After all that, it wasn't a yeast rash - it's seborrhea!

[emmasmama]

For anyone else who has trouble with diaper rash, I thought this information might be useful! The same thing that causes cradle cap was causing this awful rash on DD's bum and after 4 trips to the pediatrician and being treated 4 times for yeast over the course of 5 weeks, it turns out that DD was misdiagnosed the whole time. We finally got a diagnosis of seborrhea from a pediatric dermatologist yesterday.

It's a kind of dermatitis similar to eczema, from what I understand, and it runs in families (it turns out my sister had it all over her torso as a baby, so there's the connection). Apparently it can easily be confused with a yeast rash because it can also start out in a ring shape, or with sharply demarcated lines along the edge of the rash and it gets horrible and red and spreads all over the diaper area. Regular creams don't get rid of it.

We now have a prescription for a steroidal anti-inflammatory and also for Elidel (which is also used for eczema).

Just thought this info might help someone else who is having what doesn't seem to be a run-of-the mill type diaper rash.

So, I can finally stop obsessing over washing my diapers in boiling water! Although now I guess I'll know how to deal with it if we ever do have yeast or thrush ;)

[toomanystrollers]

Laurie,
What a relief to finally have an answer!
Wishing you a cute, rash-free baby behind :)

[liya]

Yayyyy finally some answers soon she will be in cloth again!!!

[blnony]

Well, its nice to know the problem now! :)
We had to take A. to a ped. derm too for her eczema that our ped. kept thinking was "rug burn" and my DH actually took pictures of her crawling to show our ped. that she didn't even use that portion of her leg to crawl! :)
So...are you going back to cloth now? And...you'll have to let us know how the rash is looking now that you are treating correctly. I'm so sorry that you've been through such grief from this...and your poor babe...but now...it should be smooth sailing! :)

[emmasmama]

Rug burn? It's not like we're the only ones who have had to deal with eczema, dermatitis, etc... I'm surprised the peds aren't more aware of it, but I guess it's more difficult to diagnose. I just wish we'd gone to the ped derm sooner after all that aggravation... I feel guilty that I put poor DD through all that.

We're definitely going back to cloth now... the ped derm says the type of diaper makes no difference, nor does the type of formula, so I can go back to the Enfamil as well (goodbye stinky Good Start poop!)

Goodbye smelly sposies too!!

[emmasmama]

Oh, just an interesting side note - the ped derm said that seborrhea is more common in babies who grow very quickly. My DD jumped from the 25th to 75th percentile between her one month and two month appt and not sure what she is at now, but she's about 15 lbs at 4 mos, so on the bigger side. I guess it's a lot for their little bodies to adjust to, all that crazy growing!

[gravymommy3]

I bet you dollars to doughnuts that THE PRINCESS (aka Hayden) has this too. I know she does not have yeast, yet her bottom is totally inflammed. I will ask the ped. on her 2 year check up. Thanks for the heads up. We already have Elidel so I may put a little on her and see what happens.

Thanks again

[emmasmama]

Let me know what happens... we are using the Elidel twice a day, but so far, not a huge change, which is frustrating. The ped derm said that it could take a while to get better (i.e. weeks, not days), but I'm so tired of putting her through all this. She screams every time I put the steroid cream on her, which she also gets once a day to try and bring down the inflammation, so I may call them tomorrow just to make sure that everything is ok.

What they told me to do as the protocol for treating this when it flares is Triamcinolone (steroid anti-inflammatory) once a day for 3 days to bring down the inflammation (no more than 3 days because it can thin the skin) and then also to do Elidel twice a day for as long as it takes to clear up the rash.

HTH,

[gravymommy3]

Some steroid creams burn more than others. See if they will prescribe Dermatop, which is rumored to be less stinging. See if they have any samples you could try...

Good luck. I know about the screaming during diaper changes. Tears at the heart...

[emmasmama]

Thanks! I will ask about the Dermatop if I don't see an improvement soon. Today is her last day with the steroid cream, and the Elidel doesn't seem to bother her. We had a reg ped appt this morning and she said it looks like it's getting better because some of the bad skin is peeling away now. To me it looks awful, but I guess the peeling skin and dark patches mean it's healing. The ped also told me it was okay to give her some tylenol for discomfort, so that made me feel a little better.

I have cried so many times about this rash - I know what you mean.

[emmasmama]

Just wanted to give an update about the Elidel - it worked great! It actually only took about a week and pretty much all of the bad skin has peeled away and her butt looks almost 100% normal. So, that stuff is not an overnight miracle, but I'm still really impressed by the one week turnaround because her butt looked REALLY bad! Anyway, I highly recommend this stuff for anyone else who has an eczema/sebhorrea problem.

We were also really diligent about giving her "sitz" baths in the sink with some lukewarm water and about a 1/4 cup of baking soda, a few times a day. This also seemed to help alot.