PLZ HELP...Reilly has butt problems!!

I know it might be TMI but I donno who else to ask before seeing his ped. It's a pain to get an appt on fridays. A few days ago when I was changing his diaper I noticed that around his anus is red and it looks skinned a little. I have been using a+d on the area to heal it. But it does not seem to be working. I use huggies sensitive wipes on him. But now when we are home, if he has a BM, I just wash his butt instead of wiping it cuz I feel like I'm hurting him. He is not in too much pain though..he seems fine, but the area does not look that good. Plus he poops around 5-6 times a day so his butt is constantly getting wiped/washed. Any advice on how to make this go away? Thanks ladies.

[jd1419]

When my boys were little especially around teething time--they would get eh nasties butt rash you can imagine...I would use only warm water and a wash cloth to clean the area---then I would use bag balm---it seemed to work the pest for me--the other diaper rash creams made everything worse....if it doesn't get better in a few days or now if you get that appointment-- just make sure it stay as dry as possible and keep that on.  If you can leave him go without a diaper for a little while to help it breathe.

[GNicole]

Avery used to get that way ocassionally and I would use Butt Paste (yes that is the real name) and it worked great. They sell it at Babies R Us and most drug stores. Good luck to you and congrats! :)

[mommy2b-nanny]

I've seen butt paste. I'll give it a try. thanks girls :)

[sunshine_mommy]

I definitely agree with using Butt Paste.  It does wonders.  One thing that always helped me with my first daughter is to use the diaper ointment for each change.  Using it as a preventive medicine as opposed to when the problem occurs can stop the rash altogether.  I also wouldn't use any type of wipes because even the sensitive wipes can upset the baby.  A warm wash cloth should be fine for baby's bottom.  I'm sure he'll thank you for it!

[SeeingSpots]

If you do use wipes, just make sure they aren't scented.  We have always used the Wal-Mart "Parent's Choice" brand which are unscented.  I agree with everyone else, try the "Boudreaux's Butt Paste" (it's sold at Wal-Mart too).  Like Sunshine said, if you use it with every diaper change it will help prevent diaper rashes to begin with.

With my older son he once had a really bad case of it, and we went through every type of other cream (desitin, a&d, etc) and nothing worked.  What cured that bout was something that sounds really odd, but believe it or not, we used Emu Oil on it! I guess if you do a Google search about Emu Oil and diaper rashes you'll see that it's been used for years and years.  It literally mostly cleared the rash up over night (and it had been BAD- bleeding and raw).  The only hard part is that it's not the easiest to find... we had to get ours from a Natural/Holistic food store, although since then we've found that it's cheaper to buy on eBay or the internet, so we keep a bottle of it on hand for any future diaper rash outbreak (it's also good for muscle aches, dry skin, sunburn, etc).  We continue to use the Butt Paste for daily preventative, and just use the emu oil if we start to see any redness.

Anyway, give the Butt Paste a try, but if it still doesn't go away look in to getting some emu oil.  We asked my pediatrician about emu oil, and she absolutely recommended it too... said she used it on her own two boys when they were little.  It's 100% natural and safe.

Poor Reilly!  I'm sure his bum will be better in a few days... at least you're on top of it and taking care of it.  (My neighbor with the 18 kids horrifies me.  She uses cloth diapers  and TURNS THEM INSIDE OUT when dirty to reuse them!! ACK!!!  They have the plastic pants to go over them, so she feels this is an acceptable practice, but I've seen some horrific diaper rashes on her little ones' bums. :o(  Sad.)

[tiredbuthappy]

dd has only had one rash in 8 months, so i don't have too much experience. the one she did have was a sore that just wouldn't heal. we tried butt paste, a&d, desitin, etc... it was triple paste that cleared hers up. i guess all babies respond differently to different creams.

[mommy2b-nanny]

Thanks for the info. I will get some butt paste tomorrow and search for the emu oil.
How could people do that to their babies?? I mean I understand if financially it makes more sense to some poeple to use cloth diapers or when their babies are allergic to disposable ones, but not washing them...ewww...how aweful. Not to mention from what it looks like they have been popping out babies left and right.

[mommy2b-nanny]

I'll give it a try if the butt paste fails. thanks :)

[SeeingSpots]

Yeah, I thought the same thing about my neighbors... pathetic.  (They've had Child Services called on them several times by their own relatives, btw.)  The mom is pregnant yet again, and is due next month.  We bought a couple of bags of disposable diapers we are going to give her for a new baby gift! LOL  At least the newborn's bum will be semi-spared for a few weeks!! :o)

Tiredbuthappy is right, triple paste works well too-- it is like Boudreaux's Butt Paste in that it's primarily Zinc Oxide, but it also has bee's wax and lanolin in it.  Problem is that if Zinc Oxide isn't working (like it wasn't with my son's rash), neither formulation will therefore work.  That's why we then switched to the emu oil.  Speaking of which, here's a exerpt from outbackmedic.com:

Diaper Rash
by Myra Charleston

Most diaper rash is caused by a yeast or bacterial infection, two organisms that thrive in a moist, warm environment. The area covered by the diaper becomes covered with small, pimple-like bumps that may become scaly or crusty. In severe cases the sores ooze and have an unpleasant odor. At some time almost all babies will develop some sort of diaper rash.

