Best advice for beating nappy rash - desperately needed

[maggiethecat]

Life is miserable at the moment for my 18 mth old DD. She has bad nappy rash despite us being diligent in changing (disposable) nappies and applying creams - sudocream, metanium which sometimes work and other times don't. She was diagnosed a year ago as having cow's milk allergy but seems to be outgrowing this. She has eczema but not very bad. I wonder if they are linked to her nappy area sensitivity.
It's very distressing to see her crying and tugging at her nappy and air drying her is difficult as she scratches herself.
Miserable and unhappy about it - help please.

Do you use wipes? I seen these cause some unbeleiveble rashes. Maybe change to cloth for a week or so and see what happens. The plastic, chemicals etc could be irritating and because they're not porous maybe the cloth would let some more air in.

Also I've found lanolin to be the best bum cream ever. I use one with almond oil, lanolin and that's it made by Seventh. But it's made in New Zealand so that's maybe not helpful!

Good luck!

DD2 had bad nappy rash from the time I started her on formula at 6 months until she self weaned herself off cows milk at about 18 months old and it disappeared within a week!
We never linked milk to the nappy rash until this but I wouldn't recommend removing milk completely from her diet if she is happy to drink it, maybe try soya milk?

burts busy bees diaper cream, its the only thing that works for dds bum. It takes the red straight out of it as soon as its applied.

My cloth-nappied 19 mo old has been wearing a lot of disposables this week as it's raining and the cloth ones aren't drying fast enough, she now has a very sore bum and rubbed legs where the elastic bits on the disposables chaf.
You could maybe get some cloth ones and see if that helps. Disposables always make my DDs bums sore after a couple of days.

I used real nappies and reusable wipes. Never had a problem, so would reccomend trying them. Not a cheap solution though

I only use cotton wool squares and water to clean her btw.

btw dd is in cloth nappies, and i use flannels and water for her bot, she is checked and changed often wheras dispo wearing , leave her in her nappy ages niece has no such issues grrrr, so guess some babies must just be a little sensitive

Try a thrush cream? That itches like mad so it could be that?

I always used Bepanthan for my DS.Available from Boots etc.
Have you had a chat to your GP or HV they can be a real help...it may be something else?

My DD has just come up in hideous nappy rash too. I use cloth and have only had a little redness before. Will try Burts Bees but think it is diet related with her. She had spag bol last night-maybe sensitive to tomato sauce suddenly?Had it before after scoffing a satsuma. Horrible anyway...find cleaning with water and a little olive oil helps.

Try egg white. It works miracles. Just put the egg white in a little tub and rub it on like cream. Leave it to dry, it forms a protective barrier.

If that clears it (usually takes a couple fo days to go) then you should consider whether it is thrush also - are the sores little clusters, and is it red/sore inside her girly bits, and is there a white film in there too? If yes to the above, you should get some canesten. Thrush really hurts BTW.

The egg white will help the thrush symptoms until you get canesten, or natural yogurt (but that stays wet)

frequent washing in just water
nappy off time if poss
change nappies? Re the nappies you have generous enough? try next size up if perhaps?
a nice bum cream. (I used to swear by drapolene but have now found a completely gorgeous cream by weleda - calendula oil cream. it's not a traditional barrier cream like sudocrem stuff so might be better for her?)

My mum swears by cornflour on their bums and no creams at all, and then baths in baking soda. Nice and cheap! Tried with our boy when he as about 4 days old as he got a hideous rash from not being able to wear nappies and us trying to keep him dry and clean (his balls were the size of a ping pong ball at least!) and it worked wonders. The baking soda would be realy soothing on itchy bits too.

Thank you all. We have tried a number of the above and are considering some others like re-usable nappies. Only problem is that I am of view that re-usables are not as absorbent as disposables and lingering wee might not help her - is this comparison wrong? Have been using non fragranced wipes rinsed in lots of water but will have a go with cotton - lots of types around - what's cheap and easy to use?
I do notice that Canesten helps so when she is tugging a lot I apply a bit of that to zap any thrush.
Her childminder talks a lot about teething and nappyrash and I thought that was just OW tales but many of you have said same thing. It's amazing how the situation can change in a flash from nice clear bum to blazing red one - makes me think that the acidity thing from teething or food is very real.
With nice weather around will look to start her on the potty but whether she's too young is probably subject of another thread.....

