Mommy S.O.S. : Diaper Rash
May 12th, 2009 by ariana
Your responses to yesterday’s pity party for one post were just the pick me up that I needed.
Thank you to each and every one of you that took the time to post how you found your way here and what keeps you coming back. Not only does this help me feel like I “know” you better, but it also has been really enlightening.
For example many of you said that reading about certain struggles I went through was useful to you in some way. This makes me happy, because honestly – sometimes I feel like I’m just the worlds biggest complainer! But then I rationalize that if I’m going through it, somewhere out there in cyberspace either right now or years from now someone else will have the same issue and be able to learn from my experiences. Or perhaps more importantly, from your experiences in the form of the comments you leave me…
Because the other thing I learned from yesterday is that the value of all the advice I get from you doesn’t just help me, it helps all of us! Yes, it sounds rather obvious doesn’t it? I guess I’m just a bit slow ;)
So in honor of helping one another, and based on your suggestions I’m going to start posting reader’s questions. I wasn’t sure what to call this.. I thought about “Ask Becoming Mom” but really, even though it may SEEM like I think I know everything, I do know enough to know that I don’t! . So I figured Mommy S.O.S is more accurate. (Should it be “Reader SOS?” I’m open to any and all suggestions!)
Until I set up an area on the site where you can submit questions for Mommy SOS please just email me your questions at ariana@becoming-mom dot net. (And if you can put “Mommy SOS” in the subject line that will help me be more organized!)
As you may have guessed from the title of the post, today our topic is Diaper Rash: Meggin’s poor son Kirk has terrible diaper rash and They need our help!!
Despite the fact that, as JBhat put it, “we are going through the entire what to expect the first year book” this, thankfully, is one issue we haven’t dealt with yet. (Note to diaper rash gods: Please don’t smite Jasper with terrible diaper rash is punishment for my hubris! Please?)
Any sign of redness or irritation on Jasper’s bottom has been swiftly soothed by Weleda Calendula Diaper Care and I am a huge believer in Weleda Baby Care products in general (topic for another post). But, because we haven’t dealt with a bad or stubborn case of diaper rash, I don’t feel I am the most qualified person to ask..that’s where you come in!
So, mommies, what is your ace in the hole prescription for bad diaper rash?
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unfortunately ginny sometimes comes home from the sitter with diaper rash. ahhhh, poop.
I use california baby calming diaper rash cream. brilliant! it works with one application. I put it on after a tub and the next morning its gone. voila! and it smells good.
the BEST solution for diaper rash? cloth diapers!!!
Marybeth – me too! Great minds think alike ;)
By the way, I’ll be hosting a Weleda Baby giveaway on my website sometime soon! The company is truly fantastic to work with, and I can’t wait to share the products :)
Sorry I didn’t read this post earlier to comment. My son Jake (14 mo) has very sensitive skin and we’ve had big diaper rash issues…here’s what the dr. told us to do, and although I complained bitterly about it (http://doodlebuds.blogspot.com/2009/03/cooking-up-some-butt-paste.html), it does work….almost over night!
-1 tube Desitin
-1 tube Lortamin
-1 tube Cortaid
(and dr. said Malox, but I didn’t use it because it makes the mixture too runny, and Jake won’t lie still long enough for it to dry)
Good luck!
We’ve been using plain paper towels with water for 8 months and butt paste with every change. Haven’t had a diaper rash yet! *kncok on wood*
A&D worked for a while, but Luke started to get a rash after he started sleeping through the night. We found that Triple Paste and overnight Huggies diapers does the trick for us.
My daughter had pretty severe food allergies and would get that acid burn diaper rash occasionally and it would actually blister. It was terrible.
Our GI’s office recommended whipping up a batch of what they call “Magic Butt Cream” (seriously – that’s what they called it) which is basically one part zinc oxide based diaper cream (so one of the thick white diaper creams you can’t wipe off easily – something like Desitin or Burt’s Bees – not one of the oily/creamy ones), one part Lotramin or Monistat (in case there’s yeast at work), and one part antibiotic cream (Neosporin) so if there’s any blistering, you can lessen the chance of infection. (I’ve seen other recipes floating around on the web that also throw in a bit of Mylanta or Milk of Magnesia to help soothe the acid burn sensation, but I’ve never tried that.)
You just mix them all together – just make a small batch – enough for a few days worth of diaper changes and keep it in a covered container.
Resinol – hands down. My son has really sensitive skin and broken, oozing skin wasn’t oncommon at one point. Resinol was the only thing that worked. He wasn’t nearly as quick to heal with Desitin. We tried Butt Paste too. I swear it burned him. He was pitiful as he cried and tried to scoot away when I put it on.
I have found that A&D works the best and it’s cheap too.
Meggin-my oldest son had yeast infections a lot when he was a baby. His pediatrician said that some people are more prone to them than others. Dietary changes can help. My baby has been on antibiotics for several weeks (stubborn ear infections) and had a terrible rash. The Lotramin has been a lifesaver. He also had thrush and Gentian Violet works great for that if anyone’s wondering. Five kids and I didn’t know about this until my fourth. It stains everything but I have never had to use it more than once. Clears it right up. Works better than any prescription I was ever given.
