Please can someone help me with DD's rashy bottom? It's been YEARS

[DitaVonCheese]

DD has a rash on her bottom which has been there for years. She is 3.5 yo and I think it started when she was about 18 months - I think it was shortly after I had thrush, so thought it could be that (I was/am still bfing) but have never seen any signs of thrush in her mouth/my nipples.

It's red itchy spots. Sometimes it gets so itchy that she scratches until it bleeds. Generally it's around the front but recently it went right over her buttocks as well which were dry and scaly :(

I hate it so much.

For a long time we were just controlling it with canesten cream most days. I thought maybe it was related to her being in nappies (my mum thought it was because I insisted on putting her in cloth ) and would get better once she PTed. Now she is PTed and it's still bloody there.

Generally if we put cream on it then it goes but it just comes back again. GP gave us trimovate recently which is fab but he said it's very strong so to use sparingly. That knocks it on the head in a couple of days but I'm scared to use it much. He's also given us daktarin, which seems to make no difference at all (DH thinks it makes it worse).

She's been tested for UTI and was fine. Her night nappies (not PTed at night yet) smell very strongly of ammonia if she's in cloth (generally use disposables).

Any idea what this bloody thing could be? GP reckons it's fungal. Just wondering what else we could try.

Has she been tested for thrush?

What about detergents/bubble baths? Have you tried not using them for a week or so (and wash with a sensitive detergent).

Do you boil wash her nappies? It's worth a shot to clear anything (thrush and fungus will need a super hot wash) and use the cream. Give them all a wash at 95C and anything else - eg reusable liners and her pants too.

One of my LO had something similar, I found what worked for me, as I was apprehensive about the steroid creams too, I used bathe them in luke warm water, then when towel dried put loads of sudocrem on the affected area follwed by douses of baby powder, the next nappy change and it was all gone, you do, however, have to keep doing it and you'll find once they are out of nappies it just goes. The area needs to breathe but because the nappy is always there it gets quite suffocating and urine is rather toxic to sensitive skin. Hope it helps.

My DS had thrush on his bum after a dose of antibio's.

We got the cream prescribed via the HV (anti-fungal cream, can get name if u want it) and it was to be used for 2 weeks even if the redness was gone. All towels PJ's etc have to be washed every night or else it will just keep coming back otherwise.

Good luck

It could just be eczema? Ask to be referred to a dermatologist, it sounds like it's not responding to current treatment so you need to do something different.

You can ask the pharmacist for an anti-fungal Canesten (there are different types of Canesten) or you could try Bepanthen, which is also good for bums and bits. It's a shame to wait for a referral when you could try different approaches in the meantime that may help. Always check with the pharmacist and read the instructions. Good luck

I agree with others re laundry hygiene - you need to boil wash absolutely all her knickers, trousers, tights, bedding etc. You must wash her bottom after every poo and as often as possible after a wee, and use a really good cream. DD, who is very prone to a sore bottom, uses Dermalibour cream by A-Derma which we think is excellent.

Thanks for the replies. So down about this.

karla I thought it would go once she was out of nappies but she's only in them at night now (and disposables too) but it's still there :(

I don't think it can be thrush because the antifungal cream we have (Daktarin - which is miconazole) doesn't seem to have an effect on it. Going to give that a couple of weeks again and see whether we're just not giving it long enough.

The one which does work is Trimovate (steroid + antibacterial + antifungal) but I'm wary of using that for long and it just comes back again anyway.

The second time we tried the Trimovate I did hot wash all her pants and I felt it stayed away longer when I did that, but when I mentioned it to the GP he looked surprised and said it shouldn't be necessary Will give it a go anyway and see if it helps.

could it be a kind of eczema?
have you tried changing your washing powder in case that's irritating it? or a different brand of disposables?

I thought it sounded like eczema (sufferer myself) and the thing with eczema is it will come back unless you continue to moisturise. So control it with the steroids, and once the skin is clear keep it very well moisturised, i use Aveeno, its very soothing and natural. Also make sure she is well dried after a bath and before the bath put some petroleum jelly on the area.

I'd go back to the GP and see if they can swab it. A friend's DS had a persistent bad rashy bottom (more like couple of months rather than years) which they thought was thrush but turned out upon swabbing to be bacterial. Dose of antibiotics and was right as rain.

Interesting, thanks. Meant to say before that it's been going on so long now that we have changed washing powder/soap etc several times but might be worth seeing if moisturiser has an effect I suppose.

Will ask the GP to swab next time we go back (not that I'm pessimistic about our chances of sorting this out or anything).

Oh also possibly relevant - her pee often smells very strongly of ammonia (eg if she's been in cloth overnight) and her bottom is often very um whiffy esp first thing in the morning (poor DD ).

dita, ds3 was a bit like this actually.
his wee used to really stink, and although he didn't get a rash like your daughter he would get very red very quickly in cloth nappies.
i wondered if it was too do with not drinking enough and the wee being too strong or something?

Perhaps I should try to get her to drink more. I think she's always been fairly good at drinking though - guess it's just a bit more concentrated at night.

I've just thought - I think it also started around the same time/shortly after she had a nasty vomiting bug. That couldn't be related, could it, if it's some sort of bacterial thing? It's all because we took her somewhere forrin! (Trip to France which included both thrush and vomiting - not the most successful of trips!)

you need to get the area swabbed. ask to do t yourself or make sure it's done when there is no cream on etc and plenty of bugs around.
def increase fluids.
send another wee sample.
I'd suggest a good probiotic from a health food shop yourself if your bf still . same for dd.
plently of fresh air.
Stick with one treatment and try to refrain from panic treating, ie putting different things in too often. wash or soak at least twice daily in plain water maybe with something mild like infacare. Dab dry don't rub. After ten mins apply cream . a thin layer. Less is more . do not put talc on top if using a steroid.
What's her diet like ?
boil wash reusables and soak in really good anti bacterial. Tumble dry on hot .
I d send a stool sample too. could be coming from there. Is she very loose. Maybe temp lactose intolerance. Oh and she prob too old now but do you have an oversupply or lot of fore milk with feeding . Just a few thoughts. Sorry about poor punctuation down to one hand as bring dd .
Hope your dd gets sorted. Bless her x