Diaper Sores

Updated on April 28, 2010
J.P. asks from Meridian, ID
17 answers

My son (2yo) is in cloth diapers and has never had the typical diaper rash. Instead, when he is teething, or on antibiotics, it seems that his poop gets really acidic and causes a couple sores. Having more poop on it, of course hurts/stings/whatever. We typically use MotherLove diaper cream, and have switched to Butt Paste if there is a reddening (usually from daycare since he can't air out). This has always worked for us, with a little neosporin thrown in. Right now though, it just isn't fast enough.

Friday he seemed to have some bad sores, so this weekend, we pretty much had him without a diaper all of Saturday afternoon, and every time we were home Sunday (except when I could tell he had to go to the bathroom, but wasn't interested in the potty). It seems to be getting slightly better, and we put some neosporin on the sores with every change, as the Butt Paste didn't seem to be doing anything. I think these are the worst he has had so far. We sent neosporin to daycare today too, but I know that they can't "air him out". Does anyone have any other suggestions for what we can do for him? I really just want to keep him comfortable, heal him quickly, and prevent it from happening again, but it seems to come on so suddenly. When this happens, we also give him a probiotic. I just hate to see my baby in pain!

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So What Happened?

Thank you everyone. He has had yeast infections before, and I know that that isn't it, and he is on the max probiotics recommended throughout this. I do love my cloth diapers (and he has a reaction to disposable), but am willing to put whatever creams he needs on him, and just strip the diapers later. Luckily, he is at a good daycare, and his teacher used a washcloth on him yesterday instead of the wipes, and she changes him often. He looked slightly better last night, and I used the A&D overnight (yes, stinky!!), and Desitin this morning. I am going to try the baking soda soak tonight too. Thank you for all the suggestions.

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M.H.

answers from Denver on

My doc office has recommended I think that Lotrimin stuff (anti fungal cream) covered with vaseline. Sounded wierd to me, but worked right away.
Good Luck!

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L.R.

answers from Salt Lake City on

My daughter gets those. I avoid feeding her strawberries, kiwi, and oranges. The acid seems to be a problem for her system.

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J.R.

answers from Boston on

i recommend corn starch...you can find it in the baking aisle at the grocery store. Its cheaper than Johnsons Corn Starch baby powder.

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S.L.

answers from Boise on

My doctor says to use a hair dryer for a minute or two on a cool setting. He says it does more good than a long time "airing out." Sorry, I don't know about cremes or anything, but I thought I'd pass that tidbit along.

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M.P.

answers from Modesto on

Hi Mama, I'm sorry you guys are having to deal with this right now =( My pediatrician suggested that we put A&D ointment on his bottom and then a really heavy dusting of the Gold Bond Baby Powder(put it on him and in his diaper) It ALWAYS works really quickly. Good luck to you mama, oh, and if you do cloth diaper make sure you don't while you use this combo or use liners .

J.J.

answers from Fort Walton Beach on

First I would ask the daycare providers to use special care in regards to his hiney. I know they won't rinse him off in the sink vs. wipes (which helps a ton by the way) but they can pat him dry w/ a tissue instead of air dry; and they apply whatever paste you desire liberally. I use Aveno and it worked well w/ my son. I also avoided any juice during that time and changed him every hour no matter what. Also, if he is only wet, ask the providers to just dab his bum vs. stripping off all the ointment, that will irritate it even more.

M.L.

answers from Hartford on

I make my own wipes which helps, I also use Melagel. The tee tree oil helps a lot!
Good luck!
M.

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S.M.

answers from Spartanburg on

I've got to recommend baking soda soaks too.
My daughter is 2 yrs old and in cloth diapers. She'll sometimes get little sores on her bum, not really a typical rash, just little sores (reminds me of blisters).
I've tried all sorts of diaper creams and none would help her.
When she gets the little sores it's normally when she's cutting a tooth. I limit the amount of foods that typically give her loose stools (apple juice, apple sauce, anything tomato based) and give her a baking soda soak. I just feel the sink (we have a big sink) with enough baking soda to make the water feel slimy (gross sounding I know) and let her soak for 15 or so minutes. Pat dry. This normally dries up the sores after one soak and I'll do it for the next couple of days.
I have had one time that the baking didn't work so I used an oatmeal soak and that did the trick.
HTH!