You will need to change cloth nappies more frequently than disposables.

Prefolds are cheap, very absorbant & slim fitting.

Fleece liners keep baby's bum incredibably dry.

Try going to the GP maybe. Dd,also 18mo has bad nappy rash and we have a prescription cream called Timodene which improves it almost overnight. It has an antifungal and steroid component (I think) but the advice is to use consistently for just a few days. DD has a rash on her face as well now and as we're an eczema prone family I too am wondering if the two things are connected....am off to the nurse tomorrow about that one!

Yep, Timodene has been a lifesaver for me too. It's the only thing that works when my LO has nappy rash.

Can vouch for eggwhites - and keeping the nappy off for as long as possible...

have you checked for a fungal infection?
especially if it seems itchy. My DD is prone to fungal nappy rash, but it isn't a typical thrush type rash and looks more like excema than thrush. A few days of anti-fungal cream sorts it out straight away. She thumps her nappy when it is bothering her (she's only 10 mo)

Canestan? DS (also 18mo) had v bad nappy rash at the moment and a combination of canestan and metanium seems to be sorting it out

DS1 had lots of probs with nappy rash ... it also seemed a lot worse when he was teething as their wee is very acidic. He was mainly in cloth nappies, but when we used disposables he was just as bad, if not worse.

We found bamboo nappies helped as they're naturally antibacterial and also wiping with cloth wipes soaked in camomile tea.

It did clear up in time

I used pure camomile teabags on my little one when she had bad nappy rash. I would put a couple of bags in her bath at bedtime and I would also keep a bowl of camomile tea (cold obviously)at hand when I was changing her and use it on cotton wool instead of wipes. Seemed to work for her, it was also much cheaper than some of the creams.

if tis fungal nappy rash... talk to a Hv or GP for confirmation...be aware that it can reoccur if you dnt kill all the fungal spores present. if your told to use anti fungal cream for X days do so,even if it clears up the rash very quickly. also worth looking at any long standing fungal thing in the immediate family if dad has athletes foot etc get that treated to or they can re infect each other.
60 degree wash for towels,nappys, tights etc might be worth a go too.

FranMay, I've tried Timodene on DS for a week and it still hasn't cleared it up. How long did it take to work? Did you use it my itself or with another barrier cream like sudocrem? Going to go back to the GP next week as at my wits end and DS is only 5 weeks old.

We have had similar problems with our DD (2.2 yrs) on and off for the past 18 months or so (basically since she was weaned/started teething in retrospect). We have phases where she does the most acidic loose poo (sorry TMI) and it turns her bottom bright red instantly, the skin breaks down almost straight away and leaves open sore areas which bleed. I find it much worse when teething. Also certain foods tigger it- she is currently dairy and now soya free (complete pain but problem a lot better thatn it was), we have a paed referral to investigate food intolerances soon.

How we deal with it- as you say being extremely vigilant to start with and changing her the moment there are any signs that she has pooed where poss. (Often every couple of hours). She is in cloth nappies mainly (disposables 2 days p week for nursery). I find when her bottom really bad disposables a bit better to dry bottom out, however, cloth with a fleece liner do keep her bum nice and dry, v absorbant IMO and when they have sone such acidic poo doesn't make any difference whether in cloth or disposable, have to change nappy ASAP to minimise contact with skin.

Bepanthen is the only cream which has ever worked for us. Burts bees also OK. Metanium was a complete no no as it made it worse.
Silk liners either on their own or soaked in camomoile tea clear it up overnight (providing they don't poo!). You can use these inside a disposable also. Have also found egg white with silk liner to be good at clearing it up, but the main thing we find is trying to prevent the acidic poos where possible- ie watching diet very carefully. Difficult whenteething but sometimes ashton and parsons teeting powders help to settle tummy a bit.

Hope this all helps. It is very upsetting for you and your LO and I do know how you feel xx