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| My DD has had an itchy diaper rash for months now ... to the point that she itches so much she bleeds. She has eczema but cutting dairy out of my diet (I am breastfeeding) and hers has cleared up the eczema patches on her legs, ankles, etc., but the itchy diaper rash persists. It seems to be doing a bit better now that I have stopped eating chocolate. We have seen the pediatrician repeatedly and a dermatologist (who said that food allergies/reactions have no correlation to eczema and who we will not be seeing again!) and both have said they don't think it is yeast. I am curious if anyone has any advice for this problem. Also, what does yeast look like ... someone told me there are white dots among a red rash ... is that right? If so, then it is definitely not yeast. I have tried air drying, moisturizing, and pretty much anything else I could think of. Help would be appreciated!!! |
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Have you tried an over the counter anti-fungal just to see if it happens to be yeast? I realize lots of people have told you it's not, but anti-fungal cremes aren't that pricey and maybe it'll do the trick. Or you could try a creme with a "caine" in it, like a vagicaine or lanacaine to help her not itch it so much, so it can heal if it isn't a yeast rash. It might just be that she gets to that itchy healing stage of the rash starting to get better, then she itches it open again.
My brother has eczema and I heard it's due to him being allergic to his own sweat??? So he has it mainly on his palms & bottoms of his feet, and in the summer it spreads and is worse & more itchy. Could it be made better if your daughter had less heat retention in her diaper area? Like is it possible for her to go without a cover most of the time? Anyway, watching his heat levels helps my brother not be so itchy and peeling. It may help your daughter too. |
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Hi there, I understand about rashes my baby had them could not cure them with anything... till I started using: Aquaphore
It is a diaper rash cream, so far I can buy it at Meijers. but that took care of all the rashes... Never again have I seen a bleeding bottom.
About your cloth diapers... I don't know, try it with a couple so you don't ruin your stash, I think running them through the wash with "ALL" baby detergent will do the cleaning trick.
=o)
MrsQ |
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| Oooooo.....I love Aquafor! You can find it in either the baby eisle wayyy overpriced as "Aquafor Baby" or buy the regular Aquafor in the lotions/body care area for less. But it's the same thing. It's basically Vaseline with some soothing oils added in. And it washes out of the diapers no problem. |
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| Thanks for the posts. I have tried Aquafor to no avail. I have tried California baby moisturizer and diaper rash cream, Butt paste, all combination of vinegar and baking soda in bath tub and while cleaning diapers. I don't eat tomato, chocolate, dairy, coffee or citrus because it seems to irritate the itch. We are now trying triple paste and the new triple paste cream for eczema to see if either of those helps but so far they haven't. I only use water and cloth wipes when changing, I tried disposables but they made it worse (I think the plastic rubbed on the itchy skin and irritated it). We have another dr. appointment with a new dr. so am hoping for some help because she can't sleep at night because she wakes up itching. Could it possibly be the polyester in the bamboo diapers? I am desperate for some help ... she has been itching til she bleeds for more than half of her life now. |
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| It's quite possible. Can your baby wear other polyester items? Allergies and rashes are weird sometimes. Have you tried an organic cotton liner in your dipes or maybe give prefolds a try with a snappy. That way you might know BEFORE you spend the money to replace your stash with organics, that it's the polyester in them. Did you say it goes away with posies? I've forgotten.... |
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| The 'sposies made it worse. I don't know that she has really worn anything with polyester in it next to her skin. I have a new hemp diaper to try (a cloth diaper store newly opened in our small city and I just had to make a purchase) and they sell prefolds that I could try too. Thanks for taking the time to reply! |
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Man! So your poor little kiddo can't get any relief! Bless you for trying so hard to get her some help. I'd say get a derm eval, and if they can't help then get another eval with another dermatologist. You have to be that baby's advocate. Demand that someone help her. Try an allergist, whatever it takes. Like you said, over half her life with a bum like that. There's gotta be someone or something that can help her heal. She can't be expected to go through her whole diapering(and possibly longer)life like that.
We feel for you mama! Keep the faith sister! |
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I'd also second the dermatologist recomendation. Could be perhaps the eczema is helped enough by the diet change to heal it elsewhere on her body but her diaper area is further irritated by a diaper and causes it to flare there... My son was a little like that, diet changes helped for a while (though the eczema did return later despite the dietary changes) but his bottom would sometimes flare up anyway... Fleece liners helped my son a lot because they helped keep the wetness away from his skin, have you tried that?
