My daughter is 8 years old and seems to have reddness around her vaginal area a lot. I have taken her to the pediatrician, used allergy free laundry detergent, sleeping w/out panties, baking soda baths you name it, but nothing helps. It seems to go away and come back. THe doctor can't find anything wrong. The problem is that now my daughter is CONSTANTLY picking the back of her behind like her underwear is wedged or something. It doesn't matter what she is wearing, where she is at or what she is doing. Her teacher told me it goes on all day and the same when she gets home. This has been going on for weeks. When I take her to the doctor they just say nothing is wrong. I watched her playing today and she picked her behind at least 12 times in about 3 minutes. Has anyone else had this problem. I don't know if there is a real pain/itch issue or this has just become a habit. I am afraid if habit and she doesn't stop now she never will. This isn't like biting fingernails or anything else. I know the other kids especially boys are going to start to notice and give her a hard time about it.
Could it be she's not wiping very well and it itches ? If so, maybe try the flushable wipes that toddlers who are potty training use.
Are you sure your doctor didn't check her for pinworms? Sometimes a visual inspection will not show the eggs or little wigglers. You need to inspect her anus with scotch tape and see if anything adheres to it. You also need to inspect her stools for white spots. I had the same thing as a kid and it itched. My son had it and until we saw the little wigglers in his stool, we didn't know he had them. I would go get a second opinion from ANOTHER doctor if your pinworm inspection doesn't turn up anything. Something is very wrong here.
https://health.google.com/health/ref/Pinworms for more information.
Hi J.,
My 3y/o had vaginal redness that was yeast. We used homeopathic drops(internal), a colloidal silver spray (external), limited any added sugars, gave her a good source of yogurt and doubled her daily probiotics.
She also picked at her bottom daily and would tell me occassionally that her bottom hurt. My daughter had the yeast at the time she had pinworms, her sleep wasn't affected and her picking wasn't frantic. I do agree with Jenny there are signs to watch for but with my daughter's case, she wasn't a classic textbook case for pinworms. You can do a simple tape test at home to see if she has pinworms. As gross as it sounds, pinworm infections are very common in children.
How are pinworms detected?
Because pinworms usually crawl out of the anus while a child sleeps, the tape test is an easy way to find pinworms. It's best to do this right when your child wakes up and before he or she uses the bathroom or bathes. To do the tape test, pat a piece of clear tape on the skin around the anus. You can then take the tape to your doctor, who can use a microscope to check for pinworms or eggs. It is also possible for you to see the adult worms around the anus during the tape test.
You can find more info here:
http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/children/par...
Good luck,
J.
Since you can't find a reason for the redness I thought I would suggest something. My daughter, although only 4, also gets the redness but we found out that she is not wiping good enough. She would only barely touch down there with toilet paper and not get the part that ran towards the middle or back. When I wipe her this does not happen. Also, if you use the wet wipes too much they can get infections. Does she bathe daily? Maybe she is wet down there after her bath and gets dressed too quick. Years ago I had a nurse tell me the best thing you can do to keep infections away is to dry yourself down there with a hairdryer after you get out of the tub daily. She said the wetness breeds bacteria. Of course make sure your daughter doesn't get it too close and burn herself. Then get some cotton panties and a size that fits, not too big that could gap and be loose and uncomfortable but not too tight that it rides up. Then when you see the redness goes away, then you start working on the habit of her picking down there. You will have to tell her every single time she does it and remind her. You will have to maybe do a reward system....everytime she does not pick down there for a day, she gets....? Don't punish or hurt her feelings but explain to her that it is inappropriate and she has to be more discreet if it does hurt or itch. You can also keep a cream like vagisil or whatever the doc recommends, on it so it keeps it cool or from burning. Next, take her to a Dermatologist instead of just the Ped and see what they say b/c they specialize in skin. Good luck
My daughter is 7 and has the same problem with redness. I use vaseline after her bath. I make her clean herself well in the tub. When she gets out, I her lay on my bed. I dry her very well, then have her get some vaseline on her finger and I guide her own finger to coat the red areas. We don't do this every bath. I just encourage good hygiene and when I notice her picking or digging herself, then we use the vaseline. Hope this helps.
Updated
To add to my earlier post...I had pinworms as a child and am a healthcare provider. If your daughter has pinworms like the other mothers suggested she would not have redness around her vaginal area,it would be her butt if any at all. There is a pattern to watch for. The picking would be in the evenings and a night. Her sleeping might be affected. Her picking would be frantic after a having this issue for a while. Try the inexpensive vaseline, if it doesn't work, you can persue more envasive means with your doc.
This sounds a lot like a yeast infection! I would try a yeast cream (like monistat or clotrimatol) and apply it several times a day for at least 2 weeks. My son (yes, SON) had a horrible yeast infection when he was a baby and doctor told me that even when the signs and redness are gone it can still come back if not treated for at least 14 days. My 2 yr. old daughter also has a tendency to get them if she eats to much bread, crackers and cookies. Also make sure she wears only cotton panties and NOT nylon. Good Luck, can't believe a Doc didn't suggest yeast as a possible cause!
she may have gotten pin worms my son did the same thing when he got them you'll usally see them at night so after she goes to sleep check her bottom if she does have them you can eather get the medicine from a Dr. office or over the counter at a pharmacy I used Reese's Pinworm Medicine
which I got from Rite aid pharmacy you can also check at your local Walmart pharmacy Good Luck
It probably went from discomfort to habit. Try switching out her underwear to boxer briefs. Since they are conformed and cut on the thigh it might help.
Possibly consider diaper rash cream when there is a redness outbreak, to take away some of the discomfort?
My daughter was having wiping issues at school in kindergarten, and we used that on her as a 5-6 year old until she got the concept to do a better job down there. :)
Regarding the pinworms, that is a great suggestion to eliminate as a possibility, but may I just say, from one mommy to another, ewwwww! :)
She may not be wiping herself properly after using the bathroom. Try staying in with her the next time. If you need to, go out and buy some flushable wipes. You may have to re-teach her how to wipe. Make sure to follow up after her and wipe her, too! This will show both of you if she's getting everything. Hope this helps!
Have her checked for pinworms. They are so tiny you can't usually see them with the naked eye, but cause a persistent itching of the rectal area. As for the vaginal redness: are you positive that no one ismolesting her? (playing "doctor", etc.)
have her tested for worms
Has she been checked for pinworms? My cousins daughters were doing this, she had taken them to the dr. for routine checkup and they had done the same thing there. The dr. checked them for pinworms, I think that is what they were called.
