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View Full Version : Diaper Rash Delimma!



Karenn
04-28-2003, 04:35 PM
Help!
Colin has had diaper rash on and off for the last few weeks. He's never really had it at all before now. It seems to be the "ring of fire" type of rash. For a while, it was seeming to corelate with his consumption of wheat or cheese. We eliminated both items from his diet, rash went away. We added back wheat, and the rash came back. We took out the wheat, waited a week and added back cheese and the rash came back. So, I thought I had it solved, but then yesterday, he hadn't consumed any wheat or cheese for 7 days (or anything new for that matter!), and he got another diaper rash. So now I'm questioning everything.

Is it the cloth dipes?

My detergent?

Am I not changing often enough? (When he's in cloth I change every 2 hours or every poopie dipe, whichever comes first. And I KNOW when the poops come! :) )

Is he just more sensitive to "big boy poops"?

Is it yeast? (I don't think so because it clears up with desitin.)

Can you all think of any causes I might be missing? I'm befuddled and disappointed because I'm thinking that I'm going have to go back to disposables until I get this figured out. (He seems not get a rash as frequently in disposables, though he does get them.) TIA for any ideas!

Calmegja
04-28-2003, 05:20 PM
Okay, a few thoughts....

The Desitin could be causing a problem, because the fish oils leave a residue in the dipes, and could be causing irritation. Desitin is a no go for cloth dipes, usually because they add stink and stain, but it also can irritate your baby by not letting your diapers get as clean as possible....

Doesn't sound like yeast, because it wouldn't clear very easily with just a barrier cream. I've only had one baby with a rash issue (baby #4), and we finally found out that if I dust his little bum with cornstarch at every change, we don't have rashes. Didn't matter, cloth or sposie, fleece or no, he needed a little bit of powder to protect his skin, and he was good to go. I love creams, I love Aquaphor, and use it occasionally, but my standard is powder. Sometimes creams can just keep a baby damp, and the moister skin can be a magnet for a rash. And what works for one baby may not work for the next. Isn't it fun? ;-)

Your food guesses sounded straight on, but food sensitivity rashes are usually red rings around the anus....is that the rash you are talking about? I'd also be inclined to think that wasn't the culprit, either, because of what happened with re-introduction and elimination.

All of the above are admitted guesses, but it's my best guess....;-)

MelissaTC
04-28-2003, 07:50 PM
My son is very close in age with yours and has been experiencing the same thing. In fact, my friend's dd whose dob is 5/29/02 is experiencing the same thing. So is her friend's son who will be one any day now. I think it is the food and the change in their diet. Matthew has been trying all kinds of table food (more like he is grabbing and eating before I can stop him). He never had a rash until a few weeks ago. Aquaphor cleared it up.

marit
04-28-2003, 11:19 PM
It also might be the soap that you're using. My friend's son had a constant diaper rash and they didn't know what to do (other than tons of desitin). Than someone told them to drop the Johnson & Johnson soap and voila! They switched to baby magic and the rash went away.

HTH,
Marit

sparkeze
04-28-2003, 11:22 PM
Does he eat any citrus foods? Oranges? Stuff like that? DS has had a rash for the past month and when we had it checked out at his 12 month checkup the doctor thought it was yeast, although she didn't get a good look at it because there was still a lot of diaper ointment residue on him. We were using nystatin for 3 weeks and it still wasn't going away so we went back and it wasn't yeast but just contact irritation. The doctor said sometimes too much citrus can cause it...and you know, right before he got that rash he had eaten a lot of mandarin oranges! (well, lots for a baby anyways)

Anyways, try hydrocortisone cream a couple times a day for 3-4 days. If that doesn't work it might be something else.

Karenn
04-29-2003, 12:46 AM
Thanks for the suggestions everyone. It gives me some ideas about what to look at next. I'd love it if I could find a solution that wasn't diet related! I think I might go soapless in the bath for a while and start using some sort of cream or powder at each change, regardless of whether or not he has a rash. Jessica: FORTUNATELY, I was warned about desitin and cloth dipes (it might have even been you in a previous post! :) ) so I only use it when he's in disposables.