Painful Diaper Rash!

Updated on June 09, 2008
N.D. asks from Glenview, IL
22 answers

My poor little peanut has developed a baaad diaper rash in her genital area. I think it's a combo of my babysitter using powder instead of Desitin, and the warmer weather. My pediatrician recommended me to keep her diapers loose, even off for a few minutes, and alternate between Desitin and Hydrocortisone 1% at each diaper change.

No new foods, diarrhea, or any new detergents lately.

Thing is, her pain is so bad that she is not eating well or sleeping well today!! Any other advice you can offer to help her feel better soon? Thanks!

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So What Happened?

Thank you, everyone, for such great, helpful advice! I stopped using the wipes, stopped Desetin, and give her baths use baking powder instead. I also let her run around without a diaper as much as I can, and at night she slept without a diaper. I found Vaseline worked very well. Her rash is 90% cleared in just 2 days, and she seems better. Thanks a lot, everyone and have a great day!

Featured Answers

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A.

answers from Chicago on

When my son developed a really bad diaper rash, the best treatment was Triple Paste. I know they have it at Walgreen's and Target. I tried the other creams including Lotrimin and a prescription, and this cleared it up like magic. Good luck.

12 moms found this helpful
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T.B.

answers from Chicago on

Try Flander's Diaper Cream, formally known as Clancy's. It works great. I would use nothing else on my daughter's or the children and recommend it to all my parents who's children attend my daycare.

This really will help!!!!!

3 moms found this helpful

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T.S.

answers from Chicago on

ND

Our son has had what I call "bad" diaper rash twice, both times when he was cutting teeth. Once to the point where it scabbed over (ouch!). We called the doctor and she suggested a couple of things:

1. Aquaphor Cream (Walgreens, Target, Babies R Us).
2. Bath with no soap, just to soak and clean everything out. Then, let them air dry for awhile. No diaper, just naked. They love it anyway. We only have carpeting in the bedrooms, so we weren't too concerned with a little accident to clean up. If you have carpet, maybe let her play in the kitchen with you for about 1/2 hour. It really dries it out well.
3. Use a warm wash cloth (no wipes) to clean up during changes.
4. If possible, sleeping at night without a diaper. We were able to do this the first time as our son wasn't very mobile yet. It was a little messy in the AM, but really worked. I was too scared to do it this last time (he was 22M).

Finally, for the pain...we gave our son some Motrin or Tylenol to help subside it. It was painful for us to even look at and he would SCREAM when we changed him, so I know how badly it hurt him.

Good luck.

T.

2 moms found this helpful
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A.H.

answers from Chicago on

I know what you're going through. My daughter has been on antibiotics once a month for the last three months and a side affect is diarrhea -- FOR 10 DAYS! My daughter's diaper rash was terrible. I would let her soak in a bath of baking soda everyday, change her often (had too anyway), dry her carefully but thoroughly (hairdryer idea sounds good because you don't have to actually touch the area more than you already are), sometimes let her go diaperless for a few mintues (but not easy with diarrhea) and use Triple Paste. It's the thickest stuff out there, and you can find it and Target or Walgreen's. It's not cheap, but it's worth it. Also, make sure you are using an Overnite diaper when she goes to bed at night. Every little bit helps. Good luck!!!

1 mom found this helpful

N.P.

answers from Chicago on

Change her very frequently (Yes, I like to state the obvious). Give her a little tylenol. When my daugher gets a rash, when I wipe her I blow on it afterwards. Try to give her some naked time. If you have a vinyl covering or tablecloth put it under a blanket. Also, I swear by Butt Paste. Yes, it's actually called Butt Paste... you can find it at Target/etc. Good luck. I hope she feels better soon.

1 mom found this helpful
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S.A.

answers from Raleigh on

Desitin is thick and will keep her skin moist/wet - with summer coming its better to keep her dry.

Try cornstarch powder like Gold Bond. It may help prevent diaper rash in the future.

My son had one really bad diaper rash when he was still in diapers, and after everything else failed... we used gold bond lotion - and it cleared up within a day or so.

try naked butt time - I used to let my son run around without a diaper for about a half hour after his bath.

good luck!

1 mom found this helpful
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M.K.

answers from Chicago on

Boudreaux's Butt Paste works very well.

1 mom found this helpful
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N.D.

answers from Chicago on

Hi there-

Sorry to hear about your peanut. My daughter (3 months old) had a bad diaper rash too and it turned out to be a yeast infection(her first). The doctor recommended Lotrimin, over the counter. It worked wonders. Just apply religiously for the first 24 hours and I am sure it will get better.

Good luck.

1 mom found this helpful
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J.P.

answers from Chicago on

You have so much advice that I couldn't read so I hope I am not repeating something. The boy I watch gets it real bad too so I don't use wipes on him at all. I use wash clothes with warm water and pat it clean with no rubbing. I would make sure too to bath every night. If it gets too bad I have heard of using a bottle to pour water on the butt to clean it so your not causing pain or friction. You could also try new diapers.

