Q. My baby has had a rash on her bottom since we have been feeding her more baby food. Is that a sign of a baby food allergy or is it just a diaper rash?
Without other symptoms, such as diarrhea, gas, or a full body rash, the type of rash you are describing is probably just a type of food intolerance.
Many infants can get a red rash on their bottom after eating acidic foods, including many fruits and fruit juices. These foods can make the baby's stool acidic, so even though it really isn't diarrhea, it can be more irritating to her bottom, causing the rash.
Fortunately, commercial baby foods and juices aren't usually made with some of the more acidic citrus fruits, such as oranges, grapefruits, lemons, limes, and tangerines.
However, baby food made with certain other fruits and vegetables or with added citric acid are still likely to be acidic* and can include:
- Apples
- Apples & Blueberries
- Apples & Cherries
- Applesauce
- Apricots with Pears & Apples
- Banana & Orange Medley
- Cinnamon Raisin Pears with Apples
- Guava
- Mangoes
- Peaches
- Peach Cobbler Dessert
- Pears
- Pears & Pineapple
- Plums with Apples & Pears
- Prunes
- Strawberries
- Tomatoes
You might try cutting back on some of these baby foods to see if it improves the rash. Keep in mind that you will likely not have to cut out these foods all together; just feed them less often to your baby to make your baby's stools less acidic.
Bananas are not usually considered to be acidic, so a mixed baby food, such as the Gerber Banana & Orange Medley, Beech-Nut Apples & Blueberries, or Earth's Best Bananas, Peaches & Raspberries might make them more tolerable for your baby.
*Acidic foods usually have a pH of 4.6 or lower.
Sources: FDA/Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition. Approximate pH of Foods and Food products.
