S.G. asks from Fort Worth, TX on March 26, 2008
Re-occurring Rash -- Maybe Allergy?
My 6 month old has a TERRIBLE reoccurring diaper rash. It is red, inflamed, and sometimes even turns into an open wound. It breaks my heart! He got his first diaper rash like this at 5 months after taking antibiotic Omniceph. Never taking that again. Well, then he was having some seasonal allergies and congestion. We gave him Ceron DM for the congestion, and he got this horrible rash again! We stopped the Ceron and replaced it with Benedryl. The rash went away...then stopped the benedryl and it came back! Maybe the Ceron didn't cause it, but if he was alergic to something else the Benedryl helped it???
We have inventoried EVERYTHING. There is no new food, formula, detergent, NOTHING we have changed just before he started getting it again.
Maybe he just developed an allergy to something? I thought about trying switching to soy formula, and taking all baby food out of his diet and only introducing one food at a time to see if there is a reaction.
Any other advice?????? Luckily we have a really good ointment to help it but after a poop he just cries and cries :(
So What Happened?™
He DID have a yeast infection. He had thrush (from who knows where, since he was out of day care for 2 weeks before hand). However, the thrush did not look like what Ive seen before, it was just a little on the inside of his cheeks, no white tongue or anything. Well, the thrush was coming through his stools and giving that HORRIBLE rash. Im so glad we went to the Dr.!
More Answers
C.P. answers from Dallas on March 26, 2008
Hello S.,
have the doctor do a blood test to check for allergies... one thing, he'll have to be off the benadryl for a few days. talk w/ the doctor. I'd wait a few days before taking him off the benadryl to make sure his skin heals well first.
Next I'd take him off of all milk products. change wipes, diapers, bath gel,
no baby oil: To make mineral oil, gasoline and kerosene are removed from crude petroleum by heating, in a method call functional distillation. By using sulfuric acid, applying absorbents, and washing with solvents and alkalis, hydrocarbons and other chemicals are then removed.
http://www.bodymindbreath.com/content/BabyOil
skip baby powder... get the mildest and NATURAL of baby soaps....NO sodium laurel sulfates
skip the baby lotion.
figure out how you can let him "air out" from time to time.
besides the rash, is he 'growing' 'as scheduled' (what ever that means) what I'm asking, is he showing any signs of not absorbing nutrients?
also, ask the doctor if he's too young for yogurt. could he have candida/yeast? Good luck and keep looking! follow your gut. ~C.~
L.L. answers from Dallas on March 26, 2008
Try changing his formula to a soy based, to rule out milk allergy. When you change his diaper, do not use wipes, just use cotton balls and water. Pat his bottom dry before putting on another diaper.
6 months is not too young for yogurt. They sell an organic yogurt for babies in the dairy section next to all the other yogurts. You can mix it into a bottle of milk so he can drink it, or feed it to him with a spoon. Do not give him any juice or fruits or anything acidic. It should start clearing up in a few days. My youngest had quite a few diaper rashes that would eat his little bum raw, and would even bleed. He still gets them from time to time, especially if he has a stomach virus or watery stool. The steps above usually clear it up rather quickly.
K.W. answers from Dallas on March 27, 2008
My son (2 y.o)gets rashes from his meds like lots of babies do but afterwards they look terrible & they hurt him... we did all that switching & testing, this & that, we found out he is very prone to yeast infections so we put monistat on him in the morning & after bathtime at night! Works like a charm... Try it! that might be it! If you feel you need to ask your pedi good idea, but mine suggested it last resort! Good luck!
E.T. answers from Dallas on March 27, 2008
ditto to what Sandy said. We had the same problem after Omniceph. Our pedi suggested buying acidolpholus because the amount in yogurt may not be enough to help restore the good bateria and help fight all the yeast. you can ask for it at your pharmacy. We shop at Tom Thumb and the acidolpholus was kept behind the pharmacy counter and was refrigerated. They come in chewable tablets, so with a baby, you just crush it up into a fine powder and put it in a food he really likes.
We also had to do several rounds of lotrimin... it works wonders on a yeast infection.
S.R. answers from Dallas on March 26, 2008
S.,
I'm a mom of 3 and I agree with everything that has been suggested. The blood test is called a RASP. I am leaning more towards a bad yeast which can be detected in the Dr's with an utlra violet light. One thing that always cleared up terrible diaper rash for us as recommended by our doctor was Lotrimen Ultra-yes the foot fungas creme! It works.
Good luck
S.
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