Diaper rash

[sunnydays]

I have some babies in my daycare who seem to have constant diaper rashes. The new little one who started with me last week has a sore on his bottom so bad that it bleeds when I wipe him...it has been a week and the sore is still there. His mom said that it was an ammonia burn from his pee (he is in cloth diapers), but I have never seen anything like this (my own daughter and the other dck's are in cloth too). I have another in disposables and he tends to get rashes a lot too...his parents put cream on every time they change him, so I do too to try to prevent it. My own kids only ever got rashes when they had diahrea. I am just wondering if others experience many diaper rashes with dck's...is this normal?

[playfelt]

For some kids yes and others never get them. A child that is prone to rashes will get them no matter how often you change them or what diaper or cream you use. There is a good chance this child has sensitive skin - burns easily in the summer, gets dry and rough in the winter, marks easily or there are food sensitivities that do make the urine extra irritating.

There are a couple kinds of diaper cream that is ok to use when in cloth diapers - mainly the burts bees or a similar waxy brand that once cleaned would put a layer between wet and skin. With the one I had in cloth when it would get out of control. Finally the solution that worked was to use disposables at my house and slather on the cream and then he did cloth at home and no cream.

[clep]

I used to have a few children like this. One girl was always bleeding on her bum when she was teething no matter what we did. Both mom and I changed her immediately after she pooped, but every time she would bleed anyways. She would seem to get redder all day, even after the clean up.

We finally figured out that it was due to acid in the stool or urine. Even when the area was cleaned away, the acid was still eating away at the skin. We started putting Milk of Magnesia on her bum and it cut the acid as asap, then we would put Zincofax extra strength on her. The rash was gone in two days and never returned again as long as we kept the Milk of Magnesia on her bum after every diaper change.

I have never had a child get a diaper rash since at my day home, and heal them rapidly if they come to day home with one. All the parents use it now and diaper rashes are a thing of the past.

[Crayola kiddies]

I have two boys in my dayhome that both get rashes .... The kind that bleed also .... One was taken to the dr and it turned out to be eczema and needed a medicated cream as the zincofax did nothing and the other one just gets zincofax cause they don't want to take him to the drs .... My own kids as infants were prone to yeast infections and needed a perscription to get rid of it .....acidic foods will also cause a rash like tomatoes ( spaghetti sauce) citrus, pineapple, apple and other juices .....

[jec]

Our oldest had very sensitive skin and although it didn't happen often ~ usually when my Mom watched her-lol. I was a first time Mom and freaked out ~ a friend told me to try something her Mom told her about and worked every time for her. So I tried it and to this day swear by it but your going to shake your head when I tell you....burnt flour. Flour like you find in your pantry to bake with. Take a baking pan and put some in the pan over the stove burner~ shaking it back and forth so it doesn't burn but turns brown. Once it cools down fill the diaper up and the theory is that it pulls the acid and red out of the rash. Don't know who thought of it but it worked for me! I've tried it on one of my daycare kids and now the Mom has a container like I did of burnt flour!!

[sunnydays]

Thanks for all the suggestions! I didn't realize it was so common to have constant diaper rash! I won't be trying any of these remedies myself on a dck, but I may pass on the ideas to the parents for htem to try. I would never use anything on a dck that hasn't been sent to me by the parents. I did also suggest to the mom that she send cloth wipes (she uses them at home) as the other wipes can irritate the skin. She has provided me with a whole bunch of creams that I put on after every diaper change (I've never had a problem using creams with cloth diapers), but nothing is working. She is going to see the doctor about it soon.

[playfelt]

My favourite diaper cream is called Sudocrem. Usually a grey jar and label is red and white or has been up until the last one I bought although that was about 6 months ago. But I have had the best success with this cream and that is what we used on the child with the stubborn rash.

If you think the rash is a yeast infection you can try clotrimozole cream - it will say for use on athletes foot and jock itch but it kills the germs that are causing the repeated infection. One of the creams you can get from the doctor is a mixture of the clotrimozole and cortizone but you pay a lot more than buying the tube itself. This came many years ago from a child that had diaper issues and the mom got tired of going back for another presscription and went into the drug store to ask could they please just refill and the pharmacist showed her the clotrimozole and said it was the active ingredient in what the doctor had prescribed for a fraction of the cost not to mention a large tube.

[sunnydays]

I use Sudocream on my kids too...works well

[mom-in-alberta]

It's already been said, but I was going to suggest a "yeast" infection also. If absolutely nothing is working, there is a good chance that it is yeast, because they rarely go away on their own once they have reached open, weeping sore stage. My second son would get them all the time when he was little. Then my oldest would get them, and even my baby has had them. (is it something we are eating??) I didn't even know that it could be an issue with boys! On that note; be super vigilant about washing your hands when kids have these (I am sure you already are). They are easily passed from person to person. You might find yourself with an uncomfortable infection, otherwise. A candida diaper rash looks very distinctive, in that it appears as little pinprick type dots. If it gets real bad, the crease areas quite often turn VERY red and have a shiny appearance. You don't need to buy prescription cream, as long as it is for sure a yeast infection.
As playfelt mentioned, use clotrimazole from the drugstore pharmacy section. Or you can buy "Vagisil" type external cream. It's the same stuff, and yes, much much cheaper!! I have also been told to spray the diaper area with white vinegar, or wipe with cloth dipped in vinegar. The yeast cannot live in an acidic environment? I wouldn't want to do that on a bum with open sores, though. OUCH.

Thanks for all the awesome tips. Love the Milk of Magnesia idea. Going to suggest that one to the parents of my little p/t guy. He had a rash so bad a few weeks ago that he was walking bow legged, it hurt so bad. Poor dude. And my personal fave is Sudocrem also. Nice and thick, stays where it's supposed to. And it smells good, too! I would not do this at daycare, but a little naked time sometimes helps a rashy bum, too. Of course, once baby is up and moving, that becomes a risky little game.

[Kristarlynn]

My friends son was wearing Huggies diapers and kept getting a rash. Her doctor said he was allergic to the diapers. So maybe keep track of what diapers the children are wearing and if they have changed brands reciently.

Also, about the creams. I also like Sudocream, but my absolute favourite one was Desitin.