How to Change a Diaper without Gagging or Vomiting | 10 Nausea-Soothing Tips
If you’re a parent or a caretaker and the thought of a messy diaper change makes you queasy, you aren’t alone!
No one really prepares you for the potential nastiness of diaper changes — it’s really something you have to witness to believe. You’ll be thinking how sweet and cute your baby is when out of nowhere the foulest smell emits from their diaper and you know it’s go-time.
If your nausea and queasiness rise to level 10 at the slightest whiff of a dirty diaper, this post is for you. Keep reading for our top 10 tips on how to change a diaper without gagging or vomiting.
The Classic Shirt-Over-the-Nose Trick
The easiest and one of the most effective ideas on this list – simply pull your shirt over your nose and dive in.
While it may still look like a mess, the material of your shirt or sweater will hopefully block the majority of the stench. If you’re extra-sensitive, try a thicker material to block more of the smell.
Practice Diaper Changing To Increase Speed
Diaper changing can be quite a lofty task, especially if it’s a messy one, and wipes galore are necessary for cleanup.
Try practicing diaper changes so you can become a quick expert at wiping, fastening, and tossing.
Throw the messy diaper and dirty wipes into your diaper pail as quickly as possible. Then, you could take your baby to another room to get them dressed to get away from any lingering smells.
Related post: How to change a baby girl’s diaper. Use these easy tips to change diapers like a pro!
Hold Your Breath
Once you’ve increased the speed that you can change a diaper, holding your breath is a great way to avoid breathing in anything too stinky.
If you start to get dizzy or panicky, don’t keep this up. Your baby needs you upright, after all!
Mask Up
Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.
Chances are good you have a spare mask lying around these days… time to put it to good use at home!
Leave the mask in the diaper changing station in the baby’s room so you don’t have to run to the kitchen to grab it in a pinch.
Thicker material masks, like these cloth ones (click to view on Amazon), will block more of the scent than a surgical mask.
Diffuse Scents
If your baby is notoriously stinky, do some research and find baby-friendly essential oils (like these ones from Amazon) you can diffuse in their room.
Scents like orange, lemon, and lavender will filter out some of the smell by cleaning the air and covering the smell of fresh poo.
Essential oils can also promote calmness before sleep, so they’re a parenting win-win.
Or combo them up with the previous tip and put a small dab of essential oil onto your face mask.
Related post: How To Cut Your Baby’s Nails When They Won’t Let You
How To Change A Diaper Without Gagging- Breathe Through Your Mouth
If stink-related nausea is keeping you from effectively changing poopy diapers, this tried-and-true trick is worth a shot.
It’s a solid argument — you can’t smell what you don’t breathe in!
Your mouth has fewer smell receptors than your nose, so don’t worry… you won’t taste the smell. Can you imagine? Talk about gag-worthy!
Eat a Breath Mint or Ginger Candy
If you’re a mom, you probably remember all too well the debilitating nausea associated with early pregnancy.
Ginger candies are a go-to for many pregnant women to keep nausea at bay. If poopy diapers trigger waves of nausea for you, give ginger candies a try while you’re in the war zone.
If ginger candies aren’t your style, any standard breath mint can also do the trick. Focus on the taste in your mouth and let it distract you from the baby’s diaper.
Related post: How To Babyproof A Fireplace
Try Mint-Scented Chapstick To Change a Diaper Without Gagging
Mint scents are popular for keeping nausea at bay, so invest in some mint chapstick or lip balm and apply it fresh right before you change a stinky diaper.
If it’s not working, try pursing your lips so they are right under your nose, and taking deep breaths. What in the world would we do without peppermint?!
Related post: How To Wash A Toddler’s Hair Without Crying
Scented Diapers
Diapers infused with gentle scents to help detract from the other foul smells that are waiting for you. Both Pampers and Luvs (click to view on Amazon) are lightly scented. Pampers are a premium diaper, and Luvs are more budget-friendly
Related post: Which diaper is right for your baby- Pampers Swaddlers or Baby Dry?
Related post: Luvs Diaper Review
Scented diapers may work for some, but if your baby has sensitive skin or often breaks out from creams and wipes, it may be better to avoid scented items and find another trick.
Spray Febreze
As you change your baby’s diaper, have a bottle of Febreze on hand to spray (you can get Febreze with scented oils here on Amazon!) nearby or start spraying as you enter the room.
Some people get more nauseous if they mask stinky odors with clean smelling sprays, so test this one out and make sure you don’t feel sick with the combination of scents.
FAQ- How to change a diaper without gagging or vomiting
Is changing a diaper gross?
Changing a diaper is one of the grossest parts of taking care of a baby. Stinky diapers are a necessary evil — they are a sign of a well-balanced diet, a functioning digestive system, and a healthy baby.
Do we love to see poopy diapers? As parents and caretakers, poopy diapers are part of the job. But that doesn’t make them any less nasty. Luckily, there are some tricks and tips you can try to make the experience less vomit-inducing.
Can changing a diaper make you sick?
Changing a diaper can make you feel sick, especially If you are easily nauseated and smells are known to make you ill.
Particularly for pregnant women and people with weak stomachs, dirty diapers are a common trigger for nausea and vomiting.
It’s also important to wash your hands after changing diapers to avoid the spread of germs and avoid getting sick.
Wrap Up – How to change a diaper without gagging or vomiting
If this is a trigger for you, test out a few of the ideas listed and find something reliable that works when you need it. There’s really no way around dirty diapers if you take care of a baby… the only way out is (not literally) through!
At the end of the day, changing dirty diapers is just one of the many sacrifices we make for our children. Hopefully, this list gives you some ideas on how to combat nausea so you can get through the dirtiest diaper change quickly and without losing your breakfast.
Good luck and happy diaper changing!