By Aoife Gallagher | June 2026
The Thing Every Parent Told Me
Before my son Ciarán was born, I received a lot of advice. Some of it was solicited, most of it was not, and the quality varied enormously. But one piece of advice came from every parent I spoke to, independently and unprompted: get Sudocrem. Have it in the house before the baby arrives. Do not wait until you need it.
I bought a tub. I put it in the changing station. I did not think much more about it.
Ciarán arrived in February. He was healthy, he was loud, and at six weeks old he developed his first nappy rash – a patch of red, irritated skin that appeared overnight and that made every nappy change uncomfortable for both of us. I had been warned this would happen. I had not been warned quite how distressing it would be to watch your newborn cry during what should be a routine part of the day.
I reached for the Sudocrem.
Why Sudocrem Works
I had not looked into the science of it before I needed it. Once I did, the mechanism made immediate sense. The Sudocrem Antiseptic Healing Cream works on two levels simultaneously:
- Water-repellent base forming a protective barrier – it physically prevents urine and stools from coming into contact with the irritated skin, which is the primary cause of nappy rash; you are not just treating the rash, you are stopping the thing that causes it from making contact with the skin
- Emollient effect – it soothes and softens the inflamed skin while the barrier does its protective work, so the existing irritation is being actively addressed at the same time
The antiseptic properties add a further layer of protection against infection, which matters when the skin barrier is compromised. It is a genuinely well-designed product that addresses the problem from multiple angles rather than just masking the symptoms.
I found it in the Diaper Rash Treatments collection at ALTOE, and the 60g size is the right format – compact enough for the changing bag, substantial enough to last through several weeks of regular use.
First Application: Visible Improvement Overnight
I applied a thin layer at the nappy change before Ciarán's bedtime feed. The instructions are clear: a thin layer is sufficient and more effective than a thick one, because the barrier function works at the surface rather than through depth of application. He settled more easily than he had at the previous change.
By the following morning the rash was visibly calmer. Not gone – but the angry redness had reduced and the skin looked less inflamed. By the end of the second day it had cleared almost completely. I continued applying it preventatively at each change for another week, and it did not return.
I understood, in that moment, why every parent had told me to have it in the house before I needed it. The advice was not about the product being difficult to find – it is everywhere. It was about not having to make a trip to a shop with a six-week-old and a nappy rash at eleven o'clock at night.
Eight Months On: A Permanent Fixture
Ciarán is eight months old. Sudocrem has been part of every nappy change since that first rash at six weeks. Applied preventatively – a thin layer at each change – it has kept his skin consistently clear. We have had two further mild rashes, both of which cleared within twenty-four hours of more frequent application. We have not had anything that required a GP visit or a prescription treatment.
The 60g tub lasts us approximately three to four weeks with daily preventative use. It is one of the most cost-effective things in our baby kit, and one of the most consistently useful. I now recommend it to every new parent I know, unprompted, in exactly the way that every parent recommended it to me before Ciarán arrived.
The cycle continues. For good reason.
Beyond Nappy Rash
One thing I did not expect: Sudocrem is useful for considerably more than nappy rash. I have used it on a minor graze on my own knee, on a patch of dry skin on my elbow, and on a small spot that appeared at an inconvenient moment before an important meeting. The antiseptic and healing properties work on adult skin as well as baby skin, and the barrier function is useful for any situation where you need to protect irritated or broken skin. It has quietly become a household staple rather than just a baby product, which I suspect is how it has maintained its reputation for generations.
Shop Sudocrem Antiseptic Healing Cream
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Aoife Gallagher is a secondary school maths teacher, reluctant early riser, and mother to Ciarán, aged eight months, based in Cork. She has strong opinions about nappy rash prevention and considers Sudocrem one of the few pieces of parenting advice she received that was entirely correct.
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