Seeking Advice About How to Treat Preemie with Horrendous Sores on Her Bottom

Bag Balm - in a green square can - find it in the lotion section, ointment section or PET SECTION - originally for cows' udders in cold weather - awesome product - smells of the cod liver oil (yuck) in it - but amazing quick healing - heals up almost any thing! a stay-at-home- Grandma

I know this sounds strange and I didn't want to use it either but, Bag Balm. Trust me it works! My daughter was a preemie and we went through the same thing. We tried all sorts of diaper rash/sore bottom creams even a Rx from the doctor and nothing would help. My father and father in-law (who is a Pharmacist) both told me to try Bag Balm. After the first application and diaper change we noticed it getting better and by the next day it was all cleared up. Now we only use Bag Balm for sore bottoms. I found it the cheapest at Target and it is behind the pharmacy counter. Hope it works for you.

I use Arbonne Diaper Cream. It is all natural and works great. I only have to use it a couple of times before the rash is gone. I even use it on my 5 year old when her crotch gets a little red. It's great! My sister-in-law sells it and I keep it on hand.

A. - Keeping the area clean and air drying like you are doing is great! The other thing that you may need is to ask your doctor if you need to add an antifungal cream or ointment since often times the rashes tend to be yeasty in nature. Hope it clears up soon!

Try cloth diapers and use baking soda and vinegar to wash them (no harsh chemicals on the skin- I use 1/3 cup baking soda and 1 oz of vinegar in a downy ball). They are really great at protecting sensitive skin and keeping your baby dry (depending on what material is used next to your babies skin). Kissaluv's are GREAT for newborns and preemies. You can even buy organic diapers that are especially gentle. My baby's were older when I started cloth but I found the website www.jilliansdrawers.com very helpful in learning about this option since no one I knew did cloth. There is so much more to it than the prefolds and pins our mothers used- there are some really great options out there for people who don't want to use pins (like me)and want convenience and ease of use like disposables but with all the benefits of cloth. You may want to consider something with fleece that will keep her especially dry or wool which is very breathable (which is really important with severe diaper rash problems.) I also really loved using Better Butter Cream ( http://www.jilliansdrawers.com/store/betterbuttercream.html )and found it more effective than Desitin or Petroleum jelly. My girls also really seemed calmed by the feel of it when diaper rash was bad. You will not regret trying cloth!

When my son was little he had horrible diaper rash to the point of bleeding at one time. I used a product called "Calmoseptine" Not sure of the spelling but I got it at the pharmacy it's an over the counter med but the kept it behind the counter. It is thick like desitin but pink like calomine lotion. It numbs the area and creates a moisture barrier. It worked wonders taking the sting out of the rash and healed it much quicker than any thing else I had tried up till then. Hope it works for you!

Hi A.,

You probably have a lot of information already but I thought I'd share this tidbit as well. I talked with our local pharmacist to find out what he would recommend for the same issue. Below is the response:

Hydrocortisone Cream 1% (antipruritic – anti-itch) + Clotrimazole Cream 1% (antifungal cream) = prescription diaper cream

The ratio is 1:1. I just make one line with one cream and make the same line with the other cream, rub the two together and rub on baby’s butt. It worked wonders. Results would occur as early as same day/next day.

The pharmacist provided this suggestion as the two creams above are over the counter without prescription and only become prescribed when the two are mixed together.

Hope you find this inforamtion helpful, if not for your immediate concerns, down the road. :)

Hi A. M. - My preemie had the same problem and I tried everything. Go to St. Johns Pharmacy at the Hospital and get CALMOSEPTINE. The pharmacist and the peditrican both said it would be ok to use on his bottom even though it is typically suggested for adults. The St. John's Pharmacy was the only one around my house that carried the lotion. Give it a try. It cleared up my son's sores in about 3 days.

my first question would be- how old is your baby now? did your baby have any antibiotics? is your baby bottle or breast fed? how long has your little one had this diaper rash? Are the sores little round open sores or a bunch of little pin point sized red bumps? then it could be yeast.

