Why Is My Baby Girls Bottom Bleeding?

Updated on January 13, 2011
K.S. asks from Ojai, CA
17 answers

Hi,
I have a almost one year old baby girl and she has never had this problem before.
she has really bad diaper rash at the moment (possibly caused by teething) and I have been using an aqueous cream on her bottom for about a week and giving her two baths a day.
However, during a change today, when I wiped her vagina (perineal area) there was a small amount of blood. obviously this concerned me enough to come on here and ask these questions.
1. is it normal to get a bleed from diaper rash??
2. could I possibly be wiping her too hard?
3. could it be hormonal?

please help as I am extremely concerned about her.

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So What Happened?

thank you all so much for your answers.
Yes I have changed the brands or her diapers (pampers to walmart)
I have also started to wean my daughter from nursing so her intake of juices has gone up.
I didnt realise that giving her two baths could actually be hurting her as I am a first time mom so I will stop doing that.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you xx

also the reason that I bathe her so often is because I thought that is what you are meant to do. I had a lot of problems after she was born (baby blues) and I guess I kind of got stuck into that routine. im still learning.

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K.A.

answers from Los Angeles on

hi it may be something a little bit more serious than just a diaper rash. 1 thing i would try first is A&D Ointment this works so great! I've used it on all 3 of my kids. and only 1 of them has every had a diaper rash and that was before i started using A&D my son is now 19 :)
if after a few days and you don't see a change take her to see her doctor you may need something medicated
good luck

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J.B.

answers from Phoenix on

after a week and now bleeding it could be a yeast infection. Sugar in juice can make it worse also. My DS is still getting over a nasty yeast/staph infection that started with "just diaper rash" 7 weeks ago. I would suggest having her ped look at it.

Good luck!

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T.D.

answers from Cleveland on

Well, bathing her twice a day is not a good idea. The soap in the water could be giving her very dry skin and actually aggravating the rash. If you do bath her (and once is more than enough) add some backing soda to the water. It will help balance the PH of her skin and help soothe the rash. Next, give her little bum some air time. After she'd had some air time put olive oil on her rash as it will go much farther to helping heal the rash the the other ointment. If the rash is that bad then I would say the bleeding is "normal" but I know how distressing it can be. Also, if she's never gotten a bad rash like the from teething in the past then I wouldn't automatically jump to the conclusion that teething is causing the rash. Have you tried her on any new foods? Maybe increased her juice (especially OJ) intake? Changed her baby wash or lotion? Changed diaper brands? There could be a lot of things that are causing the rash so think h*** o* it because if it's not the teething then you need to stop giving her what ever is actually causing the rash.

I just read your response and noticed you said that you were breastfeeding. That means you have one more tool to try! Put some breastmilk on her rash. It has natural antibiotic properties and will be so soothing to her poor little bum. I use breastmilk on my son's diaper rashes when they get super irritated as well. He seems to get them regularly when he teethes but he also seems to be really sensitive to things like OJ (just figured this out two days ago and oh was that rash bad!) and yogurt of all thing (He even breaks out when I eat it and then nurse him not just when he eats it). Also, since you said you are weaning I'm assuming that means you have been giving her more cow's milk? If so that could also be the culprit. I would cut that out as well until you've got the rash cleared up and then reintroduce it slowly to see if the rash returns. Our systems aren't really designed to digest cow's milk and where most people manage just fine others can have a lot of trouble.

1 mom found this helpful
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S.A.

answers from New York on

Make sure you water down the juice quite a bit. Too strong can cause diaper rash and also diarreah. Good luck! you're a great mom!!

1 mom found this helpful
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K.B.

answers from Los Angeles on

Acid Mantle cleared up my son's horrible diaper rash when nothing else worked. Your ped will have to give you a perscription.

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J.D.

answers from Los Angeles on

Along with everything you have learned here, I want to ask if you are using anything in the bathwater such as a Johnson & Johnson or other bubble bath/body wash product. Most of them have Sodium Laurel Sulfates of some kind in them and that is very irritating to the p****** p**** of most girls, little and big. The reason why many cannot take bubble baths anymore along with all of the dyes and synthetic perfumes put in the product. Sensaria has body washes that can be used as bubble baths so little and big girls can take baths again - no SLS, no synthetic perfumes, no dyes, no phthalates, etc. www.sensaria.com/J.

You are doing a good job mom - just keep loving her and learning:o)

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S.H.

answers from Honolulu on

Take her to the Doctor.

Cut back on giving her juice. It is not needed. AND some are sensitive to the acids in it. I was as a child. And I turned red and sore down there... from juice. Especially citrus based juices. Juices have citric acid in it.

