moms - diaper rash help?

[peach]

Emma has a bad diaper rash. It's like the skin is raw - bright red and shiny.

A few nights ago I thought her bum looked a bit red, but i wasn't sure. So I slathered on some cream. Did it again in the middle of the night. In the morning, all around her bum was like this. I figured the cream must have been too strong, especially since I wasnt even sure if her bum was really red or not ---it was late and dark and I thought maybe it was a tad red...but it could have been fine. I was trying to be a good mom and prevent it by using some cream.

It's been 3 days and it is not getting any better at all. Changes are torture. I am using a wet washcloth and then putting on Vaseline as a barrrier because I am scared to put any sort of cream or ointment on her sensitive skin since I think that's what caused it.

If it was her reacting to her formula, would I have any other symptoms?? When she poops it gets worse it seems...if she goes a long stretch with no pooping it starts to look less red and then she poops and it's awful again. 
But she doesn't act gassy or fussy ever. She doesn't have tummy aches. She loves her formula and she doesn't get rashy or anything from it around her mouth. And her poop looks fine, it's not a strange color or pure water or anything, its just normal runnny baby poop.

Changing her makes my stomach sick. I feel awful.
Any tips or advice? I just worry maybe it's her formula but I am pretty sure it's not. Should I switch brands anyway just in case? But that is also hard on their tummies too...

I am changing her often, using the washcloth and then letting her lay there and air dry. Then vaseline as a barrier.

[thewop]

www.savingaddiction.com/?p=28077

This recipe worked awesome for my DD when she had like open sore DR.

[sratsey]

I'm so sorry. It's so heartbreaking when they have rashes that are bad like that.
My son was prone to very bad rashes and, on my ped's recommendation I would dab Phillips Milk of Magnesia on it (apparently theirs something in it that balances acidity so it soothes the burn) and then let that dry and slather on Triple Paste.
I swear by Triple Paste.

ETA: if it's not getting better, you should take her in.  One time with DS it ended up being a yeast infection (which can present as an open sore rash) which is why it wasn't getting better.

[homeslice]

Another vote for Triple Paste...expensive, but well worth it!!

[kitty]

It sounds like you are doing everything right. If it isn't getting any better, it could be yeast. You could try OTC lotrimin/clotrimazole 2-3 times per day to see if that clears it.

[Deleted]

It's not the formula I'm 99% sure. Usually they'd have off "poop" be refluxy, gassy etc. with that.

Some newborns are just really sensitive and a diaper rash early on is common. Rubes is really sensitive in the diaper area and has had some bad ones.

Are you sure it's not a yeast rash? Those are impossible to get rid of. Since she's so little, I'd take her in if you think it's that. A combo of Lotrimin and Monistat always worked on Rubes..but she was a bit older when she starting get them. The pedi told me to just do and OTC mix because that's all the RX stuff is anyways.

Can you give her a bath and let her soak in some baking soda water? That works the best around here.

Is she allergic to the diapers? Rubes has issues with disposables big time. OR if you do cloth is it a detergent allergy?

[ktzmoh]

Like the pps, I liked triple paste and would advise to have her checked to make sure it's not yeast if it gets worse (or doesn't get better) . It's so sad when they get that raw rash.

[julygal]

My youngest had horrible diaper rash. No creams were fixing it. She screamed from it. I had a hard time locating triple paste and while I was waiting for my order, it finally dawned on me that it was the wipes. We had changed brands right about the time the rash started. Sure enough when we stopped using the new wipes the rash finally went away. A little later some how the offending wipes got used on her, and sure enough she had horrible diaper rash again. Good luck figuring it out.

[emoflamingo]

Monkey couldn't use Luvs, so I would try another diaper and another wipe to see if maybe that is. I think the Huggies Pure & Natural are pretty good, if you can find those. And I use Huggies sensitive wipes because I can buy them in bulk. If that doesn't seem like it could be the problem, I would just take her in. The boys, so far, haven't had any yeast rashes, but my niece gets them bad.

[peach]

Thanks you guys! It looks better now - not that shiny red anymore, it's still sore but the "shine" is gone.

I do use cloth, but she is still in sposies because she is so tiny -it'll be a few more weeks at least before we start the cloth up. I don't think it's the diapers because it's concentrated in one spot - if it was the diapers wouldn't it be a rash all over? And I've seen yeast before and this doesn't seem like it.

