terrible, terrible diaper rash

Both of the babies (13 months) have terrible, terrible diaper rashes that I've been unable to get rid of. They start to go away and then come back full force. Sarah's is like a strip of skin that is open and raw. Rachael's is fire-engine red all over. They are both gasping and screaming/crying in pain during diaper changes and while they are playing. I've already brought them to the doctor and we are using alternating between a nistatin cream and bacitracin cream (along with Vaseline). We've done baking soda baths, etc. too. This has been off and on for over a month (more I think). I feel soooo bad for them.

In addition, my 6 year old has a terrible rash down there too. I brought her to the doctor as well and we are using the same treatment on her, but no success. She is in terrible pain (just got up at 1am in pain again.) I just don't know what to do. I'm at my wit's end. We love our doc. He's so good, it's just that it seems like we've tried everything. He said to bring them in again if they are not better by next week.

Any suggestions? Please..we are desperate!

Shannon

 

A couple of thoughts (all of which you may have tried)

1) What type of wipes are you using? We had been using the Kirkland (Costco) brand which is unscented and hypoallergenic. Except, of course to my two. Both gave them a horrible reaction in the diaper area and it took us forever to try something different. Now we use the Target brand sensitive skin ones, and they seem to tolerate those much better. Or even just some plain water and a washcloth.

2) It may be worth trying a different type of diaper as well. Maybe they've developed a sensitivity to the ones you use (or the formula changed).

3) A cool blow from the hair dryer at each diaper change + some naked time might help. Do it on a non carpeted floor, or put down lots of towels

I know from experience this is a just horrible thing to deal with. Good luck!

 

aaah the diaper rash! We are in your world often! Especially Ryan when he is teething!

We don't use wipes anymore, and oatmeal baths help (just put some oatmeal in a nylon stocking so it's less messy).

Make sure it's not a yeast infection.

When we've ruled out everything else, we use cortisone cream a couple of times a day inbetween cream and it does wonders! I work at a hospital and they have something called "EPC" (extra protective cream-fancy name huh?), I haven't been able to find it anywhere else but it is s agreat barrier cream.

Good luck, it is awful!

 

:hug: I am sorry for you and your children for having to go through this.
Some of the things I found helpful (my DD can get a pretty mean diaper rash): using Pampers Thick Care Sensitive Wipes and only using them for poo changes. For pee changes I let them air dry or used a warm washcloth/paper towels. Definitely gave them plenty of time to air dry and limited acidic foods (that seemed to set off diaper rash for DD). I used a combo of Vaseline and milk of magnesia to take care of the rash. DD also had a fungal infection, I used Lomotrin (I think that's how that is spelled) on her when those happened.

 

good luck! one thing that we've started doing is just to smear vaseline on thier bums after every diaper change. if they are also red then I'll put a layer of diaper cream on top of that. it takes a few days, but you should see an improvement. I 2nd the no wipes, we use flannel wipes and water at every change (we cloth diaper so its not a big deal to wash wipes for me...)

I just got to thinking about disposable wipes... they are actually washable... so I wonder if you wash them and get all the solution out of them, then you may be able to put them in water and use them with your disposable diapers and then just throw out the wipe like normal... just a thought. they go through the wash and look almost like brand new when they come out...

good luck! have you started milk recently? or some other food that would cause the irritation? that's what our diaper rashes are always about it seems.

 

I agree with a lot of the advice above, except when mine got those really bad rashes, I didn't use wipes at all. I use a wet warm wash cloth. I have a ton of baby clothes that I use. I might try another diaper, but if you have not had problems in the past... I had to stick with the Pampers Baby Dry. Everything else gave DD a rash.

Finally, the key for us was that we could not use diaper creams/ointments with zinc in them. We used LOTS of aquaphor. I mean slather it on thick at every single diaper change and at night I'd do aquaphor covered with vaseline to create a really THICK barrier. Occasionally I'd use a bit of cortisone cream, but only if it wasn't bleeding at all and seemed bumpy rashy.

