Diaper Rash Solutions?

DDD

Well-Known Member
A young former employee called today. Her younger daughter is 15 months and has a rash all over her booty and a little bit below. The MD doesn't know what else she can try. She's switched her to cloth diapers, used about eight different ointments and tried corn starch. She's trying to make sure that her diaper is changed asap after poop or wetness.

I remember using A&D ointment and corn startch with my first generation of babies. The gs's never had the problem. Any ideas on what else I could suggest? I did think of food allergies but evidently she does not exhibit any signs of problems other than her fanny. DDD
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
Air.

Harder to do in today's day-care generation, but... me ol' granny used to say... What on earth are you using diapers for anyway? (yes, she used them for at night, and for going "out" and for when company came...) She'd plop her kids down on the well-waxed floor, and just cleaned up any messes as they happened. By 15 months... she also had the training-potty out there... the girls tended to catch on quick, and did most of their business in the pot... but there were no diapers/pullups/undies to worry about - they just had to get there in time.
 

slsh

member since 1999
The Navy Hospital used to give us a cream but I cannot for the life of me remember what it was - had 3 ingredients. But post-Navy, Desitin was and still is my go-to remedy. Boo had a problem with a shearing sore on his buttock last year and the wound clinic dr. told us to use Desitin for that as well (I was freaking out because of the open wound in diaper area and my total paranoia about infection) - Desitin worked like a charm. It's a matter of getting a really *thick* layer (don't rub in, just slather on) to provide a total barrier.

With the shearing sore (and in the old days with diaper rash), we also exposed his posterior to air as much as possible. Used the Desitin when he was in his wheelchair or going to sleep, but the rest of the time we had him propped on his side, mooning us. ;)

Has the possibility of a yeast infection been ruled out? I'm thinking one of my boys had that when they were in diapers (probably Boo) - I remember using Monostat on the skin to clear that up, but it was a confirmed yeast infection.
 

keista

New Member
I was thinking yeast infection as well. You can use plain yogurt. If it makes it worse, then it's a bacterial infection and use neosporin.

I used neosporin on son because he had wicked diarrhea due to an unidentified apple juice allergy. Desitin would sting because he ended up with open sores.
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
Corn starch was my thought... Desitin made me break out in itsy-bitsy pimples. Not itchy hives... ZITS.

Zinc oxide *might* help. But air-drying is always best...
 

susiestar

Roll With It
Here is an remedy that was amazing for us and also is a perfect way to see if it is yeast. Mix liquid mylanta antacid and cornstarch into a paste and apply it to her bottom at each change. If the rash gets horribly worse in just a few hours you KNOW it is yeast because they will feed on the cornstarch and liquid mylanta. In that case, you switch to miconazole from the feminine supply area of the store - about five bucks for the generic kind. That will clear it up very fast if it is yeast. If it is NOT yeast then it is very likely an acid burn from the ph of the urine and feces and the liquid mylanta mixture will neutralize that better than anything else.

make double sure that the baby wipes are UNSCENTED - the other kind has fragrances taht are very hard on the skin. If at all possible, it is far better to use plain water on a soft paper towel (like Brawny NOT a store brand rough cheap towel - those are too rough on the baby's skin) or even a cotton cloth that you pitch or wash. (It is a GREAT way to get rid of your husband's old yucky stained tshirts - cut them up for disposable wipes and the menfolk can't dig them out of the trash to wear again, just a side benefit in my opinion.)

Depending on how sore she is, the momma may want to adjust the water in the faucet to where it isn't hot or cold and hust hold the baby's diaper area under the running water - it is better than even using plain water on a soft cloth - but you must be sure the water temp won't spike up.

Jess had the WORST diaper rash problems and a TON of yeast infections there and that mix of cornstarch/antacid was the fastest way to figure out what was causing it. You will make a yeast infection worse but then won't spend several days trying this and that remedy to figure out is it is yeast or not. For me, the fast route to knowing and proper treatment got my kid out of pain fastest even if for a short time the yeast flared badly.

Yogurt is fine to apply for a yeast infection, but you will get faster results from any of the OTC creams for yeast infections. I always got the cheapest one that did not come in pre-filled applicators - either miconazole or clotrimazole, didn't make a difference for us.

If this is a persistent yeast infection then the cause needs to be found. It could be not changing diapers often enough, not using a wipe when changing (for some stupid reason we had several people at the daycare J went to who thought it was fine to just take off the wet diaper and put on a dry one with-o wiping them off, but this tears up the skin super bad super quick.), an immune system issue, even a diet issue. I know quite a few kids who stopped getting nasty rashes when switched to soy formula or when mom cut out most dairy from her diet if they were nursing.