I will do a baking soda bath tonight and I have been letting her air out as long as I can between changes on the change table. We don't have triple paste around here but I threw out the cream that I am pretty sure burned her and I bought some penaten to try.

[Deleted]

Feb 26, 2013 19:32:24 GMT -5 peach said:

Thanks you guys! It looks better now - not that shiny red anymore, it's still sore but the "shine" is gone.

I do use cloth, but she is still in sposies because she is so tiny -it'll be a few more weeks at least before we start the cloth up. I don't think it's the diapers because it's concentrated in one spot - if it was the diapers wouldn't it be a rash all over? And I've seen yeast before and this doesn't seem like it.

I will do a baking soda bath tonight and I have been letting her air out as long as I can between changes on the change table. We don't have triple paste around here but I threw out the cream that I am pretty sure burned her and I bought some penaten to try.

She'll probably be fine then! Newborns can be so sensitive sometimes for no real reason. The pedi told me once when I went through this with Rubes that sometimes even just getting used to the acidity of pee and poop can cause a rash. I also dump a splash of vinegar in Rubes bath water with the baking soda. It dries her butt out fast. I wouldn't do too much since she's so tiny yet, but a little probably wouldn't hurt.

[bunch]

Feb 26, 2013 16:08:29 GMT -5 kitty said:

It sounds like you are doing everything right. If it isn't getting any better, it could be yeast. You could try OTC lotrimin/clotrimazole 2-3 times per day to see if that clears it.

Be careful with this. I thought dd had a yeast rash and it turned out to be eczema. Using an anti fungal made it way worse. Hydrocortisone is the only thing we can get to clear that up, but I'd be hesitant with either on newborn skin without a dr looking at it.

[dougsbestgirl]

I have found that lanolin works better than vasoline for DS when he has a bad rash. I use the same lanolin that you use for BF. Good luck. definitely get it checked out if it's not clearing up.

[peach]

ok now its terrible. Last diaper it looked like it was healing, now it has spread forward and she also has a cut in the crease of her skin.

the only thing we did different was use penaten. I gave her a baking soda bath and put vaseline on again. We are taking her to have it looked at first thing in the morning poor thing.

[Deleted]

Feb 26, 2013 23:10:54 GMT -5 peach said:

ok now its terrible. Last diaper it looked like it was healing, now it has spread forward and she also has a cut in the crease of her skin.

the only thing we did different was use penaten. I gave her a baking soda bath and put vaseline on again. We are taking her to have it looked at first thing in the morning poor thing.

It could very well be yeast. Rubes has had yeast rash twice. One was like textbook picture. The other wasn't at all what I'd imagined.

Also, I can't do vaseline on Rubes...or anything with a moisture barrier to it really. It's like it blocks out too much air so the rash rotates from stagnant to worse.

I've had really good luck with Burt's Bees diaper cream. Works better for me than Desitin or anything.

Also, is there zinc oxide in penaten (I don't know what that it is). Some kids are actually allergic to zinc oxide and it makes the rash worse as a result.

[spankswife]

My DD got very bad rashes from Pampers brand diapers, which I know is a very common brand for newborns (the swaddlers). Try a different brand of diapers. We went with Target brand, believe it or not...

[Deleted]

I agree with pp that it may be yeast. Try an over the counter ointment. Also, use your hairdryer on her at every diaper change. Use washcloths and warm water instead of wipes, I picked up a cheap 12 pack of wash cloths and used them anytime their bottom got red. Triple Paste is good to have on hand, but this sounds more like yeast to me.

[faith194]

DS had an awful case of diaper rashes at around 3-4 weeks(he was combo bf'd and ff'd). We tried different diapers, we only used wash clothes with just water, and we even used the hair dryer on a cool setting every.single.change. He had a script at one point. At 5 weeks, he had blood in his stool. He ended up with MSPI.

I hope you get some answers!

[SpartanGirl]

Feb 26, 2013 15:37:00 GMT -5 thewop said:

www.savingaddiction.com/?p=28077

This recipe worked awesome for my DD when she had like open sore DR.

This is the best diaper rash cream.  I'd try this and try to do some diaper free time when you can.  If it's not getting better, I'd call the doctor and ask too.  I hope it clears up soon!