When Susan first became pregnant, both her mom and mom-in-law advised her on preventative care. "They told me to keep the baby changed, how to clean the bottom and to use petroleum jelly."  Her pediatrician told her to forget the petroleum jelly because the baby's skin needed to breathe.  "When Amy had her first case of diaper rash, it was pretty standard and I did what I had been told by the doctor, I kept her clean, it seemed like I changed her all the time. But it was getting worse and she was crying every time she peed. I called the doctor, but she told me not to put anything on it, to continue to change her and that it would clear up. By then it was horrific, her little bottom was red and I swear it was peeling. I even had her on a pad instead of in diapers, and when she would pee, she'd stop and cry then pee some more. I told her (the pediatrician) how bad it was, but she just repeated what she had told me, keep her clean and dry.  I felt like she was being impatient with me, like, oh, I don't know.  It's my first baby and I felt unsure of myself."

At that time Susan and Neil had to attend a weekend corporate retreat. The men would attend some meetings, play golf and the ladies would play bridge and get to know one another. Grandmom Ellen (Susan's Mom) kept Amy the two days they were gone. "The first thing she said when she saw Amy's bottom was  what have you been putting on it?''  Susan became defensive. "I told her nothing; that the doctor said not to use anything, that it would clear up on it's own. I stressed that she was to follow the doctor's orders. Mom just looked at me over her glasses and asked if it was getting better or worse. I admitted it was worse, but, like an idiot, continued to stress what the doctor said."

"The minute they pulled out of the driveway I had that baby butt naked and put emu oil all over her little bottom." Reports Grandmom Ellen. "She cried at first, because of the contact, but settled down, the oil soothed her. I put it on her every time I changed her." Ellen uses a variety of emu oil products and keeps emu oil in the medicine cabinet. When Susan and Neil picked her up on Sunday evening, Susan asked how the rash was. She had to look when she was told it was gone and expressed amazement that it could clear up so quickly. Grandmom confessed to using the emu oil. Susan was angry, but not at  Grandmom - at the doctor for letting the baby suffer when it would be so easy to heal the rash up. Since then she has changed pediatricians, but has decided to follow Mom's advice and keep emu oil in the medicine cabinet, along with a variety of emu oil based baby products.
**********************
One other thing to consider is what type (and size) diapers you are using.  With my sons, Huggies (as newborns) give them rashes, so we use the Pampers Swaddlers.  Also, if they are rubbing or getting too small, you may need to move up a size or a rash can occur.  (They usually overlap in weights for the sizes.)  Alden is in size 1's, although he'd still fit the NB size.)
Have a great weekend!

[gunnersgirl16]

I always use vaseline with my kids it always work wonders, but make sure after you clean him with wipes make sure to dry  the area and then Apply the cream or vaseline, also try to wash the area everytime you change him.  I hope he gets better.

[Trialanderror]

Your little one is only a month old or so? He is cute!
Anyway, my son was really sensitive to even the unscented wipes. I used a ton of tiny washcloths and dipped them into warm water that had baking soda in it. The baking soda has cured pretty much any skin irritation over the years. And the wash cloths went straight into the laundry and have been re-used a million times. It was cheap and worked. I used zinc ointment when he had a slight rash and vaseline when everything was okay. Only later, after he started eating solids, the acid in fruit would give him rashes in the bum area, so we reduced anything with acid. But I guess that can not be the cause in a newborn. If there is any fungal infection, a prescription of ointment with a tiny bit of hydrocortisone helps.

[luv2bmommy]

like others said buttpaste is good i used DR SMITHS diaper rash ointment with my girls and that seemed to work the best. like butt paste is a little more expensive but well worth it, just make sure you keep the area dry and make sure its completely dry before you put the oinment on because it forms a barrier that is supposed to keep moisture out but it will also keep it in if you put it on damp skin. if it doesnt begin working soon he may have already formed an infection if it looks like bubbly skin or starts peeling and stays reddish he probably has which is very painful, in which case you should bring him in they will give him a perscription and he will be A OK! hope it gets better!

[mommy2b-nanny]

Thank you for all the good advice ladies . I tried the Triple Paste and it seems like things got worse. His poor butt does not look good. I called his pedi and he told me to go back to putting on A&D and take him in this week if things keep getting worse. When I change his diaper, it's like I'm performing surgery, thats how careful I am. Everytime he cries I want to die. I'm going to take everyone's advice and make sure the area is dry before I put on the ointment. I didn't know that and I feel that I caused the rash :(. I'm taking him in on tuesday. I just want him to get better already.

[AndiJ78]

No one mentioned it, but what kind of diapers are you using? Anything with a scent can irritate and diapers are a common culprit. Pamper and Luvs gave my first and middle boys the worst bleeding rashes on their backside. No cream helped.

Also, have you considered that it may be yeast? A dab of anti-fungal cream would show marked improvement within hours if it is yeast.

[CYW]

i dont know if i posted this on your thread but my mom used tender flake lard with me because i was constantly having diaper rashes to the point that it was cracked and bleeding and it worked miracle...one of those old wives tales..but only use tender flake lard if you plan on tryin and dont hesitate to put alot...my mom would layer it in my diaper...i too was allergic to diapers..i got even worse rashes...even when i am on my period now i still get those rashes at time and I use the tender flake if it gets that bad...within hours-the next day i feel whole again

[sdo527]

Are you nursing? Some expressed milk on the area always helped in our house....It's moisturizing, plus the milk has antifungal and antibacterial properties in case there is a little infection. Also, the redness just around the anus is sometimes an indicator of a food allergy.....if your using formula you might want to look into a different brand, or if BF trying an elimination diet.