Haven't got long, Adam is down for the night (well till 11ish)...a blissful few hours!

Right, I have to pass this tip on. I'm from South Africa and we used to drink a lot of Rooibos(redbush) tea. Recently I was looking for some academic papers on the stuff as I heard it's used in one of the hospitals in Cape Town for treatment of burns and dermatitis. I also came across a reference to using it for nappy rash; on speaking to my mum (old Rhodesian) she said she used it as well.

Anyway, it WORKS! And it's by far a more natural product and so easy to use. As it's not 'traditional' tea with tannins, caffeine, etc, it's pretty natural. What I do now is brew about 4 teabags of it in 500ml or so of boiling water for 15 minutes, then let it cool. Then use this in place of wipes/water to wipe his bottom. It needs to be used for all changes and cleared his rash in 24 hours.

Oh and it does make a good cuppa as well! The tea is widely available now.

OOo thats a good tip Zweena :)

I'll have to look out for that :)

Do you mean use for every bum change from day 1, or just when baby has a nappy rash? Sounds like a good idea...!

Do you mean use for every bum change from day 1, or just when baby has a nappy rash? Sounds like a good idea...!

I use plain water normally and when the little bum starts to look red then I start to use the tea on every bum change until it looks clear - working on the (dubious) theory that I don't want his skin to get 'used to' rooibos and then lessen it's effect, although that's my own funny little superstition!

Ahh, it sounds like a good idea...Might give it a try! :D

Haven't got long, Adam is down for the night (well till 11ish)...a blissful few hours!

Right, I have to pass this tip on. I'm from South Africa and we used to drink a lot of Rooibos(redbush) tea. Recently I was looking for some academic papers on the stuff as I heard it's used in one of the hospitals in Cape Town for treatment of burns and dermatitis. I also came across a reference to using it for nappy rash; on speaking to my mum (old Rhodesian) she said she used it as well.

Anyway, it WORKS! And it's by far a more natural product and so easy to use. As it's not 'traditional' tea with tannins, caffeine, etc, it's pretty natural. What I do now is brew about 4 teabags of it in 500ml or so of boiling water for 15 minutes, then let it cool. Then use this in place of wipes/water to wipe his bottom. It needs to be used for all changes and cleared his rash in 24 hours.

Oh and it does make a good cuppa as well! The tea is widely available now.

I drink Rooibush tea all the time, and it is also good for cystitis.