Nappy rash newborn

[rubyroot]

My baby has had a poorly bum from day 3. Feel like it initially was my fault when rubbing pooh off. However, over time he has also developed nappy rash. His skin peeled on his anus and his scrotum and lil bum cheeks also got red. Midwife's checked bum and midwife on 10 day visit suggested it could be thrush and to take to GP.

Did that- GP took midwife's word for it and prescribed timodine, left his bum glowing red- probably the steroids.

So I discontinued and took baby back to docs a couple of days later. Dr said not thrush- just nappy rash and prescribed bepanthanum.

Anyhow, was very happy as appeared to be having an effect and in the morning when he was poohing less at night- almost looked clear.

Then it worsened- went red again. Also he developed a bit of abrasion on skin where his legs have rubbed on nappy :(.

Gave him some nappy off time and it looked quite good. Then an hour and half later after a pooh- bright red again and been red since.

Took to doctors- say it is a contact rash (which I'd kind of guessed)

I said I had metanium and the nurse and doc agreed to try that and stop using water wipes and back on cotton wool. Suggested change of nappies, but to make one change at a time or else won't know what's causing it.

I'm changing him as regularly as possible- get through at least 12 nappies a day.

So I'm on the metanium- yellow packet. Question is - can I reapply every nappy change given that it is stronger than the likes of sudacrem and bepanthenam?

Also, any other tips welcome.

I know its silly as there could be so much more wrong with my baby, but i'm finding the rash quite stressful. He's only 2 1/2 weeks old and has a poorly bum.

Dr pretty much said - looks like your baby has a sensitive bum and is going to be one of those babies with permanent nappy rash. Surely this doesn't have to be the case?

Yes, nappy off time is logistically awkward. I used to secure the towel with a clothes peg. He only really slept when in the carrier / pram / car and he had a nappy on for outings. Even just half an hour during / after each feed helps. New borns often poo during / after feeds too so a bit more predictable. Luckily he didn’t crawl TIL after 12 months, by which time we’d got a handle on it.

You don’t have to wipe all the metanium off every time, apply a thin layer and clean what you need to, so you aren’t damaging the skin. Also you can clean with olive oil rather than water and it’s more gentle.

Okay so today he had 1 1/2 hours nappy off time then nappy on for half an hour and another half hour nappy off time. His bum got visibly less red and I was feeling positive (this has also happened a couple of times before)
However, he then had his nappy on and did a pooh whilst I was feeding him. He literally had nappy on 5/10 mins whilst he finished feed and I ate my lunch and we are back to square one with a red bum again.
He is permanently on my breast, I'm exhausted. I need to express for an interview on Friday and he hasn't left my boobs alone long enough since his 1 1/2 hour nappy off time which was at 12pm.

I am at a loss- the only thing I can think of at the moment is he needs to never be in a nappy again- which is just impossible. I'm struggling with this no nappy thing as supervising him whilst he is half clothed and wrapped in towels is near impossible. I've not showered for two days, I have had no time to do anything as he won't stop feeding and somehow I need to manage no nappy time too.

Poor you!

Have you got a partner around who can supervise for a little while? Maybe try giving a little bit of formula to top up? I confess I didn't manage to feed DD myself, but I think there's often a hungry spurt around three weeks?) Someone who knows better will be along to set us straight soon.

Perhaps you could improvise a nappy from a muslin sort of just loosely to contain the worst of the spillage? Hold together with a safety pin?

I feel for you, really I do! The first few weeks are absolutely brutal without an interview to prepare for too. It will get better, I promise. Sending virtual tea and cake and moral support!

This sounds very very hard. It’s a tough time, these early weeks - try to take it easy on yourself. If you don’t manage to express, give him formula for your interview, it might not be what you want but it’s fine, it’s only one day. Can you get ready meals or takeaways to save you time? Just for a few days to see you thru.

Do you need to wrap him in towels? Can you make sure the room is warm (close the door and use a fan heater if your house is otherwise cool) and just pop him on the floor on top of a thick towel? He doesn’t necessarily need to be covered. If you can get bed mats it’s even less messy.
When my DD had particularly awful nappy rash I even fed her with no nappy, putting bed mats on my lap and around my chair.

If you can get the redness to fade even just a little with nappy free time then you can put a thick layer of metanium to protect his bum when you do need a nappy on. The metanium (should) also form a barrier against poo sticking to him so that cleanup is quick and as a PP says don’t bother trying to wipe off all the metanium at each change, just clean off the poo and top up the metanium.

