ITCHY, PAINFUL, RED WILLY=SCREAMING 16 MO DS

[gillythekid]

Ds is 16 months, has ALWAYS suffered from redness and extreme itching. We've used NYSTAFORM and CANESTEN to get rid of thrush, METANIUM and BEPANTHEN to get rid of contact dermatitis and we've tried changing nappy brands. He has a drop of tea tree and lavender in his bath every night too. Problem is, every time we have a nappy change, he wants to scratch and he's in a LOT of discomfort. We took him to a paediatrician yesterday as my GP thought he may need circumcising but apparently not. I explained that sometimes he has a swelling in his willy when being changed but was assured this was 'normal' (not sure what babies willies are supposed to do, apart from wee!) This swelling is like a tight band around the base so it goes almost parsnip shaped and it seems to cause him pain. Does anyone know if this may be linked to the redness and does anyone have any tips for soothing it? The itchiness actually woke him up last night, poor little bunny. We feel so helpless.

Oh dear, poor him, DS gets sore sometimes but nothing like this bad. What did the paediatrician suggest? It doesn't sound good.

Does he have naked time? Would that help? Get a load of towels and let him romp naked - towels are easy to wash obv. more so than your sofa.

Are antihistamines an option if he's reacting to things?

I personally would stop the tea tree oil in the bath, its a very strong oil - oil just floats on the top it doesn't mix in and dilute like other liquids. If the skin is irritated then it will make it worse I think.

DS1 also had a swollen willy at about that age, we gave him loads of nappy off time, nothing in the bath (cept the baby shampoo we washed his hair with).

Instead of baby wipes we used cold camomile tea (you can get the teabags from supermarkets), its really soothing and it worked on nappy rash so we thought it could not do any harm on his swollen willy.

Great advice as usual but we can't give him nappy off time as he draws blood from all the scratching. I'd be more than willing to let him roam naked but he'll rip himself to bits. I'll try the chamomile tea, I've heard that's good. Thanks.

Could you get something like a muslin or a flat nappy, and just pin/nippa it loosly then let him around with that? The cotton is breathable. Dont' use strong washing powder or any fabric conditioner on it though that might irritate the skin too.

Or maybe some cotton underpants that would be breathable too, just whip em off and wash him if he wees.

After my section I was told no bubble bath or anything in bathwater as it could irritate the scar, so maybe plain water in his bath too.

Thanks. I have him in a very fetching pair of Pepa Pig cotton underpants this afternoon having slathered him in organic chamomile cream. I'll leave his bath clear tonight too.

What about putting mitts on him for nappy off time? Perhaps if you bound up his hands he would be able to have a naked bottom for a bit IYSWIM - not actually bind his hands of course.....

Managed some nappy off time today as he weed through all his pepa pig undies! If I can get him to stop scratching, we'd be in with a chance of sorting it out!