3 week old with horrendous nappy rash

[hazbaz]

Hi everyone

Please please help me....DS2 (3 wo) has horrendous nappy rash, skin is split and bumpy to the touch on one side and red raw on the other side. I'm expressing and he seems to be constantly pooing which has started this. I know we should be having plenty of nappy free time but he screams blue murder when lain flat at the moment unless he is knackered and DS1 can't be ignored all day whilst i lie beside DS2 comforting him on a mat.

We went to the gp on tues evening and was prescribed anti-fungal cream and metanium but they don't seem to be helping at all, the right side now looking sore and weeping when it was fine before. We're using huggies and cotton wool and water. Any help / advice appreciated as the poor little man screams with pain when changed....

Lots and lots of time with no nappy on. At 3 weeks old you can lie him on towels and put them over you when holding him. As soon as he wees or poos wash and dry his skin and put cream on. Bath him twice a day at least.

DD1 had horrendously sensitive skin and it would blister in lees than a minute when she pooed. In the end I started using terry nappies with no cover so there was lots of air circulating and I know straight away when she had wee'd.

Poor thing.

Have you thought about reusable nappies? DD2 was the same until I switched. Try and get as much nappy free time as baby will allow and stick with plain water for wiping.

Hope it clears up quickly.

If you can't face reusables you could try moltex disposables - they aren't chlorine bleached or rammed full of the absorbent gel so are much kinder on babies skin, would totally recommend them

wash very gently with water after changes (no wipes as they will sting ). Dry thoroughly, dab a thin layer of metanium and on top of that a very thick layer of plain zinc oxide cream. For nappy free time, how about buying a baby swing and lining it with a towel covered with a sheet, (so that the poor little thing doesn't get bits of fluff in his rash)?

I would also consider your diet. Things like tomatoes and fruit can make baby poo more acid. You may be able to get more advice on this on the feeding board.

One more thing... get your GP to take a swab. It is possible that your DS has an infection and may need antibiotics or different anti-fungals.

I really sympathise. People who haven't cared for a baby with severe nappy do not realise how serious it can get, and how difficult it is to treat. Some people judged me for DS2's nappy rash - assuming I was leaving him in a dirty nappy (which I NEVER did) .

My DD had this at a similar age. It was horrendous as she would just poo and poo and poo so the creams never had a chance to do their job. Nappy change time was awful. We'd both be in tears. In the end she had antibiotics at 5wks to clear it up but lying her on a disposable mat, nappyless, helped a lot and sudocreme seemed to work for her. Metanium made it worse which surprised me as it's usually great for nappy rash.

I hope your Ds's bottom heals soon.

Thanks everyone for your replies...good to know i'm not alone.

Ebb - sudocreme doesn't seem to work for DS2 and i'm not sure the metanium is either. How long did the antibiotics take to work for your DD?

acebaby - we have a rocking chair which he will go in sometimes - i'll try it again. Will make an appointment for next week with gp and ask for a swab. As for the diet i was wondering about that, not in terms of too much fruit etc but i'm troughing chocolate and biscuits at the moment to get me through the exhaustion - not sure this would be very good so i'll look on the feeding board. And i know exactly what you mean about judging me for having a baby with nappy rash - i daren't even tell some of my friends as i know they'll never understand!!

Tbh it probably took nearly a week on antibiotics before I started to see any improvement. Also should have said sudocreme only seemed to work once dd was on the antibiotics and getting plenty of air time. I really feel for you. It was such a hard thing to deal with as you end up feeling so helpless that nothings working and you're causing pain every time you clean their bottom. [hsad]

Certainly look into reusable nappies, my DSs skin was very sensitive and the constant bf poos didnt help. It all cleared up once he was in terry nappies.

Another one saying look into reuseable nappies. DS was like this his skin was raw and weeping and once I put him in terries (was a million years ago it was proper terries) the rash cleared up in no time. The GP said some kids are allergic to the gel they use to "hold" the wee.

It could be thrush too so worth checking for that. Also, if he's got a good layer of cream on the sore bits and has just weed I would not wipe all the cream off as the wee won't getvthrough and wiping will strip the skin further. Just dab the non sore bits with wet cotton wool.

