Diaper Rash Cream History and Modern Improvements

It’s safe to say, that for as long as there have been humans on the planet, there has been diapering in one form or another. There were, however, some ancient societies that allowed babies to go completely naked in warm weather and their mothers simply held them out and let them go either onto the ground or into clay pots. This method is called elimination communication, with experienced moms picking up cues from infants who are about to go, and is still sometimes practiced today.

Even so, babies in primitive times were likely to be swaddled into something overnight to catch and contain waste. While spending more time naked probably greatly lessened or eliminated the incidence of diaper rash—or irritant dermatitis—at that time period the best diaper rash cream available was likely to have been rendered animal fats.

No mother wants to see her baby’s bottom fiery red and inflamed, and it’s clear throughout the long history of human diapering that mothers in all time periods used the best materials available to them for both diapers and the best diaper rash cream or ointment.

Diapering Methods and the Best Diaper Rash Creams of Primitive Societies

A good coating of bear grease on a baby’s butt might not leave the sweet-smelling baby that today’s moms are accustomed to, but it would have still provided a good protective barrier between a baby’s tender skin and the irritants and wetness of urine and feces.

Diapering choices in ancient times appear to have been from materials that were widely available at the time, with large leaves such as those from milkweed being used during warm weather. The fluff from the milkweed plant is highly absorbent, and stuffing the fluffy milkweed silk between two layers of milkweed leaves and then diapering a baby before tightly swaddling, was both an efficient and highly biodegradable method of keeping a bear-greased baby dry and comfortable. Animal skins stuffed with plant fibers such as packed grass or absorbent natural materials such as peat moss were also commonly used, with waterproof sealskin being the popular choice in Inuit societies.

Best Diaper Rash Cream and Diapering Methods of Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans

Evidence suggests that Egyptians diapered babies by tightly swaddling them with a method of winding strips of linen horizontally around each leg and up toward the belly button. (Yes, similar to Egyptian mummies.) In ancient Egypt, the best diaper cream of the time period seems to have been a coating of castor oil, pressed from castor beans. Egyptians used this and other plant-based oils for skincare not only for a baby’s bottom but also as sun protection. There is ample evidence that Egyptians also used aloe for skincare, so this may have been a natural moisturizer used to heal and soothe diaper rash during the time period.

The Ancient Romans frequently used a concoction of bread and milk blended into a paste to apply as a topical skincare ingredient to soothe diaper rash. The babies of the time period were swaddled into many layers of fabric so their bottom halves looked like a large burrito, so it’s possible that their waste was allowed to accumulate for many days at a time, making skin protection all the more important, though it’s difficult to imagine how babies would have smelled swaddled into a mixture of their own waste as well as sour milk and bread.

Like the Romans, the ancient Greeks left babies swaddled into layers for long periods of time, with their tender skin protected by blends of olive oil and honey. Since honey is a natural antimicrobial agent, this was probably the best diaper cream of the period since it would be helpful to the skin of a baby left bound in its own waste.

Modern History of Diapering and The Best Diaper Cream Options

The first mass-produced cloth diapers were introduced in the US in 1887. They were generally made of flannel, linen or terrycloth. In the UK, they became known as “nappies,” probably originally called napkins due to their square, napkin-like appearance. They were fastened first by knotting and eventually by the safety pin. At this time, babies had their sensitive skin protected by liberal coatings of Vaseline, a jelly-like byproduct of petroleum processing which was considered the best diaper rash cream protectant after it’s invention and marketing in the late 1800s.

Vaseline and similar petroleum jelly products remained the diaper rash treatment of choice even through the invention and popularity rise of disposable diapers, which while first marketed in 1948, did not become commonly used until the introduction of Pampers disposable diapers in the 1960s.

The addition of zinc oxide to the best diaper rash cream was first introduced in the original Desitin diaper rash cream over 80 years ago by Johnson & Johnson company. Its thick, creamy formula contains a high percentage of zinc oxide to soothe, cool, and protect baby’s skin. Zinc oxide is insoluble in water, making it ideal to act as a protective barrier between a baby’s bottom and the wetness and irritants of urine and feces in both cloth and disposable diapers. Zinc oxide diaper rash cream has been the number one recommended diaper rash treatment by doctors for many years and may well be considered the best diaper rash cream of today.

Always have this essential in your diaper bag and at your changing table and you'll have a healthier, happy baby.

Resources— LittleThings.com, DiaperCoupons.com, Healthfully.com

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