Diaper Rash???

[bright sparks]

I don't think you ever tell a parent to seek a doctors advise. I think that is crossing the line. However, If the child is not well enough to come to care based on your policies ... that you can tell them.

I don't think it is crossing the line personally. I think theirs an appropriate way of telling them like politely suggesting they see a dr. Maybe when the diaper rash has been around for a couple of days, make sure you bring it up with them every single day and when its been a week say how you have been monitoring it closely, changing the diaper more frequently and you are not seeing an improvement so something else has to be done. Say to them it is becoming disruptive in the childs day to day activities as it is very uncomfortable. I am not sure how a child would be to unwell to come to daycare because of a diaper rash as its not contagious. Even with an infection it is covered and I would make sure the child didn't touch their bottom so as not to have hand contact with the area If it was SO severe and came to the point that the child was screaming in agony, then IMO thats to the extreme of neglect as the rash would undoubtably be horrific and alarming and obviously so to everyone in contact with the child. If I had not spoken up and told the parents to seek a dr's advice before this point, I would be partly responsible.

On the point of how to deal with this, I worked in nursing for several years and also in the community with the elderly. The majority of clients had bedsores and required wound care, which is essentially the same as caring for diaper rash unless there is an infection. Here are my rules of thumb which have never failed me yet both for children and adults. If the skin is broken, as in open wound and bleeding, whether it is minor or major, I do not use any zinc based creams. It clogs the open areas. It may heal in some cases, but as the new skin has formed over the clogged area, it could be back to being broken as easily and quickly as wiping with a baby wipe. The new skin is fragile, but theres also the cream which causes it to take longer to heal sufficiently. I use vaseline on these areas until the would at least heals over and then I go full force with the zinc cream, the higher % the better. Even if the area isn't open, at naptime I always use vaseline again as the skin is exposed to moisture for longer periods and this provides a nice barrier. When I use vaseline I use copius amounts and put a very thick layer on the area as some will obviously come off with the diaper. It's also very important to thoroughly, but gently pat the area dry before applying anything. If its an open wound, I do not use baby wipes as this can cause irritation and inflamation and I ask parents to supply me with washcloths which I use with luke warm water and then I use a dry one to dry off after.

Some people have more sensitive skin and have a rash on a more regular basis. For them this is normal and it is better to have a more regular and consitant "bottom care routine" than using medicated creams on a regular basis. Even with no rash, my advice would still be to always use some kind of cream or vaseline as a preventative measure. Obviously not all parents do this. When medicated creams are used, the recovery is much quicker but the skin is far more fragile and thinner making it prone to breaking and also high risk for furthur diaper rashes requiring more medication and furthur risk of infection.

If anyone is having a problem with keeping the rash covered in medicated cream long enough for it to work, because obviously the diaper takes a lot of it off almost immediatly, try a product called tegaderm. Its fantastic for so many things. You can buy it from Home Health Care stores which are usually attached to Shoppers Drug Mart. It is a clear protective film. It keeps the cream in place and is painless to apply and painless to remove, I promise.

I don't think doing just one of any of the above is effective. You have to do a combination of things and yes, if the parent isn't on board with this over the weekend then Monday morning will be worse for a daycare provider.

If a daycare parent wants me to give the best possible care to their child, and I put everything into helping the child overcome something like this and they don't, then I have every right to pull the parents on it. When taking a family on and going through my contract, I am quite clear in my expectation of them as they are with me. We work together in caring for their child. If they aren't working with me, then they are breaking their contract and I'm going to say something to them. This is ultimatly their child and their decision on how to raise them, but if they sign and agree to this condition and don't stick with it, then they better bloody well expect to be confronted about it. Theres just an appropriate way of doing it. I have said in previous threads, that in order to do whats best for the childs wellbeing, sometimes we have to speak up even if it makes us the baddy. This isn't about the parent, this is about the child, and IMO not speaking up, is a diservice to the child and is not how I run my business.