Diaper Rash vs Infection

Try letting her go "commando". Stop using diapers and let her run free at home. Be prepared for accidents. If she's 22 months it's a good time to start potty training. Also let her go outside bottomless and let the sunshine heal her private places. At bedtime, use an incontnence sheet (buy at the drug store). When she pees at night, replace it with another one. Some diaper free time should help her.

Is it possible that she has a food allergy? My 2 year old is sensitive to peanut butter (I wouldn't call it a full-on allergy) and if she has some, she gets a diaper rash. It's always in the diaper area and seems to annoy her a lot. I just don't give her peanut butter anymore now that I know that's what causes it! If there's anything she's eating that might be allergenic, you might want to cut it from her diet and see what happens. Milk, soy, eggs? Good luck!

Honestly, I wouldn't do anything until receiving a proper diagnosis from the pediatrician or a dermatologist.

Our kids have the burn from diarrhea as well, but they've also had diaper rash so bad we couldn't determine the cause and had to have a Rx medication compounded to address all the usual suspects: fungus (which would include yeast), bacteria, allergies and abnormal inflammation.

If you try treating with things like vinegar (acetic acid) you could actually change the pH level of her vaginal area and create more problems unintentionally.

Since we don't know what it actually looks like, it's impossible for any of us to make a good recommendation. I'd really recommend calling the pediatrician to see what they'd recommend.

Good luck!

I would put plain yogurt on it, and then call for an appointment. They can tell by looking if it is yeast. If they give you a nystatin cream, keep using the yogurt as well. Nystatin kills everything and yogurt will help replenish good bacteria. Then I would really try to potty train her since that will help enormously. Good luck!

My daughter frequently had yeast infections. It was caused by the sugar in fruits such as bananas. You can use vagisil and apply it 2x a day also, I put my daughter on Colostrum. You can buy it from most vitamin stores. I crush it up and mix it in with her milk once a day. Since she started taking that she has not had any more yeast infections.

I always knew when it was a yeast infection because only her vagina was red and nothing else was. If I let it go on too long she would wake up multiple times at night screaming when she peed.

Ok Im going to suggest something that may sound out of left field but I am currently LIVING with this with my 2 and a half year old daughter... She gets the bumps too on her girlie part... and she was diagnosed with Folicitus (sp) which is a staph infection and can and has turned in to CA-MRSA at times.. if the bumps get a zit like head on them (looks a lil like an ant bite) it has likely turned into CA-MRSA (there are 2 forms, the really bad one that can cause death and the one I am that I am telling you about.. I tell you this because no one explained that to me and I was freaking out... I will say the one I am talking about CAN turn in to the bad one if left untreated)!! If Im right.. your Pedi is your first stop.. they will try a topical antibiotic, and then a couple antibiotics by mouth and if all that doesnt work its off to an infectious dieases specialist.. which is where I am... have been going through this for 6 months now.. So good luck and God Bless!!

Diflucan by mouth. She is yeasty in the gut. Then probitotics after that.

I agree a trip to the pedi is in order because it can be from anythin from foods to an infection.

If it does turn out to be a diaper infection - my daughter is super sensitive and here is the only thing that worked for us (hers would flare into a yeast right away)

eliminate baby wipes unless you have a big mess to clean up. instead wash over the area with tepid water. use a soft cloth (i cut up a cloth diaper into squares) and don't rub the area. pat dry and make sure the area is fully dry. we have been able to go back to sentitive baby wipes once the area healed.

alternate between a layer of 1% miconozle (sp?) and the next time only a layer of cortizone cream with each diaper change. wait for it to soak in and coat with a layer of A&D (target store brand is our fave).

Use a good diaper and you may have to try a few. we have gone through everything we can only have pampers or seventh generation.

Add probiotics to her diet. Florastor (available behind the pharmacy counter) is the best. if you are ever going to take antibiotics this is a must. you may not want to ive it long term as it is expensive. a good yoghurt with active cultures is a good on going alternative. (you can also get Kefir in whole foods....like youghurt...better live cultures).