One function of diaper ointment is to provide a barrier between the child and the diaper. I couldn't use desitin because it was so hard to spread and it seemed to hurt when my kids had rashes. One of the best things we tried, after eliminating yeast as the problem, was to use an ointment or lotion with dimethicone. Gerber used to make a diaper ointment with this years ago, but I think they pulled it. I used the Monistat Chafe Relief ointment on my niece and it was awesome. The dimethicone is a type of silicone that will NOT hurt the skin and it stays in place and is a better barrier than the thick layers of cream that get wiped away. You don't need nearly as thick a layer. At one point I was out of the diaper goop with dimethicone and I grabbed Gloves in a Bottle hand lotion. It is one that is designed to stay in place even if you wash your hands for at least one handwashing anyway. The Gloves in a Bottle worked as well or better than the diaper cream with dimethicone because it also moisturized the sore tissue and helped soothe it.

Aloe vera gel can also help. Be SUPER careful to read the labels on any you buy. most of the ones sold for after tanning remedies have alcohol in tehm and it BURNS terribly. It is far better to stick to aloe straight from the plant.

Parents also MUST look at any changes in the diet - they actually should keep a log if it is an ongoing problem. One of the ways we diagnosis'd thank you's food allergies was by the hideous diaper rash he got after eating those foods.

If the baby bleeds or the rash doesn't clear up after a week or so, the pediatrician needs to know.
 

susiestar

Roll With It
The mom can try using a hair dryer set on cool and held 24 inches from the baby to help dry off the area and speed diaper changes. When jess was at her worst I held her under a hand dryer in a store - after knowing it hadn't blown hot air for years and testing it each time anyway - and she thought it was the funniest thing - used to giggle and giggle. I got a few strange looks but soon I saw other moms doing the same thing - and you could always tell it was us moms who were dealing with diaper rash. I kept a hand right under her tush so I could feel if the air started to get hot.

UV light is awesome for helping skin heal, so time naked out in the yard or in a room with lots of windows is NOT a bad thing. I know one doctor who suggested using one of those OTT lights that are sold for needlework and crafts if there was no sunlight or other factors kept the child out of the sun. Not sure the light was powerful enough to help, but it didn't hurt either.
 

trinityroyal

Well-Known Member
Tyrantina gets bottom-rash quite frequently. Usually it's an eczema variant, but occasionally it's thrush (which I think you call a yeast infection in the US).

Usually zinc oxide does the trick. If that doesn't work after a day, I switch to a product called Sudocrem http://www.sudocrem.com/can-eng/index.php which works very well on eczema and assorted other skin problems. If the sudocrem doesn't work after a day, then it's usu thrush and I switch to monistat or some other miconazole-based ointment.

Trinity
 

klmno

Active Member
Some babies get diaper rash easier than others because their skin is just more sensitive and my son was one- he would also get excema. I found the "breathable" type of Huggies diapers worked wonders for prevention- they are disposable but don't have plastic and I think they are pretty much a breathable cotton weave, but surpisingly they don't leak. No soaps or wipes that had scents or additives; no baby powder; change diaper as soon as it's wet/dirty; makes sure any cleaning (done extra gentle) is followed by a few mins of "air time" to thoroughly dry; apply A&D (not generic); and we're done! It wasn't as time consuming as it sounds but the diapers to prevent it were the key. Oh- and wash clothes in Dreft.
 
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Liahona

Guest
Cloth diapers made difficult child 2's rashes worse. We had to switch to disposables.
 

susiestar

Roll With It
Some diaper services will add baking soda to the wash and rinse water to change the ph in the cloth diaper to make it lower the acidity of the urine which is supposed to help a lot with diaper rash if you use cloth diapers. I only know because someone gave my aunt six mos of diaper service when she had her first kid. It didn't make much difference to them so I don't know if it helps or not.

We had to be careful about which diaper we used with each kid. Wiz had few rashes as long as we used pampers but when they changed the way they made them at one point he reacted horribly so we had to switch. Can't remember what we switched to. Jess could only use one type of huggies and with thank you is was only the walmart brand that worked. Not sure the name, but it was only carried by walmart.

in my opinion if this keeps going on they are looking at either a diet issue or eczema/psoriasis or just super sensitive skin that may be a long term problem - well past the diaper years.

If you can get her to do this, have her try to keep a journal of how often she changes the baby, what creams she uses at each change and what, if any, differences it makes. I would say that if cloth diapers didn't make a difference in a week or so then she needs to go back to disposable. Disposable diapers are just better at keeping moisture away from the skin. She may have to try a few different types to find one taht the baby handles well, but there is no way for a cloth diaper to keep moisture away from the skin as well as a disposable. Keeping the skin dry has to be a big priority.
 

DDD

Well-Known Member
The Mom is on top of the diaper change issue. There's no way the baby is left with soiled diapers. Wouldn't the pediatrician/Drknow if it were a yeast infection? According to her he says "he doesn't know what else she can try". Of course we live in a small community with-o the most sophisticated medical care. DDD
 

slsh

member since 1999
Wouldn't the pediatrician/Dr know if it were a yeast infection?
Oh my goodness - one would *hope* a pediatrician could tell the difference. Since pediatrician's resources appeared to have been stretched to the max, maybe a consult with- a dermatologist is in order.
 

mstang67chic

Going Green
My sister discovered that bananas gave her daughter a worse than normal rash. I don't know if it could be that with this youngun given her age but can't hurt to test various foods. There's also the Bordeaux's Butt Paste if she hasn't tried it.
 