My first son had an awful yeast diaper rash! The regular creams they sell in the drug store will not work if it is yeast. A regular diaper rash should clear up in a couple of days of treatment- if not, it may be something more. You may need to ask your doc for the magic butt cream Rx or you can make some thing similar your self with equal parts

desitin
lotramin AF
maylox (I like to use the mint it cools the rash off a bit)

hope that helps!

Congratulations A.,
I am sorry to hear of your baby's rash. My baby was 1 week old and devoloped a serious rash with open sores. I tried everything. He Dr gave us 2 different prescriptions and they didn't work either. Lots of air time and oatmeal baths and nothing. You could hardly touch her and every time she peed she would make this horrible gasping sound. I cried every time she did. This went on for a whole week (Which doesn't sound long, but when your little baby is in pain, it's an eternity). We had her baptized when she was a little over 2 weeks old and my SIL's father was a guest at our party. He is a family Practioner. I asked him if he could take a look at her. He called our CVS right away with a "Magic Butt Cream" It was magical! Within 2 days it was all cleared up! We found out that she was allergic to Pampers. She never had another rash until I bought Pampers again because they were on sale! I used the magic cream immediately and it never got too bad! Ask your Dr. for a prescription for it. I believe it is equal parts Nystatin(that's why it has to be prescription), A&D ointment, Lotrimin and Mallox

Good luck to you. This won't last forever!
God Bless!
Good luck to you

Hi A.,
My boys are preemees also and were having problems with sores destin was not doing the trick so I tried to change diapers (I now use only pampers) that helped but we still had some sores. So I change them alot and than I changed the wipes to pampers sensitive. No more sores. They will still get small blisters or sores sometimes but not very often or as bad. Try it and see.

Good luck
Tammy

have you thought about making your own homemade baby wipes?? when my son had rotovirus when he was younger he had a NASTY but rash and nothing helped, desitin, butt paste nothing. but when i stared to use the homemade wipes his butt did much better and he didn't cry when i changed him after that. just do a yahoo search on homemade baby wipes, the are cheap and easy to make good luck

You might want to try cloth diapers. That would let her little bottom breathe more. You could also try cloth wipes w/ warm water to avoid chemicals on her delicate skin. Good Luck!!

I am glad to hear your baby is doing better and is home with you. I would do exactly as theyt told you at the NICU. Using different types of creams and remedies could make the situation worse. I am an ICU nurse and have seen many types of sores with many different treatments. if they told you open air and desitin, then use that only. Sores can take a long time to heal but they will. Be patient and good luck

Hi A., Ok so dont think I am crazy, but I used an old remedy my mom told me about. My kids are grown, so its been awhile but I have used this on my grandchildren too. My son and daughter both used to get terrible rashes when teething. i tried all the ointments and nothing worked as good as this.
You take regular flour that you use for cooking and brown it in a pan. No oil or anything and it takes a bit for it to start browning. Let it cool and then put it on your babys bottom with each changing just like a baby powder. I know it sounds crazy, but it really does work, and you are using a natural product. My Mom was from the south and I thought she was crazy when she told me this, but it was great.
Good luck, I know it can be terrible pain for the baby and you with the sore bottom like this. There is something to these old fashioned remedies and I found this one to work great.

Hello, sorry you have to go thru that with your baby, that isn't fun. I am not sure if you are a breastfeeding mom, or not, but I hope this helps. I use Lansinoh baby wipes for breastfed babies. I couldn't believe the difference from my first and second child. I didn't know anything about the wipes until I had my second child. My first child was very sensitive to any type of wipe I used, I eventually had to just use a wet paper towel. Also after I use the Lansinoh baby wipes, I use A&D cream. The best place to find the Lansinoh wipes is at Target, they are with all of the other Lansinoh products, not with the regular baby wipes. I hope that helps.

Hi A.,

I agree with the other mom who used Calmoseptine. It is amazing. I have recommended it to numerous friends and all have loved it. It is behind the counter at any pharmacy.

