Pampers Diaper Exploded!

Updated on January 08, 2011
S.A. asks from Solvang, CA
37 answers

When I changed my sons diaper this morning after him wearing it for 10 hrs overnight, I found that it had exploded ALL over him. All those gel crystals everywhere--yuk!

So I have two questions...is there any harmful effect from the diaper insides for skin or ingested? And we use bum genuis cloth diapers during the day and my son sleeps so long at night they get full and leak by the time he wakes up in the morning so that's why I've been using disposables so I need a solution for that. I don't think I want to use disposables anymore- that was scary to see all those gel pieces all over him!

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C.D.

answers from Los Angeles on

Tushies is the only brand on the market that does not use the crystals. They are really soft and thick and nice.

www.tushies.com

You can order them from their website, buy them at certain health food stores (like the Co-op), or order them from diapers.com

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J.B.

answers from Los Angeles on

I don't like pampers had way to many leaks with them. I've been using Huggies and they work great no leaks and no explosions. Good luck Jeannie

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J.L.

answers from Los Angeles on

I am a devoted pampers mom myself BUT for nighttime diapers I use huggies NIGHTIME. I did a ton of reserach and "field tested" them and they work GREAT!!Hope that helps!

One more thing...I also read and experienced that they work even better when you buy them a size larger then you would regularly use.

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D.H.

answers from Los Angeles on

In regards to night time solutions with cloth diapers - I have two that work wonderfully. The first is using AppleCheeks cloth diapers with a 3-layer hemp / bamboo insert and either an AppleCheeks booster or a JamTots doubler depending on how heavy a wetter you have. I rarely get leaks with this solution and used it on my extremely heavy wetting son (he didn't pee all day and just saved it all for night time when he was a baby) and now I use this solution on my heavy night wetting daughter.

The second solution I have found that works fantastically is to use a BerryPlush diaper cover with one of their Snap-In-Soakers, and if need be a JamTots doubler or AppleCheeks booster for even more absorbency. I have been using this solution for almost two years now and have never had a leak in a BerryPlush diaper (day or night). They are pricier than some but worth the cost to get your baby through the night feeling dry and they are luxuriously soft.

You can find both of these diapers at my store, Storks & Berries (www.storksandberries.ca). I have done a lot of cloth diaper research and have to say these are the only 2 night time solutions that I have found that work well. If you want to try either of these solutions out, you can use coupon code "MAMAPEDIA NIGHT" to receive 5% off your first purchase of AppleCheeks, BerryPlush, and JamTots night time solution products. I hope this helps all of you who want to stay in cloth diapers full-time do so.

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C.F.

answers from Los Angeles on

The crystals are non-toxic. My daughter brought them home as a science experiment from camp. Even the ones in food that say "Do not Eat" are not actually harmful if swallowed, but they aren't intended to be consumed, so they have to tell people not to eat them. I too used cloth during the day and disposables at night. You might need to try the ones that say NIGHT TIME diaper -- designed to hold up longer.

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G.R.

answers from San Diego on

Try seventh generation from Whole Foods/ Henry's. I think even target makes an 'enviornmentally' freindly pamper. They are more pricey but since you only use them at night it won't hit you to hard in the wallet. And yes the gel is dangerous, no matter what anyone tells you. It is full of chemicals and your child absorbs it all night long into his skin and into his blood stream. If you notice there is an outragous number of young men with testicular cancer. If you look at the ages of these young men it correlates with the introduction of pampers!

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S.H.

answers from Los Angeles on

S.,
I tried several diapers including the pampers, huggies and luvs. I didn't like the latches on the luvs. The huggies worked, but they are not too soft and still can leak. The pampers seemed to leaked (and exploded) the most, but they were nice and soft. catch 22. I decided to try the kirkland diapers (Costco) and we stuck to them. They don't explode and they are soft but not quite as much as the pampers. The only thing with them is that you have to completely open them before putting them on the baby because they can move around otherwise so that the baby poops right out the side (but open them up first and that is not a problem at all!).
If you want to stick to your brand and your baby is in between the weight limit (ie. between size 1 and 2) you might want to try to go up a size. There might just not be enough room.
I always use vasaline gelly on the baby's rump and it keeps the moisture in and his skin rash free (a little cheaper too than a lot of the products out there).
Good luck!

