RED RAW BUM.

[gillythekid]

My poor little 9 month DS has had a red raw bum on and off for a few months. GP prescribed Canesten which did nothing, then Nystatin ointment which cleared it up virtually overnight. I then realised that this stuff is not for long term use due to the steroids thinning the skin and anyway, it seems less effective the more we've used it.
We've had to switch from Bumgenius to Nature Babycare disposables as we can't use any barrier creams with the reusables. We're smothering him in Kamillosan at this stage. He tries to scratch every nappy change and is obviously in major discomfort. I put a drop of tea tree and lavender in his bath but I'm sure it's the acid in his poo due to teething. Is there anything I can do to make it better?

Have you tried Metanium?
Our local hospital gave me some when DD had an antibiotic-induced sore bum and nothing else worked. It sorted it in a few days.

metanium - fabulous.

And are you sure nature babycare as absorbant as non-eco nappies?

nappy off time as much as possible - can be hard i know

DS had dreadful nappies when teething so i do sympathise

metanium is amazing stuff

if the nystatin cleared it up immediately then surely it's thrush??
in which case no amount of different creams etc are going to make it better?

I think you may be right thisisyesterday but unfortunately the more we've used it, the less it's helped and it specifically says not to use for more than 7 days so we're back to square one. Does anyone know if we can use olive oil with a drop of tea tree or is in contraindicated for babies?

not sure, I would go back to the GP and see what they suggest.
fwiw I do use barrier creams with my reusable nappies and have yet to have a problem.

actually, if it is thrush then I would see if the GP can prescribe anything else, maybe some stronger canesten??
then go back to the reusables but get some paper liners to use with them, that would stop any possible reinfection too?
and plenty of nappy off time so that the area doesn't get too warm/damp for too long cos I guess that's prime conditions for thrush to thrive

It may go against your principles but why not try ordinary disposables for a few days to see if it makes a difference. Then you will know if it is a problem with the reusables and if ordinary disposables are most effective at collecting the moisture causing the problem.

I apply a bit of Sudocrem with every change and my LO has never had nappy rash. The one time there was a hint of redness (DH had dried LO off in a hurry) I used Metanium and next day the redness had gone.

Oh and I'm sure you do it already but I pat dry LO thoroughly with a muslin after cleaning.

Also bath LO every day in plain water to make sure all traces of urine etc, has been washed off.

(by ordinary disposables I mean Huggies etc. Yes they're not eco friendly but at least it will show if the problem is the nappy absobency or not for test purposes).

buyt the OP has been using disposables with no improvement

If it is thrush, then you cna also help by removing all sugars from his diet and you are also safe to apply lashings of natural yoghurt to his bum!!

I know that the OP has tried disposables, thisisyesterday.

but they are eco-friendly ones which may or may not be as effective at sucking up moisture and keeping it away from the skin as other types of disposables due to the nappy component materials.

My point was that it would make an interesting comparison for the OP to try the leading brand of nappies regardless of their eco-friendly element, so she can rule out it being a nappy issue once and for all.

erm ok, not sure why an eco-disposable would be less absorbant.
have you ever tried any? we've used both and not noticed a difference in absorbency at all.

just seemed an odd thing to assume that's all!

"Ordinary" disposables use materials based on performance only and do not have to be chosen in conjunction with their ability to biodegrade. This means that they have free reign to concentrate on performance only as often higher-performing products are not as kind to the environment.

Anyway, it was just a simple suggestion to try all sorts of products in the hope that one will alleviate the problem. I don't really care if you erm, ok me about it. You could just have said that you find eco disposables pretty effective.

Id have to agree that different brands, eco or not are very different in what they contain and how effective they are.(ive used washables too) I once put ds2 in huggies as we ran out of nappies and the local shop only stocked huggies, within 4 hours hes poor bum was more than red raw, the skin was peeling off, it was horrific and so bad i took photos and showed hv and emailed to huggies. Ive never let myself run out of pampers again.

its worth a try switching to a leasding brand to see if it help.

sucocrem=magic cream, slep copius amounts on, clears almost anything

sorry my spelling is terrible tonight

I agree that nappy off time will help. You can also use cornflour to help dry out the bum.

If the Nystatin cleared it up and then it came back, it suggests it might be thrush and I would think about what he's eating (and possibly what you're eating if he is bf).

Also, I've found my kids are very sensitive to acidic foods like tomatoes and citrus fruits - is he having much of these?

And I think you can carry on using the BumGenius nappies if you use a paper liner to protect the nappy from the oils/creams.

Thanks mummypig I won't use non biodegradable nappies and will try liners although he's never wet in the eco disposables. We sat in my mum's garden yesterday and he had no nappy on for a couple of hours, seemed to help, he wasn't scratching in his tummy tub last night. Will keep an eye on his diet but I have a feeling it's the teething, happened when the first 2 came through then calmed down.

Hi, my daughter occasionally suffered with a sore and sometimes bleeding bum. We found cleaning her with a camamile tea and honey mix really helped. I just made up some camamile tea, added runny honey, and kept it in a spray bottle. Did the trick everytime.

I've heard that applying egg white to lo's sore bum really helps. Not tried it myself though but a friend swears by it!

I never used tea tree oil near my babies' skin - its a very strong stuff and stings like hell on sore skin.
I used washable nappies with paper liners and every time we got some nappy rash I used camomile tea - you just bung a tea bag in a mug, let it cool, then dip cotton wool or washable wipes in it as you need to wipe his bum. Only one dip per go iyswim so that only clean cotton wool or wipes goes in it. Let that airdry on his skin then. If you do want to use a barrier cream then I found bog standard zinc and castor oil cream great. Eithr way, then dip a paper liner in the camomile tea, lay in the nappy as usual.

I would also put all your nappies in for a good hot wash with plenty of detergent, then rinse cycle after rinse cycle till not one bubble appears.