Are Yeast Diaper Rashes Common?
One-fourth to one-half of babies experience diaper rash. Of these, 15%-50% are due to yeast. Yeast diaper rashes tend to decrease as children get older and end when the infant stops using diapers. The air exposure afforded by underwear lessens the establishment of an infection on irritated skin surfaces. This explains the tongue-in-cheek opinion of pediatricians that a quick cure for diaper rash (contact or infectious) is successful toilet training. If few C. albicans organisms are present, they may not be significant. However, symptoms are aggravated with more extensive infection. One study noted C. albicans was present in 37-40 patients with diaper rash, suggesting that C. albicans infection from the gastrointestinal tract plays a major role in diaper rash. Another study noted that 30% of healthy infants and 92% of infants with diaper rash had C. albicans in the stool. This reveals a definite relationship between Candida colonization of the stool and diaper dermatitis. However, such
