T.D. asks from New Philadelphia, OH on February 09, 2008
Burning Her Bottom!!!
My one year old has had really bad diapers lately. It seems like once or twice a day she explodes a diaper, which I change immediately, but where ever the bm touches on her little bottom she has horrible blisters. She has the worst case of diaper rash and I can't figure out what is causing these nasty diapers. She has been really, really cranky and not sleeping that well either (not that she ever slept that great to begin with). I just switched her to milk but have to wonder if that is the problem because I love dairy products and that didn't seem to bother her when I breastfed. Any ideas on how I can stop this or at least prevent her bottom from burning would be great. I've tried keeping A&D, Beaudroux's, and Dr. Smith's ointment on it, but the diaper seems to soak it up. I'd let her run around and air it out, but she's been going so much lately, I'm not sure when it's coming and I really don't want to clean that out of my carpet!
So What Happened?™
Wow! What a wonderful response. When I posted this Saturday, I'd had enough. I ran out and bought some Lactaid and within 24 hours her bowels had turned completely around. She's still getting up once a night, but I can live with that. Still a little cranky but I think she is about to get some more teeth. This morning I called her doctor and told her what has been going on and she is going to check her out Wednesday and test for a milk allergy. I tried the Malox on her bottom with the diaper cream and once the pooping calmed down so did the rash. She still has a little residual rash but it's nothing like it was. I'm able to let her air it out now as well, which she loves...Naked Time! Thank you all for your advice. I'll remember the great ideas next time I'm facing nasty diapers (something tells me this isn't going to be the end of it!).
T.
Featured Answers
B.F. answers from Toledo on February 11, 2008
Hi T.
I have found a great combo for treating and healing diaper rashes. Use equal amounts of A&D cream, Neosporin cream and a antifungal cream (for athletes foot~I use the equate brand form Wal-mart) DO NOT USE OINTMENTS they will hold in the heat. This has treated my daughter basically overnight on several occasions. As far as food allergies, that could be the cause of the blow outs~ but I only experienced this when my daughter was teething. Good luck!
1 mom found this helpful
S.P. answers from Cleveland on March 27, 2008
I know you received a butt load of responses (ha! ha! pun intended) but CREAMY DESITIN has worked wonders. We had the same issues. It is weird to suddenly see diaper rash after more than 13 months with totally smooth butt! But it happens. I tried a lot and creamy desitin literally works overnight.
M.J. answers from Indianapolis on March 22, 2008
Try Resinol you can get it in the pharmacy section. It works great and is recommended by my pediatrician.
More Answers
B.F. answers from Toledo on February 11, 2008
Hi T.
I have found a great combo for treating and healing diaper rashes. Use equal amounts of A&D cream, Neosporin cream and a antifungal cream (for athletes foot~I use the equate brand form Wal-mart) DO NOT USE OINTMENTS they will hold in the heat. This has treated my daughter basically overnight on several occasions. As far as food allergies, that could be the cause of the blow outs~ but I only experienced this when my daughter was teething. Good luck!
1 mom found this helpful
M. answers from Cincinnati on February 10, 2008
I was just like you --> LOVED cow's milk and anything made from it (yogurt, ice cream, ricotta cheese, cream cheese, butter, etc., etc.). My son was just like your daughter --> cow's milk really messed up his digestion/poop and gave him horrid diaper rash (actually not a traditional "diaper rash" but rather an allergy rash). And we later came to find out it also caused his poor sleep (he couldn't stay asleep for long, didn't get restful sleep) and his reddish/dry cheeks and other tiny little patches of dry skin on his wrists, torso, legs, etc. (uh, eczema caused by the milk).
So... even if you think, "oh, cow's milk doesn't bother me, and it didn't bother her while nursing" --> sorry to be the one to say: it CAN bother your baby, even if it doesn't bother you. :(
I never thought we'd be able to eliminate cow's milk products. I thought it would be too tough. I thought I would love it so much that I couldn't give it up. But you know what? IT WAS SO WORTH IT. My little guy was sooo much happier, healthier, and calmer -- and so were we, his parents!
So, if you want to rule out the idea of cow's milk causing your baby's discomfort, there's really ONLY ONE sure-fire way of doing this: eliminate all cow's milk products for 4-6 weeks (seems like a long time, but it isn't, you *can* do this) and watch to see if her poop and rash issues go away. Then, do what's called a "challenge" --> give her a glass of milk or two, watch her for 48-72 hours for a reaction (could be the poop and blisters/rash thing, or being super fussy/tantrumy, or sleeping poorly, or little patches of dry skin showing up, or really dark circles under the eyes - see list of allergic symptoms in the Dr. Sears link below). If no reaction to the challenge, that's a good sign and you can proceed to reintroduce cow's milk, continuing to watch for any signs of allergy during that first week or so. If no signs, great! If signs, back off again.
Honestly, we did this *as a family* because I thought it would be too hard to keep milk away from my son while my daughter and my husband ate whatever they wanted. We went dairy-free as a family, and that turned out to be *really* helpful to have that support while making the change. I thought I'd miss cow's milk too much, that our family wouldn't survive it! Now that I look back on it, I can't believe I dreaded it so much. Our family did *great* and we found out that, indeed, for our son cow's milk WAS A PROBLEM, and that he (and all of us, actually) do better without it, and we don't feel deprived.