Seriously. Try the fleece liners. And barrier spray. The spray is amazing as it doesn’t come off when you clean up after a poo. You must wait for it to dry before putting a nappy on, and keep bum cheeks apart while it’s drying. Only takes a minute if you blow on it.

Same thing happened to us and our doctor said to use egg whites. Basically just separate the egg then whisk up the whites a bit and wipe on bum like you would with sudocrem. It took one or two days to work but worked so well. Obviously you need to be careful to wash hands etc when changing

My GP told me that 99% of nappy rash in babies is thrush and prescribed Canesten. Could you try this?

Sorry, just re-read OP, apologies OP hope it clears up soon

As much nappy off time as possible, lots of towels or inco pads needed, tummy time (or laying on your chest) for some of the tummy off time so that wee isnt dribbling back ove the sore skin. no cream on the skin during nappy off time. when he has to wear a nappy use metanium..and use sunflower oil to glide the metanium off so youre not scrubbing the skin with water. hope these tips help xxx

My newborn had it and the yellow matanium seemed to be making it worse. So I used camomile tea to clean her, would dab with cotton wool, pour some more over her bottom and leave to air dry. I just used a barrier cream (Bepanthol) with each nappy change and it cleared it after a few days.

This was on the advice of the pharmacist and when I mentioned it to the HV she said that sometimes the Metanium can make it worse as the skin can't breath and it's hard to clean off.

Since then, if she has any sign of rash I have mixed Sudocream with Bepanthol and it's stopped it getting worse.

My baby had very severe nappy rash for the first 6 weeks , tried metanium etc. to no avail , doc gave 0.5% cortisone cream and was better in a week

Used sudocrem for both of mine. One was breastfeeding one was bottle & found different foods made no difference to the breastfeeding fed bottom.
I always left them to kick nappy free for 10 minutes after a nappy change.
Never had any issues.
Baby bed pads are relatively expensive.
Buy cheap puppy pads work approx £20 for 100. Towel/ muslin on top no skin contact works fine.
Good luck.

Nappy off pads are sold on eBay 25 for £4.50 - we use these on the changing mat for half an hour or so before a bath.

Sounds like a thrush rash to me - we had this and the pharmacist gave us caniston (can be used on babies) 3x per day for a while and it cleared up. Nothing else would touch her rash.

*rubyroot how is lo now? If speak to your health visitor before cutting out dairy as it may not be that! I hope lo is better!! Xx

DS has a sensitive bum too.

I absolutely slather sudocrem on at every change. It has to be a big thick layer like frosting on a cake.

Water alone can be quite drying. Maybe try wiping with oil instead? Another poster can maybe confirm that it's OK to do that. I wouldn't do it on broken skin of course. I remember being told to use oil and cotton wool to clean the meconium off when DS was very little. You could also try some oats in the bath - just put them inside a muslin or sock, tie it up and leave to soak until the water is cloudy.

Just read pp and remembered I got prescribed oilatum and was told to use cotton wool and water and put a tiny amount in the water, I also use her prescribed zeroveen body cream ( it can be used as a soap as well) with every nappy change, but my lo rash was caused by dairy so not sure if it helped but it probably was a lot more gentle than just water xx

Hi all

Thought I should return and update.

The nappy rash has not completely gone, but I finally feel like it is under control. He is having up to four hours a day without a nappy. Bepanthanum in the day and metaniumat night. Yesterday his bum was looking very very red and burny, but today it looks like it's just a bit of a red botty.

No doubt this will go on for some time, but I feel like it's under control and that when it worsens it will eventually get better. It all depends on how much he poohs during the day and particularly if he poohs st night. If he has a big pooh and its in his nappy for 30 mins we can be back to square one.

So thanks all for all your advice. I have taken onboard much of what was said... Air particularly works wonders. Today not so much air was needed,so been less exhausting. Though on other days he may eyed more nappy off time.

Unfortunately, I think he may always have at least a pink bum, but it's nice to have it under control.

I'm am sure you know this but do make sure you dry his bum fully after you've wiped it. Poor little mite.

Yes you're right I do know this!!!

Have you tried cloth nappies? You can get them second hand and they're adjustable so grown with the baby (although there are extra small ones for newborns). You can add a cloth pad for extra absorption and a bamboo liner to help catch mist if the poo and reduce stains. Alternatively, you could put bamboo liners into a normal nappy as they're really soft, they're also flushable.

I found cloth nappies aren't quite as absorbent so we only used them during the day but they're much kinder to baby skin.

I don't know if it's been said but pampers premium (yellow pack) are very kind to skin, also Vaseline absolutely slathered on every nappy change is all the barrier you need, and metanium (yellow) with a layer of Vaseline if any sore bits. And no soap in the bath.