Hi A..
Whenever my kids had diaper rash or sores I used corn starch. I changed them often to keep them dry and I would wipe them with a warm washcloth (not wipes). Then I would put cornstarch on the rash/sores. It works wonders. If that doesn't work try aquaphor. One of my daycare parents said that it works really well. It's kinda like Vaseline. Desitin never worked for us. It only made things worse. My kids acted like it hurt them. Hope this info. helps. Good luck!

Hi A.,
Try an over the counter med recommended by my pediatrician...it's called Calmoseptine. It's usually behind the pharmacy counter. I think it's a miracle. Try it, you won't believe how well it works. It's much better than all the rest. I've tried them all......

A little about me:
SAHM of 3 (ages 9.7.3)

Sounds like bed sores to me. Hospital neglect. Take her to a Dermatologist right away, because at your babies age, if they become infected, it could turn life threatening. If she is still in the hopital, then insist that she be seen by the skin doctor. Goood luck.

if they are having you use regular diaper rash cream I would try Bourdeaux's Butt Paste. The other creams seem to stick to the skin and almost make it worse. The Butt Paste is available just about anywhere and wipes off easily without irritating the skin.

A.,

Arbonne makes a skin conditioning oil that we are swear by for healing. You can use it "under" diaper cream, a couple times a day. Write me and I will get you some at a discount if you do not know anyone who sells it. Good Luck!

T.

Hi A.,
I am sorry to hear about your daughter. Have you looked at the ingredients in your desitin ointment? Desitin has chemicals in it,such as mineral oil and petroleum, that can actually cause skin irritations. Mineral oil coats the skin just like plastic wrap, clogging pores and disrupting the skin's natural immune barrier and inhibiting its ability to breathe and absorb the natural moisture factor- moisture and nutrition.

I was not aware of the toxic ingredients in products when my children were infants.

I have been told that Burts Bee has a diaper ointment called Baby bee diaper ointment, that works really well. You might want to check them out. Especially since your daughter is a preemie, you should be careful on what you put on her skin- since your skin absorbs the products into your bloodstream.
Another suggestion that was given to me was Avalon products. I am unfamiliar to either one, but have heard a lot of good about Burts Bee.
Hopefully her bottome will clear up.

God bless you and your family!
K.

I found that Desitin made my 4 kids cry with pain when I put it on. A friend recommeded Calmoseptine and it was wonderful, healed faster and no more crying! You have to go to the pharmacy and ask for it. It is not a prescription but they keep in behind the pharmacy. I will never be without it again!

Hi A.,

There is a cream I bought for my granddaughter for the same problem and it worked wonders on her sore bottom. It's called "Calendula" cream (I think that's how it's spelled.) Zerbo's health food store in Livonia, MI carries it...it's around $10/$11 a tube. Better Health Food stores carries it too, I believe. It's a must to have around the house for any skin irritations...especially for those little ones! Hope this helps!

Happy Mothering,

Pam F. in San Luis Potosi

My Ped. told me to put something like neosporin (any anti-biotic cream) on my daugther's diaper rash when it got to be open sores at one point - then cover that with the destin (or something like). It did help. The other thing that helped quite a bit was putting her in soda baths (plain water with baking soda added).

Good luck!
J.

BTW - my daughter was also a preemie =) a 28 weeker

Both of my sons have pretty sensitive skin down there. The only thing that works for me is Triple Paste. Mind you, it's expensive but it works! Airing the area & giving her a warm bath without any soap helps as well.
You can get Triple Paste at Target or online. The best deal I found was www.anyotc.com. Free shipping for orders over $50. We usually get the 2 pack one which comes out to be the least expensive per ounce.

Hi A.,

I hope you don't mind my feedback to you. I'm an older mom, who hasn't given birth for many years; but have a wealth of info due to my interests in life.