I hope you figure out what works for your LOs. I discovered the aquaphor cure from someone here on TS. We use it for everything now. GL!

 

we went through this in december and january... month long diaper rashes that were open and oozing even after using $300 diaper cream (vusion) that is basically an anti-fungal and zinc oxide. finally went back to the pedi and got some oral anti-yeast med (diflucan) that cleared it fast! what a great relief that was! hope your littles ones get relief soon!

 

Wow, if all 3 of your kids have a rash, then I would really look at their diet. You've gotten some great suggestions about how to treat the rash. Have your LOs been eating something new or different?

I really hope you figure this out soon! :hug:

 

aww I'm sorry!! I agree with looking at their diet and contacting the ped again. Maybe the meds they gave aren't strong enough.
We buy the over the counter antifungal cream and zinc oxide and that really helps when mine have a yeast diaper rash.
And I totally agree with the air time, naked naked naked LOL! I think that will heal it the fastest.

 

A few thoughts:

They may have yeast. I would try to explore that angle.

Don't use wipes at all. Treat it like a burn, don't even touch the skin rinse them under the tub. That's what we did when our have rashes. Only wipe if there is some poo that you can get off, and then use a wet cloth. Pat the skin dry with a towel--do not wipe it.

Let them run around in cloth diapers or training pants, so it can air dry.

Try feeding them less acidic foods, and I would also try to give them foods that firm up their stool (banansa, rice, toast, apples, cheese) until the diaper rash is better.

I've also found that powders combine with creams can make the barrier strogner. So we used butt paste and this powder called caldesene together, and they makes like a cake, which we do not wipe away. We let it wear off.

One of the best pieces of advice I got from my doctor is too treat it like a burn--we are generally taught not to touch or wipe burns, so that's how we approach it.

 

What works for us is Aquaphor, it that doesn't do it then we use Resinol. Resinol is behind the pharmacy counter, but you don't need a prescription.

 

Could it possibly be rectal strep? If all three of them have it, I wonder if when they're sitting in the tub or on the toilet, it's spreading to eachther. Abby's had this a few times (she never gets strep throat, she get it in her butt...lol).

We went through a really rough time with Abby recently and she had a rash there that went down her thighs that took 5 months to fix. It was awful. We ended up having to go on a really potent steroid cream and do a long taper wih less potent creams. It was treated so many different ways with antibiotics and creams and I think we used everything out there. We finally went to a dermatologist that helped us get it under control.

 

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I'm desperate! I'll try anything! My oldest daughter was tested for the strep but it came back negative, but good idea to check for that..I agree. I hope this clears up soon. The poor babies!
shannon

 

Hi Shannon,

We use the following recipe for "poop goop", a home-made version of a prescription diaper rash cream, submitted by a twins mom on another online site. So far it has worked well on really, really bad blister-like rashes. We use it only as needed and A&D the rest of the time. Here is the recipe cut and pasted from her email -

If you want to make the goup, I had two recipies and being the experimenter myself I found this one works the best: so here goes, and yes it is messy so dedicate a tupperware to it and a spoon 'cuz it's hard to get off. Hydrocortozone, Lotromin, Mylanta (yeah weird I know), A & D or Desitin. Do equal parts of each and mix well. Watch how much mylanta though, that stuff is hard to mix in. i buy the target brand, MUCH cheaper, and don't be afraid to cake it on. The mylanta neutralizes acid in urine, lotromin kills fungal/bacteria, no idea what the hydrocortozone does now that I think about it but my ped said to do it so I did...and the desitin or a&d holds it all together. I just used and old tablespoon and to tell you the truth I don't even measure anymore, just add a tube of each (maybe 3/4 tube of A&D or what ever I have at hand) SLOWLY mix in the mylanta. I use a tupperware the size of a muffin, works great. Good luck diaper rash is no fun!

It's so hard to watch your little ones suffer. Hopefully it will heal quickly!

Angela

 

We always found that A & D works well, too. However, I think pure lanolin is the best. A & D and Aquaphor contain lanolin, but mix petrolatum with it. We've used Lansinoh (pure lanolin) and it works miracles! Good luck.