What about a cortisone cream? I know they're a little controversial but maybe a low dose cream used sparingly a couple times a week could really provide her with at least some relief... Oh, and what about maybe a little powder of some kind to help with any friction irritation  no-talc baby powder for example, or maybe cornstarch if you're sure it's not yeast - cornstarch will feed yeast and make the rash worse). Along the same lines, make sure the diaper/cover are neither too tight nor too loose to help minimize rubbing and friction. Maybe try going coverless as much as possible too, this would help both in providing the area more air and in elliminating the additional layer of elastic that could be causing more rubbing and friction.
What kind of soap are you using to bathe her and how often do you bathe her? Definetly make sure you use something very very very gentle (I've heard anedoctally that goat's milk soap is great for eczema) and really limit how often she gets a full bath. Babies really don't need a full bath more than once a week or even less. The rest can be managed with 'spot cleaning'. Hot/warm bath water can really rob skin of moisture and aggravate dry skin and/or eczema.
Also if you live in a dry winter climate, helping to moisturize the air (especially where she sleeps) can help with eczema/dry skin. A humidifier or even just pot of water near radiator can help with that...
And another suggestion that may seem way out there but could really help a LOT. Have you heard of ellimination communication? It's also known as infant potty training and basically it's a communication technique between the two of you that would allow you to read her signals to determine when she needs to 'go'. At that point you can hold her over a regular toilet, potty, infant potty, designated bowl or even a diaper. It works well enough for some people that their babies never wear a diaper at all. Others chose to only do it part-time and still have baby wear a diaper just in case. It really depends how old she is (and how dedicated the parents/caregivers are) as to how well it works but even just 'catching' a few pees or especially poops, here and there could perhaps really help her skin heal. It's a bit of a wild thought for us in the West, but it's very common in most other cultures.
Karen.
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Once again, thank you for the replys!!!
We have seen one dermatologist and he was terrible ... basically told me how to properly change a diaper. Her ped just doesn't know how to deal with it I suppose. We have an appointment with a different Derm tomorrow so I am crossing my fingers.
I have tried fleece liners (so my earlier statement about her not having polyester next to her skin was pure sleep deprivation) and they have not helped at all.
I tried cortisone cream and it offered only brief relief ... brief like an hour or so.
I have not tried cornstarch but will add that to list of things to try next. I also have not tried coverless but we have used wool covers and that did not help.
We use California Baby soap sparingly once a week during her bath because it is perfume and dye free.
She had a humidifier for about two weeks and there was no change.
I have heard of EC and while it seems a bit daunting it is definitely something to consider if we can't remedy this very soon!
Thanks again for all of the suggestions. I can't tell you how nice it is to have some help and to not have to deal with the "you must be a new mother" routine like I have gotten from some doctors. |
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How did the appointment go? Hope your little one is getting some relief...
As for the cortisone cream, I'd try using it regularly for a while to see if it helps. For us it would make the eczema totally (or almost totally) disappear after a few days. Sometimes it helps to use it a couple times a day for a week or so, then the rash disappears and you only need to use it every once in a while to sort of 'maintain' it... I wasn't keen on using it at all but after diet and other milder remedies eventually failed us (worked great at first and then just stopped, was very strange), the cortisone really helped. At that point a doctor gave us a prescription for a stronger/different type of cortisone cream. After the initial week of regular use, we only used it every so often and stopped totally after a few weeks. Of course my son wasn't a small baby at the time so I was a little more comfortable using the cream on him than I would have been on an infant...
Karen.
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| the dr appointment went pretty well ... at least she was willing to try and help instead of basically telling me how to change a diaper like the last one. we are currently trying a Rx cream for eczema once a day and it does seem to help a bit (she did a skin scrapping and determined there was no fungus or yeast)... at least at night, which is when we apply it. I am hoping with a few more days use it will help with the itchiness during the day as well. I am still curious as to the cause and think I will buy some prefolds to make sure it is not the poly in the diapers (and because I am curious about prefolds and want to give them a try and a new diaper store opened in town and for the first time I can buy cloth diaper goods without having to enter in a shipping address). thanks again for the helpful responses and support! |
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What detergent are you using? When my dd had excema I could one use free & clear formulas.
Also, for bathing we didn't use any soap. I used a bath oil to wash her, and washed her hair last so she wouldn't soak in the shampoo. I gave short baths since long baths can be dehydrating and after a gently patting her down with a towel I'd seal in the remaining moisture with a thick moisturizer like a baby excema lotion. I found that sometimes I had to use a hydrocortisone cream for a few days until the rash was under control and then a moisturizing at wake up and bedtime was good for maintenance.
When dd's bottom was irritated the doc prescribed acid mantle with a cortosone mixed in.
Good luck and I hope she finds some relief soon. |
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