Many years ago I worked in a health food store selling better products to people to help their health in so many ways. One suggestion I have for you is to put some pure aloe juice in your baby's bath water. After bath dab some aloe gel on the baby's bottom. I also suggest that you not use the usual creams and powders that are commercially made. Talc is a bad ingredient for anyone's health baby or adult. I haven't used talc in years. If you can afford it, go to a health food store like Whole Foods or any store in your area that is reputable. Ask someone who is knowledgeable there about finding a baby powder for your baby that isn't talc based.

I have lots more that I'd like to share with you, but the most important situation here is the immediate problem which you are concerned with; and rightfully so. We don't want the little one to be uncomfortable either or in pain.

I hope that this has been of help to you A.. If you want, let me know how this progresses. You can reach me directly at ____@____.com care and happy healing,
Linda

,Hi A., My name is M.. I am a pediatric nurse for a very busy peds office. We have a Magic Diaper Rash Cream that parents mix up , keep in a sealed container. The ingredients are 1)3 ounces of Desitin,2)3 ounces of A&d ointment- doesn't have to be the brand name , store brand is fine, 3)1 tablespoon of liquid Maalox 4) 1 tablespoon corn starch. Mix all ingredients together and apply to babies bottom with every diaper change. Letting her skin air dry will help alot too. Good luck. M.

I have always used Calmoseptine ointment. I buy it behind the counter at Costco. It is the best butt cream there is. The tube is a light green and white. The web site is www.calmoseptineointment.com and the # is 800-800-3405. I hope your babies bottom gets better soon.
Jackie

Mom of 5 and 8 yr old girls.

A.,

I brought my preemie home and he was developing a similar issue. I would of course ask your pediatrician, but I stopped using diaper wipes and used cotton facial pads or even a soft paper towel with warm water. If it was a really dirty diaper I would put a little baby soap on it, then use a separate pad with warm water to "rinse" and pat it dry with a little dry washcloth that I keep at the changing station. His bottom got better rather quickly and I've stuck with it and only use wipes when I'm out with him now.

Not sure which NICU you were in, but at Beaumont in Royal Oak they only used warm water on cotton pads which is where I got the idea.

My son was not a preemie, but he has very sensitive skin, and gets diaper rash alot- even though we are crazy about changing him. Especially when he has medication. Last time we noticed sores, and now even at the first sign of rash we put neosporin(sp?) on before the rash cream- it works like magic! The next morning the sores are gone! I'm not sure if you could use it- but it's worth a doctor call!

What did your pediatrician say? I wouldn't put anything on a premie without checking first. It might be a yeast infection. I had 2 c-sections and because of all of the anitbiotics, both of the little ones had yeast rashes on their tushes, I had to use a prescription, if you are nursing, watch for thrush too.

When my son was a newborn, he had so many runny poops that he got numerous bloody open sores. The only thing that I found to work, that also wouldn't make him scream, was 'Ultra Dyprotex'. I'm looking at the box right now and it says that it is distributed by Medibrands Inc. out of Edison, NJ and it gives a phone number of 1-800-947-5345. I swear by it. I have only been able to find it at Walgreen's, but awhile ago, they put all of their boxes on clearance. I introduced a friend of mine to it and she went to all of the local Walgreen's and bought them out! Good luck, I hope that you can find some, it really works! I was told about it by a friend who used it on her son 11 years ago...

i use cloths diappers and stuff called bagbam i also use palmer butt butter worked well for my little butts ggood luck

Hi, my little boy and girl have gotten really nasty rashes when teething and the only thing that works to clear it is called butte paste and we get it at walmart. Someone else referred us to it and it has always worked wonders with them. I hope it works for you as well. I would also contact the health food store and see if they have any other ideas.
Another lady at church said that her little boy had a rash that would not let up and was told it was a yeast related infection and was told any diaper rash ointment that is not clear will not help it to get better so she advises a clear cream. Good luck... S.

My son got a really raw bottom b/c of antibiotics. his poor little bottom was bleeding. Two things that helped us, was the doc gave us a script for nystatin (not sure about sp) the other thing that over the counter that helps is A&D ointment. I have also heard people talk about butt paste(yes that is what it is called). My brother and wife swore by it.