1 mom found this helpful
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M.H.

answers from Chicago on

That does sound quite painful. I remember why my son had severe diaper rash my ped. told us to use zync oxide only. No desitine because there are additional chemicals in that which are not necessary and which may irritate. You can get zync oxide at Walgreens or other pharmacy. Also. We were also instructed to give nice warm baths and just let him soak in it because that is soothing. Also, when changing the diaper we were instructed to just use a warm wash cloth (no wipes whatsoever until it cleared up). And lastly, we were told that we should try to let him be without a diaper for a little while if possible to let it air out. These instructions worked perfectly and within two days we could already see a difference. Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful
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J.L.

answers from Chicago on

Believe it or not, the best diaper rash tool is a hairdryer! Both of my girls had very sensitive skin and got diaper rashes very often, until I began using this remedy. Basically, you just want to change her frequently, use wipes to clean her, then dry her whole diaper area with a hair dryer on a low/cool setting. Both my girls loved it when I used the hairdryer on them, and it not only cured rashes they had, but with continued use, it prevented them from ever getting diaper rashes again. I just kept a hairdryer plugged in next to my changing table.

1 mom found this helpful
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R.M.

answers from Chicago on

Naked butt time in the sunlight of a window works wonders! You can put a towel down and have it a "tea party". And she'll love it! My 20 mo old little girl had rash so bad this weekend at a wedding she cried through the whole thing yelling "hot" and pulling at her diaper. So I know this is really bad. It should clear up soon.

Oh, and we had been trying to use pull up diapers to encourage potty training and went back to the regular diapers. That helped too.

1 mom found this helpful
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L.

answers from Chicago on

All the suggestions here are great ones. I'd just like to add that we have had great success with A&D ointment. I don't use any other product for diaper rash. Also, I'd like to reinforce what another mom said about powder. I IS horrible for the respiratory system and I believe may be linked to SIDS. You child is a little old for the SIDS concern, but better safe than sorry...

1 mom found this helpful
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K.

answers from Chicago on

Try doing a baking soda bath with warm water,when my daughter was a baby she had rashes, very red & pinful. The Dr. said try the baking soda bath. You can even sit the baby in the sink, warm water and some baking soada. It helps to neuralize the acids on the skin. Then I would use DRC cream at that time
(13 yrs.ago) it was only behind the counter,it worked everytime. Trust me I thought the dr. was crazy telling me baking soda.But it never failed. Just my opinion but isn't desitin hard to wipe off? Thats why I always liked DRC.It was always eaiser to clean off at changes.
A naked butt never hurt either!
Good Luck I hope the baby finds feels better soon.

1 mom found this helpful
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N.

answers from Chicago on

I'm the mother of 3 girls ages 15, 13 and 6. I know you must feel helpless to soothe her sore, raw little bottom. I have two pieces of advice. First, anything but a mild baby bath like Johnson's can really irritate the female 'privates'. Second, the best product on the market for really bad diaper rash (I found anyway, with 3 girls) is called DRC and I think it stands for 'Diaper Rash Cream' - pretty logical, hugh? Sometimes it's hard to find and some phrmacies keep it behind the counter. It's about a 6 or 7 oz white tube with pastel colored baby blocks on the front with the letters D-R-C. I found it most often at Wal Mart but call any Pharmacy ahead before you drive around from store to store. It's not cheap as diaper cream goes, but well worth it - probably $7 or $8. Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful
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A.R.

answers from Chicago on

How about a nice cool shallow bath? Letting her sit and play in there to soak?

Baby powder is really horrible for the respiritory system. If you want to powder, try cornstarch. It will make her more slippery against the diaper too and ease the friction and her pain.

Did they test her for yeast? If it's yeast, definitely don't use cornstarch- it will feed off of it and make it worse. Yogurt (both eaten (any flavor) and PLAIN yogurt applied to rash) will help.

Can you give her a bit of pain reliever? Some baby Motrin or Tylenol to help with the pain?

I would leave the dipe off as much as possible- will she play on a waterproof pad?

Hope this helps!!
M.

1 mom found this helpful
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B.

answers from Chicago on

Keep her out of diaper if possible. We count on naked butt time to keep our kids diaper rash free. Good Luck
B.

1 mom found this helpful
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K.C.

answers from Chicago on

Allergies can develop at any time. Could also be related to teething, increase in saliva leading to diarrhea. Maybe you should get a second opinion as this sounds pretty severe and it's not "normal" to have diaper rash like that. Good luck!!!

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N.K.

answers from Chicago on

I used to work for a pediatrician and she would prescribe "magical butt cream". It is a combo of several things. Ask your DR or call your pharmacy to see if they if they know about it

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A.S.

answers from Chicago on

Makre sure your babies' completely dry before you apply and ointments- if it is at all wet it will seal in the moisture! try using aquaphor.....it helped alot!

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K.B.

answers from Chicago on

Hi, I'm a mom of a 4 yr. old, and 20 mo. old. Been there on the bad diaper rash front with my 4 yr. old. All have been good answers like airing out the bottom for awhile. I would suggest giving up wipes for awhile and cleaning with Cetaphil (they have it at Walgreens) and cotton squares. Water can irritate the bottom and so I would stay away from a bath for a bit esp. if you are an every night bath mom. My son just had a sensitive bottom and was on and off with rash most of his diaper life...which is why we potty trained him early. Best of luck to you.

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S.

answers from Chicago on

my son had horrible horrible diaper rash. It almost appeared overnight. I took him to the doctor and she gave me prescription cream. The rash cleared up in 2 days. It was so bad it hurt me to even look at it. If i were you I would call the dr back and tell him you need something stronger. Poor little peanut ...

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