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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

sending her home red and sore

50 replies

kmdwestyorks · 19/04/2010 13:13

I collected my DD (13 months) from childcare on friday afternoon and when i got her home out of her nappy she was very very red and sore looking. She's obviously been left sat in soiled nappy for some time during the day.

She has eczema and i work really quite hard to keep nappy rash at bay. She's just had a round of candida infection that started after her usualy childcare days and has come home sore previously, I'm told that i just have to accept thats what happens in childcare.

AIBU to think it's unacceptable?

OP posts:
fernie3 · 19/04/2010 13:15

It is not acceptable for a baby to be left in a dirty nappy at all no matter where they are. My son got a rash very easily (you had to reallt be quick changing him) and he never came home like this when he was in nappies.

turkeyboots · 19/04/2010 13:17

YANBU! Would be shocked if either of mine came home that way. Nursery I use actually advised me on best way to care for eczema and nappy rash. I'd complain and if you don't get a helpful response and improvement, consider reporting to Ofsted.

NinjaChipmunk · 19/04/2010 13:18

is she at nursery? our nursery change them at least 3 times a day (about every 2-3 hours) plus whenever they've done a poo. i would have a word about how often its done. mind you nappy rash can start very suddenly, esp if they're teething. hope you get it sorted. yanbu i think.

soapboxqueen · 19/04/2010 13:18

They're being paid to change nappies. Why would you have to except it?

Jamieandhismagictorch · 19/04/2010 13:20

No, that's not acceptable.

BTW - I found Metanium to be the best cream for nappy rash (recommended by my BIL, who is a paediatric nurse). If you mix it with Sudocream, it spreads easier

Original poster
kmdwestyorks · 19/04/2010 13:31

thanks all. I'll pass that on to the other mums there.

Now i feel much better about heading down there and making my feelings known

OP posts:
StayingDavidTennantsGirl · 19/04/2010 13:40

Is this a one-off? It could be that this is entirely abnormal for the childcare situation, and will never happen again - perhaps something happened to distract the carers for a few moments (another child had an accident or was sick, or one of the workers had an accident, or the fire bell went off etc etc) and given that your child has sensitive skin, that short period of time was all it took for her to get sore.

Are you otherwise satisfied/happy with the childcare given? If this is a one-off, and you are happy otherwise with the childcare, then I think a quiet word with the manager there to explain that your dd needs to be changed very promptly because of her skin condition would be a proportionate response.

But if this isn't the first time that this has happened, or if it happens again, or if you have other concerns with this childcare, then maybe you need to look for something else, where you will be more confident.

vanimal · 19/04/2010 13:45

YANBU - sounds like they can't be arsed to change nappies when they should be - they are paid to look after your children and should be doing so!

mamsnet · 19/04/2010 13:45

I completely agree with StayingDavidTennantsGirl.

I have been known to call the nursery when I came home and found my DD to have a red bum. But as I chilled (pfb days.. ) I did come to realise that sometimes it can flare up incredibly fast. It just takes a very busy moment when the staff might take a few minutes to get to your chid for it to happen..
Obviously, if it happened repeatedly, I'd be going in there all guns blazing..

[mouthy mum emoticon]

acebaby · 19/04/2010 13:47

This is totally unacceptable. DS2's nursery (while having its faults) is prompter and more efficient at changing nappies than I am. DS2 has severe eczema, a history of balinitis (infection of the foreskin) and a tendency to severe nappy rash, and the nursery have no trouble managing this by keeping a close eye on his nappies.

For the nappy rash btw, we find that dabbing on some metanium and then smothering with plain zinc oxide cream does the trick. But be careful to distinguish nappy rash from eczema, which needs to be treated like any other eczema (in our case steroid cream and hydrocortisone).

also don't delay going to the doctor if you can't get the nappy rash to clear within a day or so. You may need more candida cream or antibiotics. I once dilly dallied about this and DS2 had to have a week of oral antibiotics

MumFromMumAndDad · 19/04/2010 13:47

Of course, it is absolutely unacceptable for children to be left in soiled nappies, but I just wanted to say, IME nappy rash isn't only caused by being left unchanged for a long time. My DS goes through periods where his bottom gets sore and it can happen really quickly. I can change him, then five minutes later he'll soil and his bottom will be really red - like it's really acidic or something.

acebaby · 19/04/2010 13:48

sorry that should be steroid cream and emollients

ImSoNotTelling · 19/04/2010 13:48

Agree with SDTG.

Our DD once got nappy rash in about 3 mins, the little blighter. She had the runs a bit and has ezcema and very sensitive skin and we were on it like a flash but too late...