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M.S.

answers from Los Angeles on

How old is your son? Have you thought about using a diaper that is for overnights? Most name brands make them as well as I know they have them in Pull Ups (just depends on if your son weights enought for them).

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L.M.

answers from Los Angeles on

Hi S.,

I see you have a lot of responses here there isn't much that I can offer to you except for my experience. I have a 3 1/2 yo daughter. When she was a newborn, I tried all different brands of diapers on her. The first ones I tried were Pampers Swaddlers, and I loved them. Since I had gotten a few different brands at my baby shower, I figured I would try them all out. The second onces I tried were the Target brand diapers. I used one, and returned the rest of them to the store for more Swaddlers. I tried regular Huggies, and Huggies Supreme. I didn't like the way that the diaper smelled before or after my daughter had went potty in them. Then I tried regular Pampers and didn't like them at all, they seemed stiff. I finally went back to the Swaddlers and was very happy. When she outgrew the Swaddlers, I tried Pampers Cruisers, and loved them as much as the Swaddlers. They did not explode, they did not leave gel pieces on my daughter's bum. I used them at night, with no problems. She would sleep 12 hours at night.

My suggestion. Try Pampers Cruisers. They are soft, flex with the child, and they do not leak. Once she was potty training, I used Huggies Pullups only because they have the velcro sides which made it much less messy to take off after she went poo.

Good luck,

L.

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D.D.

answers from Los Angeles on

in my opinion Huggies overnights work a lot better..not sure if it's harmful if ingested..i'm sure if he only ate some once he'll be fine..i think it's long periods of doing something over and over that could be harmful.

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T.B.

answers from Visalia on

OMG eeeeeeww!!

Throw them away!! All Pampers.I never liked pampers...they didnt explode on me but I never liked them anyway!!
I am the mother of 2 girls. One is 16 now, but I'm not completely outdated to speak on this subject---my baby is three yrs old.
Know what? Good 'ol Target. Generic brand diapers, in the green box with the circle target logo.They are awesome!!I didnt use them because they are considerably cheaper(but boy is that a bonus), but because I literally tried them all! They beat them all, even Huggies which came is second. I like Huggies wipes and Target diapers.
Eeew. Icky gel guck. Scaaaaaaaaaaaaary.

Wendy

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J.K.

answers from Los Angeles on

yeah, we have the same issue with fuzzi bunz not cutting it at night, but not wanting chemicals on him either. I think I'm going to try putting a baby washcloth, as a lining in the Pampers, that I can wash with the cloth diapers. that way they are absorbent and yet don't have those chemicals against his skin, because as we well know, anything on their skin gets absorbed into their bloodstream; they don't have to eat it (which would probably have dire consequences, not to be taken lightly) in order to negatively affect their health.
Good question, thanks for getting me thinking as well!
J.

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P.P.

answers from Los Angeles on

There is nothing dangerous about the gel crystals, otherwise they wouldn't be in the diaper. I loved using Pampers on our son and they were the best of the bunch. Less leaking and best absorbing. The Huggies were the one's that any tiny bit of urine in the diaper would leave crystals every where and would have leaking. It was just messy. I stopped using those when he was a couple months old. Have only used Pampers brand since. They are the best. Our friends with triplets had bad luck with all diapers except with Pampers. I used the Pampers Overnight's for our son and they work great. You may also want to cut back on his fluids late in the evening and before he goes to bed.
One more thing, when he started preschool, they preferred that he use the velcro sided pull ups which only Huggie's make. They suck! I hated them. Again, any tiny little bit of urine in the diaper would make the crystals come out. Never had a problem with the Pamper's pull ups or night time diapers and crystals leaking. I know there are a lot of other mom's out there pro-cloth diapers, but there's nothing wrong with disposables. Good luck, and hope you find something that works.

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K.J.

answers from Los Angeles on

I have on occasion seen the diaper gel that you were referring to, on my child's skin as well. In addition, my 9 year old and 2 year old once thought it'd be fun to throw a full diaper all over the back yard and that was the most disgusting mess I'd ever seen. clumps of diaper gel all over the grass. I thought for sure the lawn was going to die. My suggestion to you, call the diaper manufacturer and simply tell them what happened and if you should be concerned. I think we all might be interested in what they say and who knows, maybe they'll throw in a little something extra for you to say "sorry for the inconvenience".

