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Original poster

3 week old with nappy rash so bad his bottom is bleeding...

34 replies

MrsCravendale · 10/04/2008 17:51

Changing his nappy and having to listen to him scream through his pooing time is breaking my heart. My 3 week old has the worst nappy rash. He is exclusively breast fed and doing regular, yellow, runny poos which HV and MW said they thought was normal.

As a result, his bottom got very very red and now is red raw. They said sudocreme was good as anything but it hasnt worked and his bottom is now bleeding from a few little areas that look skinned and spotty. His whole bottom is bright red and he screams blue murder when you go near his nappy - understandably. Poor wee guy. It makes me want to cry when I look at it.

I have just started to put metanium on it but am really worried because I have never seen nappy rash bleed like this before - I am a 1st time mum though so haven't really had experience changing newborn nappies so dont know what is "normal" in this case...

Help me please please please!!!

OP posts:
NorthernLurker · 10/04/2008 17:55

Bleeding's not good - but is 'normal' with the bad nappy rash I've seen. I've found Bepanthan to be very good. Some people swear by egg white and as much nappyless time as possible gets universal acclaim. Just put him down on a large towel and prepare to dodge Spotty could mean thrush by the way - get your hv to have a look at it as you'll need some anti-fungal cream if that's the case. Also - what are you using to wipe him with - if it's anything other than plain water - STOP - it will sting like crazy. Good Luck

Bluebutterfly · 10/04/2008 17:57

Leave him out of nappies altogether as much as possible - put down an old towel or something that you can wash out and let air get to his bottom to help it heal.

What type of nappies do you use? If you use disposables then maybe it is worth trying cotton reusables. If you are already using reusables, could it be your detergent having a reaction?

Lizzylou · 10/04/2008 17:57

Please don't fret!
Both my boys had this at various times.
My SIL is a nurse and she suggested Metanium, which sorted any soreness out and acts as a barrier. It is bright yellow, so watch out for your carpet.
Try leaving the nappy off for a while place him on top of a nappy) as well to air his bottom where you can.

FAWKEOFF · 10/04/2008 17:57

yeah deffo ask your hv as it could be thrush...wipe his bum with luke warm cotton buds and try to get some air to his little bum as the wee will sting him as well.

ArrietyClock · 10/04/2008 18:03

I heard that a teaspoon of honey dissolved in camomile tea is good. Soak a nappy liner in it, wring it out but not too much, and put in the nappy overnight (and during the day too if you can). It's also useful for cleaning bums. When someone I knew tried it (baby waking at night screaming) it worked for them in a couple of days. Apparently honey is known for it's healing properties (GPs tend not to scoff at this one).

Worth a try?

Just googled. Apparently manuka honey is good news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3787867.stm

TheWiltedRose · 10/04/2008 18:05

I use a lotion called camilosan from boots that works absolute wonders my ds2 used to get bleedin nappy rashes that bled when he was younger and i tryed everyhing listed here with no results until i found it.

NorthernLurker · 10/04/2008 18:05

Following on from the tea option - there is some stuff called Kamilosan I think - has chaomile in it and worked well for dd1 oh so many years ago - she had terrible trouble and her bottom was bleeding as well.

NorthernLurker · 10/04/2008 18:06

wilted rose - snap! That's the stuff

Original poster
MrsCravendale · 10/04/2008 18:06

His bottom is covered in red spotty rash and his actual butthole (SORRY if TMI) is now red raw and starting to show signs of bleeding too.

I have a tube of metanium but MW was saying sudocreme would work fine. I have been told that hospitals use metanium so I guess it must be ok. I will give it a couple of days and if it doesnt make any difference I will take him to GP... It is sooooo horrible for him! What a warm welcome to this world eh?

Thank you

OP posts:
bigknickersbigknockers · 10/04/2008 18:07

My DD had really bad nappy rash so I took her to the doctors. She had nappy rash and thrush and the sores had a bacterial infection as well.We got a prescription for a cream called TIMODINE, which was fantastic and improved things after 1 or 2 aplications. If your worried get it checked out by a doctor.

franke · 10/04/2008 18:10

MrsC - I never found sudocreme to be effective. As others here have said, leave him nappyless as much as poss. Don't know Kamilosan but can vouch for Bepanthen and plain water for cleaning. Perhaps look into something soothing to put in his bath (calendula? chamomile? - not sure which, you need to look into it). Good luck.