CantSupinate · 19/04/2010 13:50

KMD -- in your experience, how long would she have needed to have been left in the soiled nappy for her skin to go like that? Is she so sensitive that even 5 minutes exposure would cause the redness you saw?

acebaby · 19/04/2010 13:53

I don't know if this is generally true, but I find that the type of nappy rash that flares up very quickly tends to be just redness, which disappears quickly with a dab of metanium. The really sore, broken skin type (that makes them shriek when being changed ) takes longer to develop.

Blondeshavemorefun · 19/04/2010 13:55

was her nappy wet and soggy or freshly chnaged when you picked her up?

yanbu that you want your dc chnaged and not left in wet nannpys etc

but even if chnaged asap some children, esp with eczema will get sore bottys

im suprised that they nursery didnt comment/tell you that her bum was red

Metanium is fab

Jamieandhismagictorch · 19/04/2010 13:56

On reflection, I remember DS2 could get a v sore bottom very quickly, when he had eaten lots of fruit/veg, noticeably, tomatoes. Or when he was teething. S I agree with SDTG

MumFromMumAndDad · 19/04/2010 14:02

Acebaby, my DS gets the sore, broken skin and screaming type very quickly. It's horrendous wrestling with him to change his bum.

acebaby · 19/04/2010 14:57

mumfrommum - poor little thing. It's horrendous isn't it... Hopefully his skin will get a little less sensitive as he gets older. DS2 is a bit better now (he is 23 months)

DorotheaPlenticlew · 19/04/2010 15:06

Not at all "what you have to accept"! What a shame, def say something as it's not the norm in most childcare settings at all.

Can I just chip in with yet another cream suggestion, as we found it amazing for DS when he went through a phase of very sudden, burnlike rashes (since stopped) ... it is the Organic Babies salve (not cream, definitely salve). Goes on without "tugging" the skin and has fab soothing/healing properties.

Kamillosan is also good. I found anything that sort of glides on (unlike eg Sudocrem) was a lot comfier for DS.

Stripycat23 · 19/04/2010 15:49

MY DS1 has eczema and got severe nappy rash. A dirty nappy could give him open sores within half an hour. We had a meeting with his nursery to explain the situation and they agreed to check him every half an hour to make sure he was clean. The metanium went on every change to try to heal the sores and keep any more sores developing.

He would usually be changed 8x a day. I know now this is a lot more than most, but it was what he needed. So have a word with nursery, what's good for most kids won't be enough for yours, and stock up on nappies when they're on sale!

kickassangel · 19/04/2010 16:05

dd's nursery had a rota for nappy changes, to make sure they never had a wet nappy on for more than a certain number of hours - and I know that it was stuck to pretty closely.

They also immediately changed a nappy if there was a dirty one.

dd did get nappy rash a couple of times, but in general i was v pleased with how good they were with this. it shouldn't be what you expect if you use childcare - that's just a very stupid excuse.

fiveisanawfullybignumber · 19/04/2010 16:45

DS2 (now8) would get horrendous nappy rash when teething. Even if i changed him within 2 minutes, he would often develop large red open welts on his bottom. Metanium was good for healing.
i would ask them what their policy is on speed of changing after poos and how often at other times, and just let them know to keep a close eye on her bum atm. Hopefully they're doing it all correctly, but flying in all guns blazing may not have a good effect IYSWIM.
DD2 (20m) seems to constantly have a red bum atm, not open sores, but just a bit red no matter what I do. I think it's her age, teething and experimenting with new foods, it all affects them.

Sassybeast · 19/04/2010 19:04

It may have been a one off but even so, it needs to be flagged up to them so that they can avaoid any further incidences. One of the first problems that we encountered at the first nursery we used was around nappy changing - it needs to be nipped in the bud. And another vote for metanium. It's fab!

BetsyBoop · 19/04/2010 19:37

If your DD has ezcema then the occasional bit of nappy rash is almost inevitable, no matter who is looking after her. I know when my own DD (now 4 & skin is much improved ) that if you didn't change her almost instantly she would be red, more than 5 minutes & you were in big trouble, especially if she was teething or unwell.

However I don't like the attitude that you have to "accept that's what happens", it's almost as if they don't care

When DD was at nursery her key worker was well aware of her ezcema & did a stirling job on changing her instantly after a poo, but once she missed it (probably for only for a few minutes give DD's skin at the time) & was on the verge of tears when I picked DD up & was so sorry she had a sore bum etc. It was a one off & I told her I'd done the same myself on occasions, that you really only had 5 mins max & she would be sore. No one is perfect (especially me ) but the fact that DD's keyworker cared that it had happened on "her watch" is what made it fine with me It never happened again...

I would have a more "formal" chat emphasising the importance of changing pronto or DC gets a rash & if things don't improve I would be looking at moving my DC (and reporting them)

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