***OpheliaChem***

nahokulele

Hi there!  Thanks for your response to my yeast post.  You mentioned that you battled yeast on and off for some time.  I think I might be facing that as well, so I'm curious how you washed your liners and diapers throughout all of that--can you give me some specific guidelines on how to manage that process?  

Thanks so much! 

OpheliaChem

No problem :-)

My DD got a yeast rash with her first ear infection at 5.5 months old. The rash was awful! Not to mention her little bum had just healed after a nasty bout of diarrhea that lasted for a week. Anywho, the yeast rash on her skin was terrible. We tried OTC Lotrimin, as instructed by our pedi, but it didn't work until she was off the antibiotics. As soon as she stopped the meds, the Lotrimin took care of the yeast in about two days. Since this was her first rash, I wasn't sure if it was indeed yeast. I did some research and decided to start using sposies after the rash got to the point where I knew it was yeast. I also decided to bleach my stash. I hated to do that because its not natural and its not good for the diapers, but I wasn't going to compromise my LO's comfort. My wash routine went like this: prewash in cold with vinegar, hot wash with 1/4 c. bleach and no detergent, another hot wash with detergent, and a final cold rinse. Some people do two extra rinses at the end to make sure all the bleach is gone. That routine seemed to kill the yeast and we continued using sposies for a few days until the rash was gone and didn't have a recurrence. 

Less than a month later, DD got another ear infection and was put on antibiotics again. This time, no yeast rash! (that is one strange thing about yeast...some kiddos get it often, others from time to time, and other kids never get it).

The 3rd ear infection resulted in another yeast rash. This time, we got a prescription for Nystatin. Ah-mazing! We use Nystatin 3 times a day (morning, after we get home from DC, and at night). I put the Nystatin on with a fleece liner to protect the CDs from the cream. On non-Nystatin diaper changes, I use our regular Grandma El's or sometimes Desitin with a fleece liner. Then I wash my CDs normally. The cream washes out of the liners and doesn't affect the CDs. Our water is turned up higher than most homeowners, probably around 130-140, which is what you set yours at, right? For this last rash, I didn't use bleach. I started using the Nystatin as soon as I saw the tell-tale red bumps and the rash was kept under control. We used the Nystatin during the time she was on antibiotics plus 2 more days. Since the rash never got out of control, the CDs were yeast-free without bleach. I really think that without the Nystatin, we would have to use bleach every time she got a rash because the yeast just keeps multiplying until the LO is off the antibiotics.

We had one more yeast rash in January. Again, we saw the bumps and started using the Nystatin immediately. Like the previous bout with yeast, the Nystatin kept the rash under control and we didn't have to bleach our CDs. Our normal wash was enough to clean them. I am 100% confident that Nystatin solved our yeast problems. However, every baby is different. I'm sure there are some kids who's yeast doesn't respond to Nystatin. For us, it works. And its a generic prescription so the tube costs $5. Can't beat that!

In February, my DD got tubes, so hooray for no more oral antibiotics!! And no more yeast ;-)

 Also, my pedi told us to get a probiotic, like Florastor, and add that to her bottles twice a day. It helps to build back the good bacteria so the baby doesn't get diarrhea. He said it should help with yeast too! We did the probiotic once and it seemed to help but by the time the 3rd rash occurred, she was old enough for yogurt so we didn't need the separate probiotic. 

I hope this helps! Feel free to ask any other questions you might have and I will try to help you :-) 

 

 

nahokulele

Thank you so much for taking the time to help!  I'm paranoid that I'm not getting the yeast out of the diapers b/c I saw the rash creep up again, but I think it's like you said--some kids just are more prone to it, and my DD has super sensitive skin.  I've started taking a probiotic myself, hopefully that will be worth something.  I've treated the diapers twice now with a very extensive process.

Maybe I should try asking my pedi for a nystatin scrip...or maybe I should just try straight lotrimin.  DD doesn't seem to be bothered by any of this but it's been a major headache for me!

Anyway, thanks again!