For us we did not even give our kids juices...until after 2 years old and even 3 years old... and we water it down with 50% water.

Also at this age, they can drink whole milk... organic being best of course. Does she drink milk, or does she drink juice more?

To wean a child, giving more juice or juice... is ... really not recommended.

Ultimately, you need to take her to the Doctor to get her properly diagnosed.
No, bleeding from a diaper 'rash'... is not normal.

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S.Z.

answers from Reno on

I have 4 kids, and I've seen diaper rashes that result in open, bleeding sores all over the bottom; usually it's during an episode with diarrhea, or something else that causes a high acid content in the bowel movements. The first time I ever saw it, it was after my daughter had been with a sitter for hours and hadn't been changed, and I freaked out. It will heal, and won't scar. Give her a chance to have her bottom air out without a diaper, if you can, then put something on it that's safe for broken skin (read the label).

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C.M.

answers from Miami on

Yes, this can be caused from diaper rash. She might have a yeast infection. Call your pediatrician for his/her recommendation.

Or, maybe there have been too many baths that have dried out her skin and made it even more sensitive. Be careful what you are washing her with. She may be very sensitive to perfumes or dyes in the soaps as well - especially with the rash.

Good luck!
C.

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S.B.

answers from Wichita on

my daughter had a terrible diaper rash once, when she was seeing an interim babysitter, and it was bleeding. I took her to the doctor and she said that we should use whatever diaper rash cream had the most zinc oxide, as it would keep all the moisture from her vaginal area. We did, and it was Desitin. It helped so much! We kept it slathered on and it cleared right up. We also stopped using wipes and started using paper towels we had wet down with water instead, because the wipes were hurting her too much.

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D.W.

answers from Gainesville on

Does the diaper rash look like small red dots? Might be a yeast infection. If it's that bad I'd take her in and let the doc take a look.

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M.M.

answers from Milwaukee on

Why do you bathe her twice a day?? Sorry just a question, sounds very excessive. I would definitely cut down the bath time. Bleeding does happen sometimes with bad diaper rash. Air is the best for a bad diaper rash. If you can have her run around with no diaper on for a little while a couple of times a day it will clear up quickly. I like the olive oil suggestion. Also zink diaper creams are good because zink pulls the moisture away from the diaper rash and leaves a bit of a barrier over her diaper rash. The constant washing with even water can be very irritating and drying. You want a good dry surface as much as possible.

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K.H.

answers from San Diego on

Yikes! The best advise that I ever got in regards to diaper rash is that everytime you wipe, it creates a "burn" type sensation on the affected area. So I was told to use a warm washcloth and pat the area (obviously for poop, there will be a bit of wiping) and let her go with out a diaper for a while to let the area air out. I also use Buttpaste---it works wonders!
GL!!

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K.H.

answers from Boston on

You might want to call the pedi to see if they have any suggestions for clearing this up. My pedi had us mix desitin, lotramin and bacitracin and use that as a diaper cream (I don't remember the exact proportions though). That did wonders for us. Definitely give your daughter as much air time as possible (even have her sit on a towel or something instead of wearing a diaper. I hope this clears up soon!

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J.R.

answers from Washington DC on

My son got yeast infections fairly regularly. Looked like someone took a cheese grater to his butt. It's not normal to bleed with diaper rash. Teething doesn't cause diaper rash. Remember, you only need to wipe after pooh. Let her bottom dry out for a couple of minutes (or as long as you can tolerate) after changing a diaper. Also, try using a hairdryer set to warm on her bottom. Yeast loves moisture. All the baths are probably making it worse. I would definitely take her to the doctor. If you can't get in today, try some vaginal yeast medicine in a small area of the rash. That was what my doctor recommended. Also, his rashes would respond to some creams and not others, so be aware that might happen to your baby.
Good luck. Being a mom is so hard!
J.

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M.C.

answers from Dallas on

Chances are she ate something that she may have been allergic to. When she had a BM, whatever food it was got on her skin and caused this reaction. My youngest son has the same problem. He can not have prunes, sweet potatoes, or tomatoes. Even if I change his diaper immediately after going, he still has some bloody spots on his rump. Keep in mind what you fed her and see what foods are causing this so they can be avoided in the future.

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J.C.

answers from Lincoln on

It happens often (bleeding from diaper rash), depending on what they eat. My youngest can get very sensitive and bleed immediately if he gets a rash. I'm sure you aren't wiping too hard.
If the rash won't go away it could be a yeast infection, happens all the time. Since its been a week, I would look into that. Take her to the pediatrician to have it looked at, if that's not an option look up yeast infection on google and take a look at some of the pictures. If it looks similar try some over the counter cream on her, should work within 2 days.
You're doing great, keep up the good work!

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