Nappy rash - 6 weeks old

[PetuniaRose]

My DD has very red nappy rash, after using sudacrem and then metanium with no improvement I called the gp who prescribed timodine over the phone, this seemed to be working yesterday but today it seems worse again and covering a larger area. Has anyone had experience of this and any advice or suggestions?

My DD had a similar problem when she was wee. If you havent already, stop using wipes and go back to cotton wool and water and dont use any soaps or bath wash for a while. I also let her go nappy free to let air in for as long as possible and just applied the metanium at night time as I was worried that the creams were exacerbating the issue. It was also suggested to me that most juices because of the sugar content can cause weeing to occur more frequently, even if they are heavily diluted so a switch back to water or milk might also help.

The Timodine cream will deal with any thrush if she has it which is good.

It may be that she just has very very sensitive skin like my DD1. The barrier creams helped her to a point and I found that vaseline or 50/50 cream were the best barriers.

In the end when she was very sore I would put a terry nappy on her without a waterproof cover. As soon as she did a wee I would feel it and whip the nappy off and wash her bottom with water. It was a PITA but the only thing that truly worked because the urine never got the chance to irritate her skin.

Metanium and vaseline are good for prevention but the best thing is to change nappies very often and never ever risk leaving poo for a second more than necessary on her skin.

Good luck

Thanks Pipsylil, have only used water and cotton wool so far as she is only 6 weeks. I was also wondering if i should use a barrier cream on top at night (as she sleeps for 5 hours straight so its a long time in one nappy) will give it a try tonight i think.

Al1son - Thanks thats really helpful. That's exactly what I was starting to think - that she may just have really sensitive skin as if it is thrush I am thinking that i would have started to see some improvement by now as have been using timodine since Tuesday (although maybe it takes longer?). Have been keeping her nappy off for most of the day so far and still applying the timodine and i am going to try a smear of vaseline on top of the timodine when i have to put a nappy back on. I have an appointment at the doctors on Monday so will see if they can confirm if its thrush or not if it hasn't gone by then. Fortunately it doesn't seem to be bothering her too much its just i feel terrible as it looks so sore :(

Make sure she is really dry before putting the cream on (a dermatologist recommended drying ds's bum with the hairdryer). And use something as a barrier on top of the timodene - so something like metanium or vaseline would be fine.
Another tip is to clean with olive oil (ideally the pure sort from the pharmacy) rather tha water.

The other thing is that it might be the disposable nappy causing it - not all babies are OK with them and some are OK with some brands and not others.

I would get some washable nappies and give them a good wash and try those - if it clears up you can try the disposables again.

Thanks Starfishmummy i have been drying with cotton wool but will definitely doublecheck its totally dry now. Also now using vaseline on top of the timodine so hoping will see some improvement, fingers crossed.

Thanks ChippingIn - i hadn't thought that it could be the type/brand of nappy, i have been using huggies so will see what other options there are.