Very painful nappy rash - advise needed

[Dee]

Hey all,
I haven't been around in a while and have missed this place but life got the better of me. I have come back to beg for help. My 2 YO has in the last couple of month started to get a horrific and incredibly painfull nappyrash that creams, nappy free time etc.. seem to have no effect on. It previously would get progressivly worse or better with no logical explanation but if she was in a pooey nappy for longer than a couple of minutes then it was guarenteed to get worse. Now, being in a wet/urine filled nappy for any length of time is fatal and she is waking at night fromt he pain. Her diet hasn't changed, she has started TTing, our washing routine hasn't changed, it just seems to be her age. Does anyone have an explanation on why it moght have happened? Or a cure?

Thanks everyone,
Dee

[Ying]

What does the rash look like and where exactly is it?
Has she been sick or teething lately?
And when you said she's started TTing, is she mostly wearing nappies or not? I've heard a lot of kids who've started TTing and been out of nappies for a certain length of time develop rash as they're not used to being in wet nappies anymore. Perhaps that's the case?

[Beanie]

Poor little thing

Sorry I can't give too many suggestions but I do know that when we had horrible rash problems, it turned out the culprit was a corn intolerance. It would give him really bad blistery poos. Once I cut out corn the rash stopped. It's possible she has developed something like that? But very hard to know where to start... it was easy for us, as we'd been having heaps of corn lately so I could guess quickly that that's what it was.

Otherwise, we always used disposables to get over the worst of nappy rash, then back in cloth asap. That's not for everyone cos for some children the chemicals in disposables are just as aggravating, but it worked for my DS.

[becboo]

Have you been to your GP? They may be able to refer to you to a paed dermatologist to get to the bottom of it (pardon the pun!). Sending big hugs to you and your bub.

Bec.

[Kristie 1983]

Have you tried Desitin cream???? You can get it at the chemist and its mainly zinc! Works brilliant in just half a day.
Too much fruit juice can cause a nasty rash!
One other thing to try is to use a cool wet cloth between her and the nappy, kind of like an ice pack, to help with the blisters!
Hope that helps you and the lil darling!

[kat13]

I second the desitin cream.....works miraculously.

Only thing is that it stains pretty badly and is quite hard to remove with a normal wash. I used sposies while using this cream a while back when DS2 had gastro and a very blistery bottom.

[Dee]

Thanks for your responses everyone and sorry for disapearing, I'm on a public terminal and had to take my turn

YING - the rash is nasty small blisters that open up as well as a rash. What I meant my TTing is that she has started to tell us when she wants to use hte potty/toilet a a few times a day and she might be out of nappies for a couple of hours most days but not that much, I don't think it is a case of getting used to having a dry bottom as I suspect that the pain of the rash is what has prompted her to start asking to go - we haven't really tried to train her yet, just encouraged her when she showed signs.

She only started eating oranges etc.. in the last month or so and the rash was there well before that. Her juice intake has increased but only from zero to maybe one glass a week? We actually bought a bottle of apple juice on the weekend - a super special treat for her and until I was writing this I had completely forgotten it and it is yet to be opened.

BEC- The GP keeps taking swabs and getting no results nad just says use canestan and a barrier cream, so we do and it helps for a day or 2 then it all either stops improvong or gets worse again.

KAT/KRISTIE - I'm not sure what we have been using but it is a barrier cream that is 40% zinc which was the highest % I could find - could that be Destin? It only works briefly and only to a certain point.

BEANIE - I haven't changed her diet at all nor have we increased her intake of anything, the poor thing has a very boring diet and has been eating the same things for absolutely ages! Also, I must admit that after 2 years of cloth we too have become so desperate that she is currently in disposables for a day or 2 to see if it will help.

I was wondering if the fact that she has been having less baths lately and we only use wipes when she pooey could be contributing? She was reacting to the chemicals in the comercial wipes and we stopped using them except when necessary and because of CC and other factors she isn't having a bath every night but more like every second night. What do you think?

Sorry about the essay, cheers.

[Beanie]

I do think that regular baths and wiping (gently) after wee helps actually. If there is anything burn-y in the wee, then it will make the rash worse.

Something I concluded too was that it really can be a mixture of causes all happening at once. Maybe she did eat something that didn't agree with her, then once the rash started her skin was weakened and then the less wiping and baths added into the equation.

Really hope you find a solution, it's so hard to see them in pain like that! You just want to solve it for them!

[Possum]

Oh, your poor little darling.
We just recently had a similar problem. I took DS to our chemist who gave us some hydrocortisone cream to bring down the swelling and some desitin to heal it. It took a few days but we're all better now. I was also given the advice to cut out all acidic foods until it's better or else it will take much longer to heal.

So I was thinking that for you maybe the cause of the intial rash has long since gone but other factors could be irritating it. I would certainly cut out anything acidic or spicy for a while. And wash her frequently, but not necessarily with soap. There are lots of other things you can use in the bath like a bit of olive oil which is very soothing.

FWIW our rash was caused by kiwi fruit. It was so bad that DS was waking overnight screaming in pain. I think we'll ignore kiwi until he's using the loo by himself, LOL!


I hope you find a solution soon.

[johT]

And when you said she's started TTing, is she mostly wearing nappies or not? I've heard a lot of kids who've started TTing and been out of nappies for a certain length of time develop rash as they're not used to being in wet nappies anymore. Perhaps that's the case?

that happened here, its like they get used to having more air on their bum or something
it also was sores that blistered here too.