The Tale of the Persistent Diaper Rash

kristin172429

Okay, ladies.  I know many of you have been talking about persistent diaper rash.  We are battling that here, as well.  Every time we think we've got it beat, it comes roaring back.  We have nystatin (sp?) and use Triple Paste.  We have been trying to keep him as dry as possible with frequent changes.  This diaper rash is angry.  It was even bleeding a little bit.  I feel so bad for my little guy!  I am going to try keeping a food log and rash log and see where we have overlap just to see.  

Let's compare similarities:

Rash: mean, bright red, bumpy, may bleed when really bad. Doctor gave us nystatin in case of yeast.

Stools: have been looser, but not diarrhea.  Seems to be more frequent lately.

Drool: lots of it.  We think it might be teething.  Supposedly, a lot of excess drool can loosen stools and cause rash (might be more correlation than causation).

Health: he had a pretty bad cold for about a week.  Runny nose, cough, and congestion.  Wondering if all that gunk in his system could be upsetting his belly and causing the more frequent stools and rash.

Treatment: Dry bottom.  Triple Paste.  Nystatin.  No wipes (water/damp cloth) 

Anyone have overlapping symptoms/reports with the same kind of diaper rash? Thought maybe if we consolidated our knowledge/experience, we might zone in on something!  My poor baby is tired of his bottom hurting.  

mydawn

Lucas had his worst diaper rash when he got his first 2 teeth. Could have been coincidence, but I have also read that it can be related. The pedi told us that diaper rashes are often at least partially caused by a fungus, but I would assume the nystatin should take care of that?

Jen0204

Olivia had the same thing persistent rash, red bumps, occasional bleeding, and she scratched at it a lot when in the tub or during a diaper change. I felt so awful! Nystatin didn't do a thing for it. What finally worked was putting a thin layer of the generic version of Lotramin on and covering it with a really thick layer of Triple Paste. To help with itching we got Domeboro powder and mixed a packet of powder with 2 cups of water and we left strips of a cut up Gerber cloth diaper/burp cloth soaking it it and 3 times a day we would wring out a strip and put it over the rash, cover it with a diaper and leave it on for 10 minutes. Within a couple of days it looked MUCH better and she stopped itching. Now it's 95 clear and we put Lotramin once or twic a day and Triple Paste the rest of the time.

lancyjo

PPs have some great suggestions. I just wanted to add that diaper free time always helps Aria a lot when she's rashy. It's a bit terrifying to leave that cannon uncovered, but it makes a huge difference. We do two 10 minute stretches a day when she's got a rash.

LoveBeingMama

One more suggestion. We use disposable diapers 99% of the time. However, when either of my boys has a bad diaper rash, we put him in a cloth diaper. Sometimes just for a few hours during the day, sometimes over night. It has really helped us. It seems to clear it up quickly without having to use a bunch of pastes or keeping the diaper off and making a mess.  If you can buy one or two cloth diapers (even gently used) it may be worth the investment.

Jen0204

LoveBeingMama:

One more suggestion. We use disposable diapers 99% of the time. However, when either of my boys has a bad diaper rash, we put him in a cloth diaper. Sometimes just for a few hours during the day, sometimes over night. It has really helped us. It seems to clear it up quickly without having to use a bunch of pastes or keeping the diaper off and making a mess.  If you can buy one or two cloth diapers (even gently used) it may be worth the investment.

I asked our pediatrician and DCP about this and was surprised that they said that due to the type of rash it wouldn't help to use cloth diapers. I assumed at they would help and was ready to go buy some so I'm glad I asked. Might be worth asking the doctor before you make the investment. 

fredpuma

Nystatin existent yeast is getting very common. You might call pedi and ask for fluconizole instead. Cleared kitty up overnight.

kristin172429

fredpuma:

Nystatin existent yeast is getting very common. You might call pedi and ask for fluconizole instead. Cleared kitty up overnight.

I'm guessing that was supposed to be "resistant" - and yes, I have found that he isn't responding as well to the nystatin as he was to the lotrimin.  I switched back tonight.  He even responds better when I use the lotrimin.  It seems like it is more soothing to him.  Hopefully tomorrow is a better day for his little bottom.  I just wish I knew what the cause was so we could prevent it from happening as much as possible. 

hayliedc

My cousins pedi told her to use liquid form miralax. You put someon a cotton ball, put it on the rash, let dry for a second and they are good to go.  It helps cut down the acidity of the poop in the diaper so it doesn't upset their tooshie. It also comes off easier than the pastes when wiping. I haven't tried it yet but my cousin swears by it.  

cbaglini

Someone recommended to me using the hair dryer on a cool setting during diaper changes and it cleared Lila's very persistent rash within a couple days. 

jmccall79

The two times we've had extremely raw bottom from a "rash" has been tummy trouble and allergic to diapers. The tummy issue was, he had diarrhea really bad and was raw bleeding within 3 diapers. The other was when he was newborn...wearing pampers. Figured out he's allergic. He's also allergic to Parents Choice diapers too. You didn't say, but have you tried changing the brand of diapers?

fredpuma

Yep, that was supposed to say resistant. I'm starting to really hate autocorrect.

laclyn

You just described cooper to a T! We are experiencing the exact same symptoms right now and have yet to find relief for his poor booty.

sooner1981

hayliedc:

My cousins pedi told her to use liquid form miralax. You put someon a cotton ball, put it on the rash, let dry for a second and they are good to go.  It helps cut down the acidity of the poop in the diaper so it doesn't upset their tooshie. It also comes off easier than the pastes when wiping. I haven't tried it yet but my cousin swears by it.  

Just FYI--your cousin's pediatrician probably didn't recommend miralax (which is a potent stool softener).  The pedi probably recommended liquid Maalox, which is an acid reducer and commonly recommended to reduce acidity in bad diaper rash situations...