Star*

call 911........call 911
She may have an allergy to laundry detergent and bath soap, shampoos.

Try asking her to swithching washing her things in DREFT as well as her sheets, and her wash cloths and towels that she is drying her off with. STOP using butt wipes. Start using plain water and a mild detergent like phisoderm or some other non-detergent washing agent that does not contain sulfama - or FB Marg and check and see what else could be used.

I was allergic to carpet and wool. Polyester made me itchy and to this day if I wear wool? I get a rash.

If she is SITTING outside in the yard in grass??? It could be the grass.

I'm more inclined to believe that her skin has been treated recently with SO much that it's just confused at present and needs time to either be confirmed as a bacterial infection in which she needs a good wash and an oral antibiotic. Or perhps it's a fungal and a topical ointment such as a a womans external anti-fungal (sold in every Dollar general for around $5.00) would do the trick.

I would say it's easily decided - buy the antifungal - put on one side of her inner thigh and if the rash goes away? She will know it's fungal (yeast) and then increase her intake of needed nutrition- best to talk to a nutritionist and find out what would be best for a baby her age. I'd say Gogurt - or yogurt but both are high in sugar. That may complicate the problem and if SUGAR IS the problem causing the rash/yeast infection (which may be - depending on if diabetes is common in their family and she hasn't been tested for juvenille diabetes and may want to be should this rash be a recurring thing or kindey problems) then I'd find a doctor in a bigger town that could give me some answers.

My niece had reocurring rashes all her infancy and had/ has kidney problems. Hope it's nothing serious but this is why everyone pitches in their knowledge.

And as far as reilief? A little tepid sitz bath of epsom salt for healing and a little baking soda for the itch - helps a lot.
 

keista

New Member
by the way my suggestion of plain yogurt for a yeast infection was not for eating - you rub it directly on. Eating it would take much longer to clear it up but good in preventing new ones.
 
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HaoZi

Guest
It could be her diet causing it, too. One thing that happened to me as a baby and to Kiddo as well, was tomato based or orange based stuff would cause severe diaper rash - even with immediate changes, the reaction was that fast and that bad. Check food for citric acid (used as a preservative in many foods) as well as the obvious sources. I think I ended up using Butt Paste for her rash, but it still took quite a while to heal.
 

DS3

New Member
This may sound a bit weird, but I have tried it, and it works great. Both of my boys got horrible diaper rash that regular desitin, a&d, or anything else over the counter wouldn't touch. So his psychiatrist told us to use athlete's foot cream. There are different types of rashes, and for my sons, they got fungal infections on their bottoms. If it was really bad, then also hydro-cortisone cream. Another over-the-counter that has helped to 'catch' it before it got too bad (could always tell when they were about to get it) was triple paste.

Hope that helps. And good luck!
 

susiestar

Roll With It
Often rashes from yeast and the acid in the urine/stool are hard to tell apart with-o putting the skin under a microscope. that is what the cornstarch and antacid paste will do in a day or less. Oddly, if she just goes to miconazole (women's yeast cream) the rash will get worse for about 24-48 hrs and then will get better. If you know it is yeast you can stay the course, but if you don't, you would change because it got worse so it couldn't be yeast. The miconazole cream will kill the yeast but the body will send the yeast from the lower layers of skin to the surface which is what makes it look worse at first. The antacid/cornstarch mixture will ONLY flare up the rash if it is yeast. Otherwise it will soothe the skin and neutralize the acid burn from the waste, keeping it from getting worse and treating the damaged skin that is there. You just need a bottle of generic liquid mylanta type antacid and cornstarch - under five bucks here.

It is the fastest way to get to the bottom of this. Once it is cleared up the child should have a cream applied at EVERY change - pref something with dimethicone or a similar product (what is in gloves in a bottle hand lotion that keeps it from getting washed off the second your hands get wet and makes it such an awesome hand lotion). This IS available in the Monistat chafe relief cream sold by the yeast creams for women.

I have used the Boudreaux's Butt Paste with all of my kids, but when a rash got this bad or had been around this long, the ONLY thing that we found that worked was to do the antacid/cornstarch thing and then either keep it up or go to yeast cream if indicated. I got it from a pediatrician who was MY pediatrician and also have been told about it by peds here in OK (NOT where I was born).

in my opinion if this rash is there for more than 2 weeks or so, a dermatologist needs to be consulted. One little girl that J was friends with when we lived in OH was diagnosis'd with psoriasis because she just couldn't get a rash to go away. Psoriasis is an autoimmune skin disorder that can have very serious complications in your life, so early diagnosis is key. It is far more likely that either food or something in the diapers/clothes/soaps are the problem, but it should be checked anyway. Eczema is similar to psoriasis and can also cause real problems, but it is a different mechanism and is usually only on the skin where psoriasis involves the entire body much of the time.
 
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