, please seek a doctor’s advice and help diagnosing the yeast.
Mom Rocks Monday: Every Monday when you 
It's The Cloth That Counts. 