Obviously you'll need to wipe the cream off sometimes but not necessarily every wee.

I heard that Huggies can cause a rash, too. Once dd had a nappy rash that wouldn't clear up with Sudocrem or Metanium, but did go away with Aloe Vera gel (maybe worth a try, it's very soothing). Waterwipes are great (wipes with only distilled water and a tiny bit of grapefruit seed extract), very mild, can get them from Amazon. All the best X

Definitely see if it's thrush - Canesten cream will treat it but you'll probably need a doctor to prescribe it.

Once the raw skin has cleared, another tip I got from a nursery nurse in hospital was to mix Metanium about 50/50 with petroleum jelly to make it less drying. Works beautifully for my dc.

Here's a pic of thrush it's quite distinctive and can sometimes have white patches on too.

The other thing about thrush is that you may need to be treated as well, as the infection can get into the breast and also into the milk and keep up a cycle of reinfection. Do you mind us asking why you're expressing? Were you having breast pain? That might make it more likely. The Breastfeeding Network has got a good information sheet and protocol for treatment here which might be worth having a look at.

My DD is allergic to metanium- it made it worse. Slathering on Boots own zinc and castor oil cream really helped. I've also heard that painting on egg white acts as a good barrier too.

Buy some Bepanthen nappy cream once you have ruled out infection. It's an excellent cream for keeping away rashes. Its consistency is very different to sudocrem & other zinc based creams. It's more like a thick ointment & creates a good barrier against wetness.

For mine I found a thick covering of metanium and try to leave it as long as you can and instead of wipes or water, try cleaning with baby oil, lots of it. The wiping can really really irritate the skin, so gently as you can and with lots of oil. I have used my kids and on children on the ward, as I am also a nurse. And if you gave mates would make you feel bad about nappy rash, ditch the witches!

Hi my dd Has suffered with really painful nappy rash on and off for a year. She was born with an imperforate anus so has had a few operations down there, some of which included the nappy area helaing post surgery with constant pooing as well as nappy rash. She was prescribed something called orabase which is more of a paste than a cream. It's brilliant but very very thick and has to be taken off with water. Post op my dd was so sore I couldn't even wipe her bum so I used to wash her in a bowl/bath and dab her dry with cotton pads (not balls because they tend to malt). My stoma nurse stipulated no wipes, no bubble bath/baby bath/ and lots of time without nappy. Hope dd feels better soon

Sorry meant hope ds feels better soon

Thanks for all the replies and advice everyone, i think it might have been thrush as the canesten seems to finally be working and it did start with some spots, the left cheek has healed up and its just the right cheek that is now a bit sore & spotty but so much less angry looking. He's still hating being left on his back though so only gets nappy off time in the evenings when DS1 is asleep...

I have a huge old tube of Bepanthen i bought when on holiday for DS1 - but that was 18 months ago so i reckon i'd better get a fresh one.

Glad something seems to be working for you.

I am finding DD2 a complete doddle compared to DD1, and it only occurred to me the other day that the difference is that DD1 was prone to nappy rash - it had so many knock-on effects (she was sometimes difficult to settle, I felt like the shittest parent in the world, she woke up at night whenever she peed...)

Glad things are starting to improve for your LO hazbaz. I thought I would add my two cents and ask about diet as well. My DD reacted really badly in the form of nappy rash to loads of things I ate, and subsequently had to cut out of my diet - things like fresh fruit, juice, tomatoes, grapes, oh especially grapes, anything really acidic. When she did get bad nappy rash I would often lay a muslin cloth across my lap, then one of those disposable waterproof change mats and have her sit on my lap with no nappy on like that for a while, which she didn't seem to mind.

Something else I can suggest is Weleda Calendula nappy cream, you can get it from Waitrose, Ocado and loads of independent pharmacies. Admittedly it is quite pricey but it works like magic. I always have some at home, although I tend to use it only if there is a rash because of the cost of it, but it's seriously good stuff. Hope this helps

Hi my son has very sensitive skin and have found that chamomile cream helps - contains nothing nasty - not sure where you live but I get mine from a local supplier online who does post - www.simplyherbs.co.uk/product.asp?pID=1&cID=32 - good luck x