Horrible diaper rash advice needed ASAP!!

[ShanaMama]

DD has a horrible diaper rash for over a week now. I tried everything- Balmex, Triple Paste, Desitin, Aveeno....
Any other fabulous diaper rash creams that your swear by?
At this point it is blotchy with open sores, which is when the ped tells me to start mixing Bactroban with the diaper rash cream. I've been doing that for 3 days now, & no improvement. (except poor DD shrieks when she realizes she's about to be changed, and all through it of course! :( )
A couple of weeks back we realized that rash was actually a yeast infection, and started treating it with Lotrimin. It cleared up sooo quickly! But I tried that for the first couple of days on this rash (can't keep them straight anymore! ;)) and no progress. I'm not sure it would be a good idea to mix Lotrimin & Bactroban, + I don't want to use heavy stuff for no reason.

IF you're still with me, thanks. & please help. My heart breaks to wipe her & know how much it hurts... I am using Pampers Sensitive wipes- are there better ones out there?
Any suggestions would be great.... TIA

PS- She gets these rashes pretty regularly. Any prevention suggestions?

[SeekerMage]

First of all forget about the wipes for right now, even the sentivie ones make a sore bum hurt. A wipe, washcloth, or soft paper towel like viva and warm water is much better. Or just rinse the wipe of really good to get all the stuff off it.

Second if your nursing breastmilk on the rash will help clear it up as well as lots of naked butt time, even for a bit in the sun. Make sure to air out the bumm good before adding any cream too. Also maybe try switching diapers, maybe there is something in the diapers you are using that she is prone to getting a rash from. For relief lots of soakes in the tub with baking soda (I think I read somewhere three times a day?) will help....heck sit her in the sink and let her soak. For other creams I like the bourodoux butt paste if you havent tried it. Oh, I have also tried neosporin on the sores and then covered that well with desitin or some other good waterproof cream and it seemed to help. I find make sure to put a good layer of cream on the skin since the diaper absorbs it and wipes it away.

For prevention applying aquafore or vaseline to every diaper change and making sure she is good and dry before adding it shoudl help. Also try and change frequently...sitting in the wet diaper with all those chemicals (if you use disposies) will only aggrivate it.

If letting her air out, doing the bath soaks etc and it still doesnt get better in a few days I would take her back to the dr and check for yeast or other problems. Hope that helps!

[ShanaMama]

Thanks, I will definitely try some of those suggestions.
She is in daycare during the day, so I don't know how realistic it is to let her air off after each diaper change, but I can at least do it at home. They'll definitely put on any cream I give them though.
I have used Pampers Cruisers since day 1, and am not doing cloth diapers in this lifetime. (No offense intended, just not my speed!!)
Any disposable diapers recommendations that can be better?
Thanks so much!

[JBaxter]

Ditch the wipes. Id make some by cutting a roll of Viva paper towels in half then removing the cardboard center keep them in a plastic container w/ just water.

My youngest had the open sored diaper rash and I went through all the diaper creams ( triple paste & mylanta mix worked pretty well) but he was sensitive to something in the disposable diapers. Thats why I switched to cloth for him I just could stand to see his bottom sore all the time. For him it worked.
You may want to try Tushies brand diapers they are supposed to have less chemicals.

I would try to leave the diapers off as much as I could at nights and weekends.

[schums]

Sorry to hear about DD's diaper rash. We went through the same thing with DS, and it wasn't fun. With DS, we tried found that different types of dipes caused varing levels of rash. For us, the only brand that consistenly DIDN'T give him a rash was Pampers Baby Dry. I'm not sure why or what the difference between Baby Dry and Cruisers was/is, but if he was in cruisers for more than 1-2 dipes in a row, we had a wicked nasty diaper rash (open sores and all). Huggies weren't as bad, but still caused the rash. We used the creamy Desitin on his bottom all the time, and had a prescription from the ped for when it got really bad (rarely after we found a diaper that worked). Also, we tried to be really good about changing his diaper frequently, and definitely allowed as much naked time as possible when the rash flared up. A waterproof crib mattress pad under DS worked wonders when we did this (before he was mobile of course).