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R.M.

answers from Nashville on

As far as diaper rash ointments, I had better luck with Desitin, the thick and more concentrated one. I know everyone swears by butt paste, but it did nothing for my son, who also almost never gets diaper rash but when he does it is from teething or eating citrus.

Another trick my sister uses for her son's severe diaper rash- Aquafor or Desitin mixed with maalox or mylanta. The antacid in the mylanta helps neutralize the acid so it doesn't have a chance to burn baby's butt. Her son also gets it almost instantly out of nowhere, but she puts the mixture on the first time she sees it because chances are it is going to get worse each poop. You can also keep it in the fridge, more cool and soothing that way.

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J.C.

answers from San Francisco on

My daughter has the same problem, i actually just bought extra strength Desitin and it worked the fastest ever. I put tons on and change her really often if she can't be without a diaper. Good luck... poor baby!

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D.S.

answers from Miami on

My daughter has very sensitive skin, and had BAD diaper rash. Started using cornstarch instead of baby powder. It worked alot better.

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M.K.

answers from Provo on

Oh I know what you are going through! My little girl has gotten so sore and raw and blistery she has bled. It doesn't happen often but we also have noticed that this happens when she is teething or on antibiotics or sometimes if she eats something she must be allergic too. Strawberries burn her little bum pretty bad, so no more for her. A+D cream worked the best for us. I know you can't use that with cloth diapers because of the absorbency issues but when she has a rash that bad i slather her up with A+D and stick her in a disposable, and make sure that I change her very often. I think the cloth just dosn't wick it away enough for her to heal.
Good luck.

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L.B.

answers from St. Joseph on

I LOVE the A&D ointment with Zinc! I found that it healed my child's bum literally overnight...the regular stuff works well too...I just can't stand the smell of it...too much used on me as a child! LOL

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C.C.

answers from Salt Lake City on

sounds like a yeast infection, my pediatrician prescribed monistat cream for my daughter when she was a baby and had it, another time when it was filled I freaked out because the package said foot fungal cream, the pharmacist said it was the same thing as the monistat~interesting. even now if there is a bout of diarrhea and the but gets the blisters/sores that don't go away we use that cream. and make sure she is getting lots of probiotics, good thing she loves yogurt! :)

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J.F.

answers from Boston on

I had a horrible situation with my son once-I don't know if he was sick-but he had the WORST sores on his bottom and upper legs. I kept him out of diapers for the most part, but whenever I had to clean hi up, I stopped using wipes as it was so painful for him. I used tissues and vaseline to clean him, and I'd put him in the bath several times a day-but that only goes so far before they start chafing with that. Honestly-the vaseline seemed to help more than anything else. Maybe you could give it a try and cut down on his acidic intake-no juice or tomato products or anything else that he might like that is acidic. Good luck!!

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D.D.

answers from Denver on

When our little one has a tough diaper rash, or even just red, sore spots, the first thing we do is have him soak in the bath with warm water and about 1/2 a cup or so of baking soda. This helps alleviate the pain in the short term. Then, we use Desitin. I know that cloth diaper folks say not to use Desitin because it is hard to get out of the diaper, etc., but it works, really well. My son's worst diaper rash came from an unchanged diaper at daycare once when he started to eat tomatoes. It covered the bottom half of his butt cheeks, the area all around his anus, and the lower part of his scrotum. We used baking soda soaks and Desitin, and had to keep him in diapers, and it cleared up in two days.

Good luck.

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C.S.

answers from Columbus on

my little one had bad sores on her bottom from a formula we were using (not anymore!) and we used equal parts of liquid maalox mixed with aquafor. mix them up very well and slather it on. is kinda gross looking, but it worked like magic!

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