Good Luck!

A litle about me. SAHM of two great kids a girl 4 and a boy 21 months. I also do some in home child care and I am a Independant Stampin up demo!

Have you consider using cloth diapers or giving her diaper free time? That may help clear it up faster.. poor thing. Maybe she's allergic to the gel in the diapers?

Hi A.,
I don't know where you live but I have a solution!
The Allendale Family Fare pharmacy makes something called
"magic butt cream" and it's available WITHOUT A PRESCRIPTION.
It's only $7.99 for a container of it.
We swear by it.
Another idea is to ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS use loads of the desitin so that the urine and stool cannot penetrate to the skin. The butt cream worked with my first two girls. Our four month old got such a bad bottom that it actually was "open" and would have blood when patted with a wipe! Ouch! Poor honey...so we used my second suggestion.
Best wishes,

Consult your doctor! I would think that open sores would require some kind of antibiotic ointment, not just Desitin.

A., I can feel your pain. When my daughter was in the NICU 10 years ago...WOW it doesn't seem that long ago, she developed the same kind of sores on her bottom. Brooke was at the University of Michigan Motts Children's Hospital, they went to the burn unit and got a very thick paste and put that on. It was a little gritty too. Within a day the sores were gone. I am not sure what the name of the cream was, but it would not come off easily. I even brought the rest of the cream home and used it on diaper rashes. You may want to ask the nurses about something like that.

I have no idea if this will help your situation, but we used Maalox. My second child was eating and pooping all the time. He pooped at least 10 times a day the first few weeks. His poor bottom was raw. He was in pain. A nurse said to pour a liquid antacid on his bottom after changing him. Let it air dry. It will neutralize the acid in the poop/pee and keep it from hurting the baby and allow the sores to heal. Might be worth a try.

Arbonne makes an awesome natural cream for babies that is 10x's better than desitin. Desitin has a petrolatim base and holds in the toxins and does not let her bottom breathe.

If you send me your address I will mail you a sample to try.

K.

You can get Triple Paste at Costco (best price I've seen and one tub will last you a long time.) You don't need a membership to buy anything at the Costco Pharmacy. You just go in and tell them you are picking up a prescription and they wave you through.

I'm not sure if anyone here has mentioned Calendula, but there are several products on the market, mostly at health food stores and/or Whole Foods that contain this ingredient. I used the Weleda brand on my babies and it worked like a charm on some pretty nasty sores. The Calendula actually 'knits' the skin together, pretty amazing.

If it turns out to be a yeast infection you may want to think about putting some plain yogurt on her tushie after a bath. And definitely keep the air flow going whenever you can. I know it's difficult to do that with a newborn, but sunshine and fresh air truly are the best of nature's first aid arsenal!

Good luck, enjoy your little bundle of joy!
J.

A.,

Please look up the ABC Herbal Diaper Rash Cream on the Arbonne website. WWW.arbonne.com, their products are botanical and herb principal products. If you are interested please contact me; P. Parker at ###-###-####.

Thanks,

Have you asked your pediatrician if it is a yeast infection? If so, they most likely will give you antibiotic cream to put on it. I think this happens if you are nursing, but not sure. Hope it helps. Oh, I found calmoseptine (found behind counter at most drug stores) or aquaphor worked for me. Desitin never really worked for my children. Again, I hope this helps. But check with your doctor to make sure these two creams are ok to use on a preemie's bottom.

The only other thing that I would recommend is baby powder with corn starch. However, I would check with your pediatrician first because of the powder dust. You just need to be careful so baby doesn't inhale it.

I have made up a homemade mixture of Malox(this helps with the burn) vaseline ( this helps protect the skin)or A&D ointment not cream. Also, I have mixed nistatin with it if there is a possibility that there is yeast involved. I believe this is a perscription. If you can get it I would you it as well because it can't hurt.Use equal parts or your judgement. You need to mix it alot. Every time you use it you will have to mix it again because it separates. Do not use wipes when cleanning her bottom. This will burn her bottom more. use wet slightly cool non abrasive paper towl or baby washclothes. This works instantly. Usually within a few diaper changes you will see a huge difference. Lastly, make sure everyone is aware of your protocol. Don't let anyone else vary from the care you want for your child. Don't forget you are the mommy.