We didn't replace cow's milk with soy products, either (with my son, he was also sensitive to soy, and I read in one research study where kids who are allergic to cow's milk are 50% more likely to be allergic to soy, so I avoided it just to keep things simple). Instead, here's what we use as our substitutes - sharing them in case they'd help you at all:
* instead of milk --> Living Harvest brand hemp milk or Pacific Foods rice milk (available at local grocer or health food store, orderable online), light coconut milk (sold in cans)
* instead of buttermilk --> tablespoon of acid (such as lemon or lime juice, or vinegar) plus milk sub (coconut, hemp, rice milks)
* instead of butter --> coconut oil, dairy-free buttery spread like Earth's Balance or margarine, or even Crisco Butter Flavored Shortening
* instead of ice cream --> diary-free sorbets of all flavors including coconut sorbet and Hagen Dazs chocolate sorbet
* dark chocolate --> there are many great, high quality dairy-free chocolates, just read the labels, but a staple around our house is the Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet chocolate chips
* instead of cheese --> anything fatty and salty, for example, mayonnaise or avocado w/ salt or guacamole or olive tapenade or pesto made without cheese (*seriously easy* to make at home if you can't find a dairy-free version in the store)
* I've not yet been able to find a sub for yogurt or cream cheese, though regular (full fat) coconut milk is really tasty in smoothies in place of yogurt
Hopefully that will get you started - just print your hidden dairy "cheat sheet" (see link below) and make a trip to the store without the kids so you can start reading labels, and stock up on some basic dairy-free stuff. We ended up eating a lot more simple & healthy WHOLE foods because there is *no label* and what you see is what you get, guaranteed to be dairy free -- for example, apples, bananas, pears, grapes, sweet potatos, broccoli, oranges, blueberries, celery, bell peppers, carrots, watermelon. ALL of these things are easy to get, fast to "prepare", healthy, and VERY dairy-free. :)
Here are some links to help you get started...
Food Sensitivities in Babies
http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/food-sensitivity.html
Non-Dairy Sources of Calcium
http://www.ellenskitchen.com/faqs/calcium.html
Hidden Dairy "Cheat Sheet"
http://www.kellymom.com/store/freehandouts/hidden-dairy01...
Tracking Down Food Allergies
http://askdrsears.com/html/4/t041800.asp
Dairy-Free Recipes
http://www.paleofood.com/
Whatever the cause of your daughters rash, I hope you can find it quickly so that you both feel better soon! If you do decide to rule out whether cow's milk is a problem by doing a temporary elimination, I just want to encourage you that you *can* do this (you do have the intelligence and the will power), and best of luck!
1 mom found this helpful
A.M. answers from Elkhart on February 11, 2008
We have had this same acidic poop with both of our kids when they are cutting teeth (and my mom says my brother and I had it too!). Thankfully, it usually goes away in a day or two. What I have found works well for them is A&D with straight cornstarch sprinkled on. The cornstarch helps keep the A&D on their bottoms and not the diaper. Then it forms a barrier the next time around.
A.N. answers from Cincinnati on February 11, 2008
T.,
Wow, that's great you got so many responses! I watched my nephew over the weekend. He had pretty bad diaper rash with blisters. I started using corn starch. By Sunday when my brother and sister and law picked him up it was almost gone. On Saturday he started drooling. I think his is from cutting teeth. This will make their stools looser too. It's a hard call deciding to wait and see or go to the doctor. Good Luck:)
-A.
J.W. answers from Indianapolis on February 11, 2008
Dear T.,
I use Renew lotion on my boys bottoms and at the daycare I work part time at. Before I had this product there were a couple of times I had severe diaper rashes and I used cornstarch. Just sprinkle it on. if that doesn't work quick enough try browning it with a little water. When it makes a paste let it cool then smoothe it on. Good luck, J.
L.B. answers from Columbus on February 11, 2008
Hi T.,
Diaper rash is usually caused by diet, not by skin irritations. You see it more when kids eat things high in acid (tomatos, oranges etc.), when kids eat things they are sencitive to (allergines) or if kids have enviromental allergies. The key indicator is that it is effecting her mood/play/sleep pattern. This deffinatly warrents a trip to the pediatritions office. Hope she feels better!
R.T. answers from Cincinnati on February 17, 2008
T.,
Have you taken her to the doctor? It could be fungal or a yeast that's irritating her skin and need the proper medication for it. It could be an allergy to the cow's milk. Have you tried goat or soy milk? Usually if anything happens look to the newest thing in your child's routine to give you answers. I'd be sure to talk to the doctor, though.
Good Luck!
Let me know the outcome.
R.
T.C. answers from Cleveland on February 11, 2008
Dear T., I can relate to your problem because it happened to my daughter. She got a real bad rash like your explaining and I took her to the doctor and it was a bacteria rash that they get from their intestines and she gave me this ointment Nystatin it's by prescription only but within minutes of putting it on her she started to clear up. Just like you I tried all those other creams and they didn't work either. I hope I've helped you, good luck.
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