Vulvitis - 4yr old!

[girlprobs]

NC for this.

DD is 4 and is frequently getting red and sore vulva. We saw GP a while ago who prescribed timodine cream and said to use it whenever it flares up. The tube is now empty and having read a bit about it, I'm not sure steroid creams are a great idea long term.

Anyone have any tips for keeping her clean and not sore?

She refuses to let me clean her in the bath. We have tantrums every time and I'm worried it's building up an anxiety around the area. She washes herself gently with a flannel. Nothing in the bath except a bit of child's farm shampoo on her hair. I encourage her to wipe front to back etc when using toilet. She wears a nightie to sleep so nothing tight.

How can I get her to let me clean her regularly? Any advice?

My DD also had this although sounds less prolonged than yours. We did 3 baths a week with only a mild shampoo and conditioner on hair. She cleaned herself gently with no cloth. Cotton knickers. We went back to wiping for her and also after a hotter/more active day we'd wipe her with a baby wipe if no bath that night. We also tried bepanthen but not sure if that helped. Agree the steroid use probably not great though. Hope you see an improvement.

Try showering so that she isn’t sitting in the shampoo / soap (even if it’s mild) or showering off after the bath to make sure nothing is left there.

Doctor also prescribed emollient cream to use in the bath and said not to use anything else.

Spoke to the chemist about this yesterday for DD. Got Metanium cream to use in the morning, water wipes to clean her parts each day and between baths. I use the tiniest amount of the most delicate baby bath and make sure she is fully dry afterwards. My daughter still wears a pull up at night (she is almost 4 but her nappies are always wet in the morning which makes me think she isnt ready go without). I got a big tub of vaseline to use ad a barrier between her and the nappy at night time. Seems to be getting a bit better.

Thank you. Some good ideas to try. Will attempt a shower and look for emollient cream instead of shampoo.

I think the main issue is her letting me clean/put cream on her. Hopefully we can sort it without another trip to the GP.

Mine too 🙄 uses toilet wipes which I think helps.
Wears pants at night and as pp said I wipe every night if no bath to keep things as clean as possible.

I also use sudocrem most nights.
@Anonapapple which metanium, the white or yellow? I used this when she was in nappies it was good stuff.

Just wondering, mine was prone to nappy rash as a baby (not the way I looked after her or cleanliness believe me) did yours too? Makes me wonder if some just have sensitive skin as friends dd's don't have this at all!

@waitingvpatiently yes she was very prone to nappy rash and also nappy allergies. She has low level dermatitis and in the past used to go a bit rashy when she had strawberries but doesn't anymore. Honestly the constant pulling at herself makes me really sad for her that is so uncomfortable. I got the the yellow stuff and when I checked her last night (just started using 2 days ago) she was much less inflamed. Sudocrem did nothing. I live abroad normally and the locals all suggested rice starch in the bath, which you can just buy in supermarkets over there. I tried it but to be honest, the weather was so hot where we were that she didnt stand a chance! Maybe look it up though as is it did have a nice consistency in the bath.

Can someone give me the name of the emollient bath stuff please? Do I need a prescription for it?

What washing powder do you use on her undies, my girls will react to anything but Fairy liquid, no softeners, it could be similar?

Try washing her underwear in laundry detergent suitable for sensitive skin like Surcare, not Fairy. Or liquid soap flakes.

I'm assuming Mega got deleted for troll hunting. Which I realise is against the rules, but there do seem to have been a lot of threads recently about children / teens and this sort of problem, and it's always worth reminding people that as well as anyone genuine reading this, there are also a load of old pervs who will be very much enjoying reading about parents applying cream and wiping children themselves.

Hi all. Just dropping by to say this type of thread often draws reports. We've had a look behind the scenes and we don't have concerns about the OP.

For my dd with similar, we were recommended Oilatum for in the bath.
To apply cream, the best tip I had was to put it on toilet paper or a small flannel and let your dd apply it herself. That was a godsend for us.

I’d back off OP. If she’s not comfortable being washed or touched I’d respect that. With dd I gave her an oatmeal bath and some toys to play with. And had a quick shower for hair washing at another time. No particular rubbing or washing.

For the bath I’d put a handful of oats in an old sock and tie a knot, and put it under the tap and give it a few squeezes until it gets creamy/slimey on the outside of the sock. It’s lovely for skin (brilliant for any itching, or chicken pox btw) and you can use the sock like you’d use a bar of soap. But I’d leave it entirely to her. There’s enough oatmeal in the bath to clean everything without doing it directly.
The reason for using a clean, old sock is so you can throw it away afterwards and not end up with clogged drains.

It doesn't really need scrubbing at with a flannel, better to just let the water cleanse it.
Make sure she's nice and dry afterwards, perhaps use a hairdryer.

Have you tried cotton underwear in bed? She may scratch less, and it's also absorbent so helps. Or cotton pj bottoms.

For me, skin touching skin causes more problems than cotton touching skin.

DC have had the same problem. During a bad flare up we would give bio-cult infants probiotic in the evening milk. Just use water in the bath, no soaps needed. Get your DD to drink lots and lots of liquid, water is best but anything with no or low sugar is better than nothing. Then at bedtime burts bees nappy ointment. All these things together worked for us. But I think the best thing for getting on top
Of the flare ups were the probiotics and burts bees.

I went back to the chemist today and got oilatum. The chemist also gave me some canesten cream which can also be used for fungal nappy rash, which I dont think my daughter has but got some anyway!

Metanium cream and no pants after bath, let the air get to the area if you can.
If she has any ‘accidents’ in the day resulting in wet pants, I’d carry a few fresh pairs for an immediate change.

Wow thanks everyone for the helpful replies. Sorry I lost the thread 😳

Definitely no scrubbing, just a gentle wipe in the bath. We don't use anything in the water but a bit of shampoo washes over her skin when doing her hair. She hates the shower.

She was calmer today so managed to help her clean and get some cream on. Will look out for metanium, sure we used to have it for nappy rash. Yes also good idea about oats - worked a treat on chicken pox.

I don't want to push her and cause any issues around consent etc but it's awful to see her uncomfortable.

Will give your suggestions a go. Thanks!

Also we use supermarket non bio in the wash, no softeners etc. As I have v sensitive skin as does youngest DC.

l would also check for threadworms. My DD had this. Tried everything....
Turns out it was worms. Never itched, just had sore, red lady bits, poor kid.

I was just about to post the same as @GuyFawkesDay. Treat he for threadworm. You can buy medication over the counter without a prescription.

How can you check for worms? I did the torch at night thing and couldn't see anything. None in poo either from what I've seen.

@Anonapapple it’s not always that obvious. Sorry for TMI but sometimes the worms can crawl into the vulva, therefore not easily visible but can cause intense pain. My dd (4) was in agony.

My D is currently suffering with this a lot. Been getting more and more frequent to the point where we think it is a UTI but when her sample is set off there is no cultures or bacteria. Drs are saying it is Vulva Vaginitis and to ride it out. But how do you explain to a 2 and half year old to ride it out? The screams when weeing are unbearable and watching her go through soo much pain!
We're using sudocreme day and night - the purple one with antiseptic cream, clean knickers day and night, wash her instead of wiping when she goes to the loo, cotton wool wiping at the childminders, she is toilet trained day and night, showers only - no bath... but when she gets like this I lather her with Sudo and have to put a nappy on. We do wipe her as she still hadn't mastered front to back.
I'm just at a loss as to why she keeps getting them!
Anyone tried anything else?