Love the Mommy S.O.S. idea Ariana!
This sounds weird but works like magic! Slather in A&D and then sprinkle with corn starch based “baby powder” Best trick I ever learned!
JB, I’ll keep my fingers crossed for the 19th :)
Katie, that’s SO funny.. I have noticed in my site stats that like 50% of my traffic comes from that search, I couldn’t have planned that if I tried!
Meggin, I have also read that some really bad forms of diaper rash are yeast (candida) related and that was actually my first thought when you posted. I’m just glad that Kirk seems to be responding to the Lotramin! If you have capsules of probiotics or get a powdered form from the health food store you can sprinkle them right on the rash which might also help speed things along.
Wow! SO much GREAT advice.
The rash started last Monday. I put my Earth’s Best diaper cream on it but it was no better the next day. I was confused why this was happening since I change him often and usually know when he poops so he rarely sits in it. I called the Pedi and she said to cut out any acidy food, try Dr Smith’s diaper cream, keep him dry, let him be naked as much as possible and watch for open sores or bleeding. Over the next few days I tried Dr Smith’s cream, desitin and triple paste but nothing was working. I let him be naked when I was home during the day but as soon as poop touched it, he would get bad again. I went back yesterday and the Dr thought it turned into a yeast like infection!! I was sort of freaked out but when I asked all my mommy friends they reassured me that it’s not uncommon–PHEW!! I was feeling like a bad mom there for a minute. I put Lotramin on him and it is already getting better! I still don’t know why this happened– maybe teething?? I am just glad it’s getting better:)
Thanks for all the wonderful and accurate remedies!!!
Aquaphor! That’s what we use whenever Liv gets wicked diaper rash.
Ariana, get this. So the very day after you asked us about how we found you, I’m at work sneaking around online and googled “Buy Buy Baby coupon” and guess whose blog was the very first hit that came up?!?!? How nuts!
Chiming in again…thanks for the responses. She’s a girl and is due on 8/22. But I think she will come earlier than that for some reason. At least our kiddo came 2 weeks earlier than expected. But yes, 8/19 would be great! It’s also my sister’s birthday, and she’s a perfect Leo, which I just love.
And of course you should still do giveaways, and please, enter me as often as you like, especially for the good stuff. ; )
Re: naked time. We drape the floor (non-carpeted) in old towels and just let him go free for an hour or so at night. Now, this gets complicated with crawling, but like most things baby–you learn to endure messes. Once the body acclimates to the rush of “chill,” I think the urge to pee is not as great. We also keep to toys that can easily be washed. We have actually only had 1 “accident” and it was contained on the towel.
Also, if it is cold (although, given the season, not sure this is an issue), I highly recommend baby legs.
Lomitrin AF….yes…yes…that stuff you put on your feet….sounds strange but it works for these rushes that just won’t go away.
Naked time works well right after the bath while baby is loosely wrapped in a towel. It still allows the skin to breathe while keeping YOU protected :)
Adding about 1/4 cup of baking soda to the bath water and skipping soap helps to clear up diaper rash. That and a big smear of petroleum jelly made my baby’s bottom clear after just one night!
I think the biggest thing is to dry it up, then put a moisture barrier on there. That’s why A&D, Aquaphor and just plain Vaseline are tried and true treatments.
Ali, great advice.. so I’ve always wanted to ask about boys and naked time.. how long do you do it for, and how many “accidents” happen during that time? Jasper is such a peeing machine I can’t imagine doing this even though I think he’d love it!
jb, A&D is also what you slather on tattoos after you first get them both to protect against infection and soothe (i think?). I only know this because of Jeff btw, I don’t have any tatoos ;)
I’m so glad you like the new category! I have to warn you that I’m still going to do a giveaway once in a while.. and if it’s one that I LOVE and think you would too (i.e I’m trying to get weleda to give us a baby gift set!) I’m going to enter your name in even if you don’t ;)
I forgot your baby was due in August!! Is it around the 19th? Wouldn’t it be crazy if three of us (Kari’s Liam too) ended up with August 19th babies?
I second the “naked time.” When Miles has a red bottom, we go for a good portion of the day “sans diaper.” Making sure to keep moisture away from ths skin is essential. We have had great success with the California Baby diaper cream. BUT, we do cloth diapers at home, and you usually are not advised to use cream with cloth (issues of residue build up). That brings up my next point–Miles’s redness always clears when he wears cloth more than his disposables (we use Seventh Generation at daycare). This seemed counter intuitive b/c cloth does not seem to pull wetness away from the bottom as well as disposables, but they really do keep his bottom clear! So our own personal trifecta approach:
-Naked time
-disposables with CA baby diaper rash cream
-cloth diapers as much as possible
I love this new Mommy SOS!
We use the Burts Bee’s Diaper cream when I notice a flare up. and No wipes. Wet washclothes.