 

we had the same thing, but once we started VUSION cream, it all cleared up....good luck!

 

Chamomile tea, I know that sounds weird.

In the early days my daughter had really bad nappy rash so I would brew up some chamomile tea and put it in a jar next to the changing table (it apparently soothes the skin). I would stop using the wipes and clean her with the tea using a cotton gauze and then use butt paste and it would clear up fairly quickly. I then started buying the sensitive wipes (pampers), I know they are more expensive but after changing to the sensitive wipes I went for a year without any diaper rash up until last week. We had our first rash in a year last week but that was because we had been eating a lot of citrus fruit for a few days. As soon as I noticed a few sores forming I used an ointment a friend from England gave me, the main ingredient is Titanium Dioxide and the rash was cleared up within 24 hours.

I hope you find something that works for you soon.

Good Luck

 

try BORDOUX BUTT PASTE and try a different diaper. My two get bad diaper rashes at the SLIGHTEST thing. I have found the ONLY thing that REMOTELY works is the butt paste on every time we diaper, PAMPERS CRUISERS (not baby dry and DEFINITELY not HUGGIES anything. try and see what combo works for you! good luck. i feel yours (and their) pain!

 

Mine get some really mean diaper rashes, especially dd. The best ointment I have found is Burts Bees Diaper Rash Ointment. This clears it up almost overnight. I have also had success with the Butt Paste. Mine are sensitive to changes in types of diapers so we have to be careful with that. I also buy the hypoallergenic wipes and don't use them unless they are super wet or poopy. My dd gets a rash if she has mandarin oranges or anything that is this acidic. I agree with pp and would look at their diet, diaper types, etc.. This is not a fun thing, GL.

Jen

 

First of all if they have rashes I wouldn't use wipes at all, they sting like crazy, even the sensitive ones! (I know because I've had rectal issues and had to use wipes and OMG do they hurt!) So I would suggest a wet cloth and definately pat as much as you can and not wipe cause it will hurt less! (Water will still sting but it will be way less than the wipes!)

My secret weapon is corn starch! Sounds crazy but it works! When my LOs have diaper rash I sprinkle some on each diaper change and it works like a charm!

Hope things clear up for your LOs soon!

 

Well, I will add mine to confuse you even more. To soothe them I put them in a "sitz bath" like they do for women who give birth naturally. Dissolve a ton of salt in hot water in the bath or I use my large laundry sink, then make the bath. The water is nearly cloudy. I swear after I remove them it immediately looks better and they are so happy in the bath too. This helps to remove the urine / poop as well. I buy just cheap table salt.

There is an amazing cream here in Australia that doctors recommend. (even for cracked nipples in bf women) it is called "Paw paw" ointment. AMAZING STUFF. All natural paw paw, smells nice and soothing.

I second the cornstarch. Ask any older grandmother and they all say "cornstarch" it keeps the area dry. MOIST + HEAT = things grow. Cornstarch wisks the wettness away from them.

Even if you just try the sitz bath you will see some amazing improvement.

Heather

 

Oh and I agree fully on what someone else said too about the diet. Feed them BANANAS like they are going out of style. Rice -- try rice pudding, carrots.... anything to really bind them up. No NO NO NO prunes, peaches, plums, pineapple, squash, no oats, apple juice, pears, -- get them constipated for at least 3 days if you can.

Heather

 

What you're describing sounds like an acid burn with the open skin, not a yeast rash. We went through this when the girls had terrible boughts of diarrhea. You're doing most of the same things we did with the Nistatin, vaseline and baking soda baths. One other things we did was to put liquid mylanta or maaloxx in their diapers to neutralize any acids in the poop or pee and give their skin some relief. I also didn't use wipes, just a warm, damp cloth diaper or washcloth. Any of the zinc oxide based ointments will continue to dry the skin and burn, so you may want to avoid those. As a pp mentioned, naked time is also good. Messy, but good.

Good luck!