YeahBut · 10/04/2008 18:10

Use cotton wool and warm water to clean him as wipes (even the sensitive ones) can be very abrasive on newborn skin. Pat his bottom dry with a clean towel and let him air for a bit at each change. Try mixing an anti-fungal cream like canesten in with the sudocreme to sort out any thrush on the skin. Ask your HV or pharmacist for advice.

YeahBut · 10/04/2008 18:12

He might also be screaming because of the sudden change in temperature round his bits and bobs . Lots of babies don't like nappy change so don't get overly stressed by the crying.

NorthernLurker · 10/04/2008 18:14

sudocreme works well as a preventative measure in my experience but once it's taken old you need to bring in the big guns!As this is your first baby - I think this is worth saying - you do know this is NOT your fault don't you? It's just one of those things and though quite upsetting it's fairly easy to sort out. You are doing a fab job

NorthernLurker · 10/04/2008 18:14

sorry 'taken hold' that should be

popsycal · 10/04/2008 18:15

metanium
it was what the hospital gave us when ds1 had similar
bright yellow though so dont get it on fabrics
you can get it in tesco

Pesha · 10/04/2008 18:16

My ds1 used to suffer from terrible nappy rash when he was little, quite often with bleeding spots. I tried all the creams with no luck but eventually managed to get something on prescription from the dr which worked almost straight away, cant remember what it was called though, sorry.

Also HVs told me that just using water wouldn't actually clean him well enough when he was so sore. They suggested either putting a tiny bit of baby wash type stuff in the water or using baby lotion on cotton wool to clean him which is what I did, didn't seem to sting him at all.

DS2 has nappy rash atm and I am using Kamilosan which seems to be working for him.

Pesha · 10/04/2008 18:19

And good point by Yeahbut - all 3 of mine screamed blue murder all through nappy changes as newborns, sore bums or not.

HonoriaGlossop · 10/04/2008 18:58

Another vote here for metanium - always sorted ds out within two days. Definitely keep on with it for a day or so more I would say.

summer111 · 10/04/2008 19:14

I'd also suggest cleaning with cotton wool and water, leaving him nappyless for as long as possible and then using a topical cream - whichever you have been recommended.

My dd never suffered nappy rash but when ds came along, it was a different story. On a couple of occasions he had exactly what you have described and I resorted to spending a few days at home with his nappy off, to help dry it out.

I actually then discovered that rather than doing a few big nappyfuls of poo during the day, he was also doing regular little 'squirts' in between nappy changes. This resulted in me not realising that there was literally a teaspoon sized amount of poo resting in between his botom cheeks and around his anus, leading to it getting sore...the usual sniff of the nappy to see if it needed changing never detected this.

Once I had discovered this quirk about him, I became obsessed with opening up his nappy really regularly to ensure he was totally clean.

I think he is sensitive in this area anyway as now aged 8, he can still get a sore bottom if he hasn't cleaned himself thoroughly (sad)

best of luck, it does get easier by the way and you are a great mum (wink)

milkmoustache · 10/04/2008 19:18

this sounds weird but beat up an egg white and dab it on with cotton wool - it dries and seals up a bit of the raw skin without stinging so much and needs no rubbing in. Usually after a couple of days this really helped when DD had the bleeding bum problem.

Blandmum · 10/04/2008 19:19

Metanium.

fantastic stuff

luvaduck · 10/04/2008 19:21

second metanium (you can get it on prescirption)
BUT i would take him to the GP - they should do a swab in case its bacterial/thrush and then he would need a different cream.
poor thing.

lackaDAISYcal · 10/04/2008 19:25

the metanium is lovely stuff as others have said, but I would also do the egg white thing for a day and you'll be amazed at the difference.

my HV said that some babies can react to sudocreme as it's quite highly perfumed with lavender and it can also sting a bit when going on.

whatever you do, don't use baby wipes on it....they sting like mad on broken skin (as I found out to my cost when I had really bad sweat rash on a long cycle trip )

DD was having pooey nappies all the time when she was little (12-16 a day) and her little bot suffered loads, but it all calmed down poo wise after about 6 weeks andf things got much much better.

good Luck xx

MsBombastic · 10/04/2008 19:34

Not sure if anyone has mentioned VASOGEN (readily available at chemist) which I found much much better than Sudocreme, but Idon't I don't know if you can apply it on areas where skin is actually broken...