Aww! That sounds just awful! I always had much better luck using A&D ointment than any other cream or lotion for rashes on my girls. Also, if they want her bum to get lots of air you could try using the hairdryer (on the cool setting) when she gets done with her bath. My daughters doc told me about this to quickly make sure they are good and dry before you put a diaper on her. It takes just a few seconds and then they are good and dry! Good luck! Hang in there!!

Use athletes foot creams Lotrimin AF or tinactin. The diaper rash is a fungus and these creams work great (practically overnight). It was recommended to me by our pediatrician. He was an older physician with down to earth, common sense approaches. He passed away a few years ago, and is sorely missed by our community. Anyway, I used this remedy for all three of my boys (oldest is 17 now). It worked so well that I threw out the messy diaper rash creams and never used them again.

A.,
I had the same problem with one of my kids, she was early and her skin was so paper thin it got diaper rash right away. The thing that helped was Boudreaux Butt paste, it is the best diaper cream, helps clear things up right away. Make sure you use it after all diaper changes. Good luck.

My twins were in the NICU as well but it was clear to me that they were, by far, the largest and most developed babies in the NICU. I know that is must be really hard for you to have your daughter there. However you should take comfort in the fact that she is getting the care she needs and that the nurses and doctors there are experts and have years of experience with NICU babies. You could always ask about another type of ointment, Calmoseptine, for example. It works great for us when our kids get diaper rash even when they have had open sores from time to time. They may not use it on preemies for some reason though. Allowing your daughter's bum to be exposed to air is pretty classic treatment for diaper rash. And even though powder-like materials are generally frowned up (and may be even more so in the NICU where there are babies with respiratory issues), our doctor had us gently sprinkle some powder on our son's bottom (hold the powder container right next to their bottom) after putting on ointment one time when it was really bad.

When our son was in the hospital his poor little butt would get so raw. The nurses used Diaprotex and I do think it was helpful. It is a medicated cream and it has a pad to help apply it. Talk to your doc/pediatrician - they may have to write a prescription for it (I think it's prettyto find otherwise). The other thing that helped was to let it air as much as possible and change him immediately so no wetness, etc. could sit near his skin. Good luck - hope your daughter is better very soon!

I found that the A&D ointment (not the original, the zinc one in the whote and blue tube) worked MUCH better on my daughters sensitive little bottom. Desitin actually made hers worse but it was healed in about a week with the A&D.

Good Luck...poor girl!

I am so sorry to hear about your babies bottom, but congrats on your newborn. When my baby had bad sores on his bottom from really bad diahreea the doctor told me to use hydrocortisone cream at a diaper change then the next diaper change use the type of cream that women use for vaginal yeast infections. Switch creams every time you change the baby and pretty much by the time the baby went to bed it looked almost healed.
Good luck and God Bless

Sounds like you have found something that is working for now. I just wanted to send you a quick note about the diaper rash ointments though. My little guy was born early and he had the open sores on his bottom during his first week and Desitin kept making it worse so I started to read ingredients. The only diaper rash cream that I could find without fragrance in it was Boudreaux's Butt Paste and it works great. He is almost 3 now and we still use it when he gets sensitive. I was a little shocked when I realized that all of the other brands had fragrance in them when they are meant to clear up a rash.

Good luck!!

you got a ton of replies on this, I hope you don't feel a little intimidated by all the information.
I read through all the replies and agree with all the moms who said that because of all the antibiotics, a yeast infection is the rash, and a cream for yeast infection applied to the rash will help clear it up quickly. I just am not sure how often. I always did with each diaper change, just enough to have a thin layer over it( then some plain ointment to seal it on). I belive that will help a lot. and as potentially messy as it sounds, air on the bottom is perfect! good luck ^_^