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S.D.

answers from Los Angeles on

Those nasty little gel crystals are what create the absorbency in the disposable diaper. They hold tons of fluid. We all know that disposables are not the healthiest for our babes.

Keep using your Bum Genius but add another insert or doubler and your little guy will make it through the night+ some. My 12 m.o. son can wear his cloth diapers 12+ hours with two inserts. I am a cloth diapering mama and own a cloth diaper web-store so if you need any cloth diapering advise! : )

S.
www.beachbummies.com

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C.G.

answers from Los Angeles on

We get something called Diaper Doublers (available at Babies r US) near the diapers. You put them in at night - and we never have any leaking or accidents. Good Luck.

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J.D.

answers from Reno on

My 18 month old's Pampers were leaking over night (never exploded, though, thank goodness). We switched to Huggies Overnights. She sleeps for 12-13 hours and they work like a charm! Give them a try. :)

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E.W.

answers from Los Angeles on

S.,

Have you thought about doing one last change before you go to bed that is if you stay up a little longer than your son so instead of him wearing the same diaper for 10 hours it's for a less amount of time. I have experianced the gellied balls but they just wash right off no adverse affects from them to my knowledge my daughter is now two.

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O.K.

answers from Santa Barbara on

There are diapers that are free of all the "junk" in Pampers and Huggies available at natural food stores. There are two brands 7th Generation (what I use for day time) and Bummies which are stiff but way absorbant (nite time) that is one option. Another option is to change him in the middle of his sleep so he can be a bit comfier. Good luck.

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J.L.

answers from San Diego on

Hi S., There's a good chance that the diaper didn't explode, he made have made a tear in it and caused it to get all over, i have a child in my daycare that would do that with his pull up and I would have a mess all over my carpet. I donubt that it is harmful, I doubt also that your son would try and eat it, since it would tast like urine, for the most part it just makes a mess You can call poison contol and ask them, but I don't think you have anything to worry about, gopefully manufactours wouldn't but a harmful sunstance in baby diapers. J.

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M.H.

answers from Los Angeles on

Use the Huggies Overnight diapers - they changed my life!!!! They don't leak or explode...even after 12 hours.

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A.M.

answers from Las Vegas on

The Gel crystals are not harmfull at all. Some times that happens I have a 2 1/2 year old son and that is all that I have used on him. I am now 2 months prego and I plan to use them on this baby too. I have tried other diapers, like huggies, luvs and generic brands but I have found that pampers works the best... So don't be alarmed The crystals wont hurt him. and Try not to let this one incident turn you off of them.. Have a great day.

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L.W.

answers from Los Angeles on

I used to be able to sneak in the room before I went to bed and change the baby. With this mid-night change, we were able to avoid morning leaks. You could also try Starbunz diapers. They have this water-repellent binding on the outside edges that can make a diaper near bullet proof! I was <ashamedly> able to go 12 hours on those really long night of sleep. They could handle 2-3 potty breaks at night while we were nursing. Just a thought!

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H.A.

answers from Los Angeles on

Hi S.,

When we have used cloth diapers in the past, we would line their regular Chinese Cloth Diaper with a smaller Chinese Cloth Diaper. It made for a rather rotund behind, but it worked well. It also helps to have the next size up for their diaper cover if it is too bulky. Lately we have been using Naturcare Diapers that are really earth-friendly as far as disposables go. They are FANTASTIC. You can buy them at Target for $9.54 for one package. (If you're wondering why we aren't using cloth right now it's because I need to order new ones. The old ones finally gave out at the fourth child!) The gel crystals in the disposable diapers won't hurt your little guy on his skin, but it is gross and not too healthy if it gets ingested. Good luck!
H.

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W.A.

answers from Honolulu on

Huggies Overnights. It holds an amazing amount of pee without exploding.

As for the crystlas they are harmless and non-toxic (our two pediatricians said no worries)...so dont worry. I dont think there is a single mother who hasnt found crystals leaked out of a diaper. Cloth diapers are great for day time but it's hard to handle the amount of pee a 1 year old puts ut in the middle of the night. The overnights aregreat and worked wonders.

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E.T.

answers from Los Angeles on

Try huggies overnights. They work great.