Good luck and HTH. I know how hard it can be!

Sarah
Mom to Alex (3/2002) and Catherine (8/2003)

[millerpjm]

My Dr. prescribed a cream for DS...the label says Nystantin, but I think there's a mixture of 3 things in it (sorry, I'm at work and don't have the jar). I would ask your ped for a prescription. For over the counter, I use a jar of stuff called Paladin. That's GOOD stuff too.

As far as wipes, when DS had a diaper rash with open sores, the ped (different one) told us not to use wipes/cloths at all. Rinse with warm water only. If you have a sink with a sprayer, try that. If you don't, like we didn't, this is what we did, and it was a lot gentler than wipes. To change a diaper, I would lay DS down on the bathroom counter near the sink on a folded up towel/towels, with a couple of paper towels under his bottom. To rinse, I used my peri bottle from the hospital, filled with lukewarm water, and gently squeezed to rinse him off. Any poop was caught by the paper towels and disposed of. Pat dry as gently as possible, and re-diaper.

Hope that helps!

Jen

[Mommy Of A Little Angel]

My DD got a horrible yeast infection from antibiotics and her bottom was also horrible. Our doctor gave us a prescription for the Nystatin like the PP suggested. We had to go through two whole tubes to get rid of it all so make sure you get at least one refill if you do ask for it. Also, as far as diaper changes we used the peri-bottles that the hospital gives you for post partum care. We filled them with warm water and pretty much hosed her down over the sink. We then patted her dry with paper towels and re-diapered her. The wipes were too horrible to use and I think that not using them actually sped up her healing time. Hang in there, it does get much better! Hope your little one feels better soon!

[ShanaMama]

Thanks everyone for your help. We actually went to the ped today for something else, and he took one look & said- it's fungal. So he gave me an antifungal which he said is great. I hope it works soon!
I am going to implement your suggestions anyway, because she is so uncomfortable. I've been cleaning her with warm water & paper towels (just patting dry) and letting her crawl around in her birthday suit.
We got our first puddle in the kitchen tonight!
Thanks for all your input- it's good to hear we aren't the only ones going through this. I hope it clears up soon.

[10mikeemikee]

I always use a blowdryer with the "cool shot" setting on low to completely dry DD before putting on Desiten at every diaper change. She has extremely sensitive skin & since we have been doing this we have not had one diaper rash. Good Luck.

[10mikeemikee]

I always use a blowdryer on LOW with the "cool shot" setting (NO HEAT) before applying Desiten at every diaper change. Not one rash with this method.

Remember that rashes with yeast/fungi are difficult to get rid of. Anything touching the area i.e. CD's has been contaminated with the yeast/fungi and must be heated to kill them. Otherwise even though you put Nystatin or any other ointment on the babies bottom the infection is still on the diaper. Use very hot water and a very hot dryer for laundering the CD. Otherwise at the next diaper change baby will again be exposed. Good Luck.

[MarisaSF]

>am not doing cloth diapers in this lifetime

My DD (in cloth diapers) currently has a rash similar to what you described. So don't feel that CDs would be an insta-cure.

FWIW, titanium dioxide creams (we've used Aveno) make DD's rashes worse. Aquaphor has helped in the past and we're using it now.

I feel your (and your child's) pain. I am haunted by the sight of DD's rash. Poor baby!

ET clarify.

[MarisaSF]

>Remember that rashes with yeast/fungi are difficult to get rid
>of. Anything touching the area i.e. CD's has been contaminated
>with the yeast/fungi and must be heated to kill them.
>Otherwise even though you put Nystatin or any other ointment
>on the babies bottom the infection is still on the diaper. Use
>very hot water and a very hot dryer for laundering the CD.
>Otherwise at the next diaper change baby will again be
>exposed. Good Luck.


Thanks for this wisdom! I hadn't thought of that and will need to do it.
Oh... and welcome to the BBB! :)