A & D ointment. It works for everything–rashes, redness, scratches, even as a lip balm. When our kiddo was a baby, I bought a huge tub of Desitin, used it once and never touched it again. So messy. But a little tube of A&D is our stand-by. Probably because my mom used it on us as kids.
Ariana, I think this new post idea is an outstanding one…especially since our new baby is coming in August, and I wasn’t planning on joining a new mommmy group. This will be my new mommy group!
Cecilia was having really bad diaper rashes for a while and we tried all the different types of creams. Finally we talked to our doctor and he said that she probably has a fungus… ew I know but he suggested using a Lotramen (that is probably spelled wrong). It is what you would put on your feet if you had athlet’s foot. Anyways we tried it with the creams and it cleared right up!
Best of luck with the sore baby bottoms out there.
I am a big fan of Aquaphor. I use it kind of like the dad in My Big Fat Greek Wedding uses Windex. Joey never has had a “real” diaper rash, but I’m pretty sure it’s because I slather on the Aquaphor at the first sign of redness.
Lydia has struggled with diaper rash since week one. We stopped using wipes and went to wet paper towels. After I wipe her down, I press a dry towel against her to dry her off. Our pediatrician prescribed nystatin cream 3x a day and I also use either boudreax’s butt paste or the calendula diaper care with every change.
If your child is prone to eating a lot of fruit (like mine are) you have the change that diaper asap after a bowel movement because the poop WILL burn their skin. The same thing goes with diarrhea–it’s like having them sit in battery acid. One time Nicholas had diarrhea for weeks and his rash was so bad (bleeding, raw skin, etc.) that we had to get a prescription cream. It was beyond awful.
But, when he just gets “bad” diaper rashes (he had one last week for a couple of days) we use Desitin overnight/original and give him baking soda bathes. You need to buy the cream with the most zinc oxide on the market. For us, it was Desitin. Then, every night of his rash, he gets a room temp bath with baking soda. Regular soaps and lotions will only aggravate the situation (re: wipes).
The bath measure we take when it is *very* bad. Otherwise, Desitin works just fine w/in 24 hours.
Hi Ari. Sorry to hear of this. I read some blog post while I was still preggers about how the regular use of Aquaphor for Babies actually prevents diaper rash… So, I schmeared Aquaphor on Owen’s tush every day of his life and he never got diaper rash once. The stuff is amazing – and it is sold in regular drug stores! Also, not too late to use it now while Jasper has diaper rash because it really does sooth already inflamed skin! I can’t help you with most stuff – but trust me, don’t waste your money on expensive organic stuff because AQUAPHOR works!!!
Hey there girlies! Being a nanny I have worked with many many children who have had all sorts of issues and the best thing I have ever been able to do for diaper rash is just what some of you recommended…get rid of the wipes! Cotton balls are cheap so I like those and then let the kiddo air-dry for a bit (I usually always do “naked-time” after a bath as well to make sure all those little baby chubby creases are dry). My favorite diaper rash creams are Butt Paste (great name) and Triple Paste (which I just learned about a few months ago and LOVE, it’s a miracle worker).
Keri, what a great tip!! That reminds me that there are so many different kinds of rash.. including the one that Jasper DID have which is a red burn-like irritation similary to Hadley’s that in Jasper’s case was caused by allergies. I have also heard like you said that it is caused by too much acid from excess drool when teething (drool is apparently highly acidic and can burn when passing through.)
I also have read that some stubborn diaper rashes are a form of a candida (yeast) overgrowth and that sprinkling probiotics on them have helped clear them up right away!
Great point kelsey, there’s a reason why they use those at the hospital!
Just one thing though, there are non-alchol containing wipes. I.e. the Kirkland brand from Costco don’t have alcohol and that’s what we use (maybe that’s why Jasper hasn’t had an issue?) and off the top of my head I know the Lansinoh and Earths Best ones don’t either. Just wanted to put that out there in case anyone wanted to jettison the alcohol but not the wipes. Though I’m sure that your sponge solution is a great alternative.. particularly if one were to use a soapless solution (doesn’t soap itself irritate? I could be wrong here..)
Hadley had a very painful diaper rash a few months ago that diaper creams just weren’t helping. She would just cry and cry when we changed her diaper. The rash looked like a chemical burn, and according to our pedi, was a chemical burn caused by excess stomach acid. Sorry for the graphic explanation. But, our pediatrician said that an old trick to soothe this type of rash is to swab Philips’ Milk of Magnesia on the skin. Just use a cotton ball and dab it directly on the rash. This soothes and coats the area the same way it does your tummy when you have a stomach ache. This trick worked for us– in fact, Hadley felt so much better that each subsequent time we got out the MOM bottle, she would smile at us.
Drew seems to have sensitive skin so when his diaper rash flares up, I stop using wipes (even the sensitive skin ones have alcohol in them). I buy a pack of surgical “sponges” (they look like gauze napkins) and pop them in his wipe warmer with a little water and Johnson’s baby soap. They work like a charm and are much easier on his sore little tush.