Diaper Rash Help!

[cream_city]

Anna is 6 mos old. About a month and a half ago she got a bad rash, on her front (she sleeps on her stomach) and then later in the back. It looked like a burn and peeled and itched.

We were using pocket diapers then, and switched to disposables. The doctor prescribed a yeast cream, even though he didn't think it really looked like one. He also prescribed a cortisone cream. The yeast cream seemed to make things worse; when we stopped using it, the rash slowly cleared up after a week or two.

I had bleached, sunned, stripped, and washed the diapers about a million times (remember, she'd been using them for 5 mos with no problems).

Within a day of using them, the rash was returning. So we went back to disposables and used the cortisone cream again. This time we couldn't get rid of it. The doctor then prescribed a stronger dose of the cortisone cream.

After 7 days, her skin was perfect.

But when we stopped, it is now coming back. He thinks it's just an irritant rash and that there's nothing really to be done. But it's getting worse every day. Some of it is in patches outside the diaper as well, so it's not just wet.

HELP? Any ideas?

[crystal555rose]

Your doc does not think it is eczema?

[cream_city]

No, he doesn't. What would I do if it's eczema?

[crystal555rose]

I did a lot of Aveeno to soothe it (body wash, soak and lotion all for babies of course). What I found that made it flare the worse was dairy protein. My son always had a little eczema but when I tried introducing cow's milk he was covered!!

[cream_city]

Was your son's only in the diaper area or all over? Also, do you think that the cow's milk I drink could be aggravating it? I could cut out the dairy.

She does have little pinpricks (like heat rash) on her arms and trunk sometimes... She came down with the rash before we started solids, so I don't think it's an allergy to the foods she's eating, but it could be something I'm eating.

[crystal555rose]

My son's started on his low back beneath his diaper as a red patch then also popped up as patches on his legs. After cow's milk it was also on his trunk and arms- horrible!

I usually eat very little dairy to begin with but when I need calcium I crave dairy products. To reduce the casein I give him via breastmilk I bought a calcium citrate supplement that I take when I crave dairy. I should take it all the time but I don't really think about it until I go to the grocery store and I want to buy sour cream, cottage cheese, ice cream...

[kasumisniper]

I would re-wash all the diapers in plain hot water several times, just to make sure all the bleach is gone. What kind of detergent do you use? That may be the problem. If it's the same thing you use for all of her clothes that would explain why it's not going away. Are you breastfeeding? I would try an elimination diet. It might be an allergy to something you are eating.

[crystal555rose]

Good point on the bleach. I was also an eczema monster as a baby and my mom said I was very sensitive to bleach.

[HammBugga]

It sounds like and allergy to the detergent.

[KerryS]

Yes, that sounds like eczema to me, as well. Leo started getting little patches of it once we started solid foods. We would just use hydrocortizone on it when it would flare up, and he outgrew it by the time he was a year. They were just little patches, so I didn't bother with elimination diets (eczema is almost always an allergic reaction to something).

[cream_city]

I would re-wash all the diapers in plain hot water several times, just to make sure all the bleach is gone. What kind of detergent do you use? That may be the problem. If it's the same thing you use for all of her clothes that would explain why it's not going away. Are you breastfeeding? I would try an elimination diet. It might be an allergy to something you are eating.

We haven't used the diapers in weeks -- and we only used them for about an hour that one time. I also washed them about 5 times after I bleached.

The detergent could be an issue -- but then it should have gotten better with disposables... We've tried the 7th gen ones, huggies, pampers -- no difference with any.

We do use wipes. We've tried different brands of those, too.

But we don't use the wipes on some of the areas that are rashy.

I'm going to go with eczema for now, and try those suggestions. Maybe I'll make an appointment with a dermatologist if it still doesn't improve.

I'll try that All Free and Clear too.