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D.M.

answers from Los Angeles on

The gel pieces should be okay on the skin but not ingested. I'd try another diaper brand. I had to do that with all three of my kids: my daughter was Huggies, my first son was Pampers and my third was the store brand! Good luck!

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T.M.

answers from Los Angeles on

We've never had a diaper explode like that, but my daughter's (22 mos.) disposable diapers were always leaking at night (she sleeps 12 hours) until we switched to Huggies Overnites. They work great & I've never seen a gel crystal (let alone exploding) no matter how heavy it gets.

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K.M.

answers from Los Angeles on

That happened a couple of times with us - well once was when we didn't have swim diapers and we used a regular one. I'm sure it is not harmful. I would suggest Huggies Overnights for bedtime, that's what we did with our first and second child and they absorb so much better. I prefer Pampers during daytime because they just seem more flexible, stretchy and comfortable for walking around, etc.

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J.W.

answers from San Diego on

Hi, I use extra microfiber inserts at night. That might help with leaking.

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P.R.

answers from Santa Barbara on

I would think that any danger from that gel would come from consistent exposure, and one time like this probably can't cause long-term repurcusions. I'm sure you wiped him well; I probably would have used a warm, wet washcloth rather than wipes (seems like they get that stuff off better). I can't remember which brand it was, but there was one that left behind a residue pretty consistently when my daughter was a baby. I stopped using it because I didn't like to constantly expose her to that stuff, not knowing *exactly* what it was. Yes, disposable diapers make me nervous and cause me to feel guilty, but cloth diapers are not for everyone.

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A.S.

answers from Los Angeles on

Let go of the disposables. And yes, it is very bad for it to be all over him like that, but not much you can do about it other than eradicate future exposure.

I wish I could find the links for you on the 'net, but there has been research that links disposable gel diaper usage to male infertility.

The best thing you can do is just stop using disposables and see if you can get a bit more control over his late night feeding schedule. My daughter was also a big peer. I tried 7th Generation and they leaked just like a cloth diaper. I also tried a brand whose name I cannot even remember-yikes--but it was at Whole Foods and worked like a charm. Their disposables aren't so bad either. You have to buy one size up, maybe even two.

good luck,
-A.

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A.M.

answers from Los Angeles on

Those gel crystals are gross but not dangerous!! The ONLY diaper that I will use at night are Huggies overnights! They work the best and both of my sons (34 months and 10 months) can wear them for 11-12 hours and NO GEL beads and they rarely pee through (and they both take a bottle/sippy cup at bed)!! Good luck!!
p.s. you can get the Huggies Overnights mostly anywhere. They have them in size 3-6. I get mine at Wal-mart, or Target, or even Ralphs! :)

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S.E.

answers from Los Angeles on

Hi S.,
My son is almost 5, but I remember that gel-type substance happening with one brand in particular. It's been awhile, but I think it was Pampers. The urine also seemed to smell more. I'm pretty sure I didn't have that problem with the Huggies. Hope that helps.

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R.J.

answers from Honolulu on

sounds yucky!

i also use cloth diapers during the day and disposables at night. i've been using "seventh generation", a brand i got at the health food store, with no problems. it doesn't use bleach. also i know there is a gel free brand also at the health food store. i think it's by tushies? i can't remember the name, but they carry them everywhere. apparently there are some health risks for gels and bleach, but i don't know details.

good luck!

R.

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A.R.

answers from Los Angeles on

I too cloth diaper. We use fitteds and covers during the day. At night I use pocket diapers stuffed with a fitted diaper. My son nurses all night long and we have had few leak issues. The inserts are not absorbent enough for him but the fitted diapers do the job.

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E.K.

answers from Los Angeles on

Hi S.,
Pampers are terrible! I've had so many blowouts with them I just use Bum Genius all the time (my baby doesn't sleep as long as yours does).
I remember those gels on my 1st DD. I didn't like the thought of all those gels all over her, so we switched to Huggies(great disposable) and then to cloth.
I just worry about plastics in diapers(and toys, etc). We know that some plastics contain hormone altering chemicals and that is something I don't want anywhere around my kids.

Maybe you could use a doubler or two with the Bum Genius?
I guess I would use Huggies for a disposable, and try to find a big ol' doubler for at night.

Good Luck!
E.

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