That Nighttime Diaper's Causing Terrible Diaper Rash

[Kieransmom]

Any ideas on helping me get rid of my son's diaper rash? He's almost 8 months old and sleeps from 7:30 to 5:30. Recently he started getting a terrible diaper rash that Balmex, Desetin, Medicated Powders, baths and exposure to air isn't helping. It is because some mornings he has a poopy diaper and sitting in it is irritating his skin. Now, I'm considering possibly waking up in the middle of the night and changing it but; A) he's not one who will go back to sleep easily and B) I'm suffering from terrible insomnia and it takes me 2 hours to get to sleep. I'd end up being a zombie the next day. (sometimes to the point where I become dangerously clumsy) Hmmm....so, any ideas? :-)

Michelle
Mommy to Kieran, born 5/9/03

[houseof3boys]

Have you taken him to the doctor to make sure it is diaper rash? Could be a staph infection, could be allergic reaction to something Kieran ate. Is it a new diaper or a new bag of diapers? You might try Triple Paste cream for the rash instead of traditional cremes. It is behind the pharmacy counter but you don't need a prescription.

I wouldn't want to start changing his dipe in the middle of the night because that might wake him up completely and then you'd really be tired!!!

I hope it gets better soon. :)

[Kieransmom]

We did it! We finally got rid of this diaper rash! It took constant diaper changes...almost hourly regardless of how little pee/poop was in there in there. We used Gold Bond's baby diaper powder and switched that up with Desetin and gave him baths in the Aveeno oatmeal bath. Yay!

Michelle
Mommy to Kieran, born 5/9/03

[TeshaH]

When my son was two months old he had a terrible diaper rash with open sores. We tried everything to get rid of it. A friend of mine told me to soak a paper towel in breast milk and put it in his diaper. We tried it and noticed a huge difference with in 24 hours!

[duesept05]

My daughter is three months old today (I can hardly believe it). We use Aquaphor Healing (by Eucerin) on every diaper change and have yet to see any rash or redness. It is supposed to also work well for the treatment of diaper rash.

[Illucid]

Any ideas? Yes. Get up and change your baby's diaper so that he does not have to sit in feces for extended periods of time. The acidity from the poop is causing his skin to break down and open up (rash). Of course, this hurts a great deal so the diaper change is a simple solution for him. As for you, if he sleeps for a solid 10 hours straight, I seriously doubt that a night time diaper change should put you out too much, even with said 'insomnia'.

[hudsonam]

Definitely try Triple Paste. It really works wonders.

[lmkirche]

Absolutely do not wake your child to change his diaper. How ridiculous. Doing so will mess up his and your sleep rhythms and is not a good habit to get your child into. Definitely talk to your pediatrician about what to do. Your child's skin might need more than just a preventative barrier, but possibly an anti-fungal. Talk to your pediatrician.

[hudsonam]

When my son had terrible diaper rash, we were able to get it under control without waking him to change it in the middle of the night. Part of the problem was what I was eating as I was breastfeeding. What we did, aside from me changing my eating habits, was change him frequently during the day, try to let him air out as much as possible, run a hairdryer on cool over his bottom before putting his diaper back on, use only wet, soft paper towels like Bounty instead of baby wipes, and definitely the Triple Paste. HTH!

[NJ Mom]

2 babies & 10 foster babies later:

1. Change diapers right after they are soiled/pee'd in. You wouldn't want to sit in your poop; why should the baby sit in his? Use Brand X diapers to save cost. You seem to know the root cause of this rash---sitting in a poopy diaper.
Sorry about the insomnia; just wait til he is a teen & you are waiting for him to come home!

2. If you are nursing, cut the acid foods out of your own diet. In my case it was me drinking OJ & eating oranges that gave the baby flaming, open sore diaper rash. It only happened during the baby's early months.

3. 8 months? What is *he* eating? Anything that leads to rashes? Keep the acid foods out of his evening meal & see if that helps.

4. Baby wipes have alcohol in them. Not good for rashes! For the first weeks, and whenever there was a rash, we used cotton balls & water in a little custard cup of warm water, to wash baby's bottom. You put some warm water from the tap into the cup when you pick up the baby to change him. After washup, pat bottom dry with toilet paper.