Rash in nappy area- not nappy rash

[Thistledew]

DS is 7 weeks old. He is EBF.

For the past couple of weeks he has had what I thought was a touch of nappy rash, but it would come and go being treated with Sudocreme and bits of nappy free time.

On Sunday, it suddenly and dramatically flared up, and the whole of the front of his nappy area became very red and inflamed and the skin was weeping. It was only the front area that was affected and not around his bottom at all.

We kept him nappy free and by the evening it had calmed down enough to put a nappy back on. By Monday it was a lot better but I took him to the Dr to get it checked out. She said that it did not appear to be actual nappy rash but looked more like an allergic response.

I normally use washable nappies, so switched him to disposables and changed my laundry liquid to one recommended for allergies.

The Dr gave me a steroid cream, which I used, and the rash went away. I put DS back in the washable nappies yesterday afternoon, and there was no reaction.

This morning, he had a few small patches of the rash again. I immediately put him back in the disposable nappies but the rash has continued to get worse. It is now weeping again and has spread.

I am going back to the GP at 4pm, but was wondering if anyone else has experienced similar and might have an idea of the cause.

I use only water on terry or microfibre wipes and have only used Sudocreme or the steroid ointment.

Any advice or suggestions gratefully received.

[proudmummyoftwo]

Could be thrush? Causes a nasty red rash, usually spotty looking and can ooze/weep if gets bad. Mouth often affected with a white coating on tongue but not always. Worth mentioning

[Thistledew]

He has no signs of thrush in his mouth, and I don't on my nipples.

The rash could possibly be described as a bit pimply but not big spots.

He has also done a couple of mucousy poos.

[Thistledew]

The GP still thinks it is contact dermatitis, with a delayed reaction to whatever it is that is causing the irritation. So we are back to the steroid cream and disposable nappies. I really don't want to be stuck with disposables, so hopefully we can work out what is wrong and get back to the washables asap.

Has anyone had a baby allergic to their own urine?

[BombadierFritz]

I also wondered thrush. i'll try and post a pic

[Thistledew]

No, it's not nearly as spotty as that. The redness is much more even. I will try and post a picture later- I've just changed his nappy and don't want to disturb him unnecessarily.

[Thistledew]

This is a photo I took earlier. It has got worse since in that the redness is on a larger area and is more intense. The flaky skin is from the outbreak on Sunday

[proudmummyoftwo]

Could be from something your eating making his urine acidic? Or reactive ? Is it worse when you've eaten lots of dairy? Try keeping a food diary and track symptoms and see if a pattern emerges

[BombadierFritz]

do you use fleece liners? maybe heat related? it doesnt look like thrush

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

How are you washing your nappies?

[Waterlemon]

Maybe keep a food diary of what you eat.

[Thistledew]

I am using thin disposable bamboo liners.

I had been washing the nappies in Ecover non-bio at 40 degrees, but after reading somewhere that some babies react to Ecover I strip washed all the nappies (washed at 60, then two extra rinses) using Surcare liquid.

He has been in washables with the same detergent and liners etc since he was a few days old and we have not had a problem.

I haven't changed my diet in any particular way, but a food diary might be a good idea.

[Moofin]

EcZema? My little guy always has it it nappy area (sometimes red like this, sometimes sport) and it flares up/ clears up randomly no mater if in cloth nappies or disposables - he also gets patches on his ankles, elbows knees etc but most persistent in nappy area - it comes and goes, and we are careful about bath routine etc - his 6 mths and slso looks like having multiple food allergies, just very sensitive skin all round

[Moofin]

His also started around the 8 week mark but initially on his elbow - I've actually found sudocream more soothing than hydrocortisone

[Moofin]

You might want a good ointment to keep it moisturised - we use diprobase or hydramol, should stop the flakiness

[MumOfTwoMasterOfNone]

I'm thinking its heat rash. My DS gets it when it's warm in his nappy area. Sometimes it does look alarming but defo get it checked to make sure.

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

With the nappies do a cold prewash if you can, and an extra rinse cycle if you can. If the liner's retain moisture more than the nappy surface I'd ditch the liner's. Baby poo is fine in the washing machine.

Try and keep the area as dry as possible, this will be less painful if you are using reusables Where possible change after every wee as well as poos, and where possible give him nappy free time.

Just clean with water - no baby wipes and same at bath times.

And maybe keep a food diary if you can.

[Thistledew]

Thanks for all the advice and suggestions.

I don't think it is eczema as it appears and disappears quite quickly and it is just under the nappy area.

I don't think it is heat rash- or at least that is not the sole cause. I took him for a rather mid-judged trip in the sling on Tuesday and although he got rather hot, there was no flare up of the rash then.

This is what the rash looks like now and has been since early afternoon.

[Thistledew]

Thanks for the advice ItsAll. The GP wants me to keep him in the disposable nappies for the while until it calms down again, as that did seem to help a few days ago.

Poor little mite. He is howling when I change him at the moment and I'm having to hang on to him by an ankle as he is coming perilously close to flinging himself backwards off the changing table! It's such a misconception that small babies are not mobile.

[FrayedHem]

My DS4 is very prone to a similar looking rash, and the GP prescribed Timodine. There was a noticeable improvement after the first application.

[RedKites]

I don't know what the rash looked like, but I do know of a baby who had eczema in the nappy area, and also reacted to sudocreme (so the eczema gave baby a rash and then sudocreme made it worse). I'm not suggesting eczema is the cause, but could the sudocreme be a factor?

[sycamore54321]

I would listen to the GP as she seems to have called it right so far.

One other suggestion would be a fungal or yeast rash but if at times it completely disappears, then that seems unlikely. Poor wee boy! I find any kind of nappy rash is so tough for them to deal with.

[Waterlemon]

I'm wondering if it's impetigo? My son often had it as a baby. It's very easy for them to pick up, particularly if they already have broken skin such as with exceama.

I tried to google a picture of infant impetigo as it doesn't look like the weepy or herpes looking sores that older children/adults get but I haven't been able to find one yet!