Keep a food journal. for us my daughter was sensitive to citrus and fruit juice so i had to eliminate citrus for a bit and serve her juice 50% water.

Finally the vinegar in the bath might cause some other problems. again tepid water is the least painful during a flare up. Aveeno makes a good oatmeal bath. they come in packets and easy to keep on hand.

we were finally able to clear things up this way and not have it happen any more. Again we have a super sentive skin to deal with and your situation may be different but if it is a diaper rash these things should help heal her up quickly.Good luck!!!

One thing you can try on this rash is mixing 50/50 diaper cream and Maalox. The Maalox will neutralize the acid in her urine and help dry up the rash.

What type of diapers do you use? My son breaks out in diaper rash immediately if we use regular diapers/wipes. I have to use chlorine-free diapers & wipes with him, such as 7th Generation or Earth's Best. If she's potty trained, just make sure the underwear is 100% cotton. We also use the Burt's Bees diaper cream & I've found it to be the quickest to clear up diaper rash, so I would definitely keep up with that. Wish I could offer more advice than that, but I hope that helps some!

If this is just a reaction to diarrhea, it might be a kind of "acid burn." I remember one of my boys having diarrhea while in the car, getting changed as soon as we got home, and just that short period of time was enough that his bottom had a horrible rash. It kept spreading and we took him in and they said it was from the acid in the diarrhea and because of that to just give him baking soda baths, leave off the diapers after changes to let him air out, and NOT use anything with zinc oxide. I pretty much exclusively use A&D ointment for everything (one jar for bottoms, one jar for other areas of the body) and have found that that is soothing and helps clear everything up.

It does not sound exactly a yeast infection to me--usually those come along with some change like antibiotics that throws the balance of yeast off. I think your doctor should be able to check her exterior without a cathiter and determine if it is a yeast infection, but it sounds like diarrhea is her main trigger. A diaper rash can become infected, so if she gets open rashes, dab on a bit of antibiotic ointment as well.

The only diaper creme that has ever worked for us is A&D. Get her tush clean and dry, let her run around for a while uncovered. When it's time for a diaper, spread on some A&D original ointment. It goes on nice and easy and creates a barrier.

A friend of mine has a daughter who also has very sensitive parts. She also scratches herself and gets a rash super easy. They put A&D on her at every diaper change and it has helped DRAMATICALLY.

You could take her back to the pediatrician and check for yeast, the prescription works!

We had a sensitive one too. She was bad, everything caused her an issue! The thing that worked the best for us was the hair dryer! I would wash her well, and dry her for 5 minutes or so with the hair dryer on low or no heat. I did this with every change, and let her go naked as much as possilbe. A thick layer of desitin after a good dry when she had to wear a diaper was also good, and sometimes I would put on A&D first, and then cover with Desitin (hate the smell, but the zinc helped her and the thick stuff- I put it on like frosting!- helped keep stuff away from her skin)

The hair dryer is amayzing- you have to try!

M.

I use Earth Mam Angel Baby Bottom Balm, which is brilliant at clearing up irritated skin. That said, my son only breaks out if I put him in a disposable diaper. I have all cloth, but on a rare occasion, I will forget to pack a diaper for him and will need to borrow a disposable. Always a mistake for him.

Love, LOVE my cloth diapers - I even went on vacation with them!

I have Haute Pockets and Air Biscuit Cloth Diapers (google you have to put in the full "Air Biscuit Cloth Diapers")

Best of luck! Hope she feels better soon!

I think you may be right about the yeast BUT I do agree with Dana, you are going to need to figure out what is causing the rash. So a trip to the doc is in order. Also, where I would say that vinegar is good with helping out yeast problems, it is going to hurt a raw bottom.

If you are able to let her go without a diaper it helps! May not be great for the carpet but a dry, aired out butt is a healthy butt. ;-) After the current irritation heals begin applying cream after each change. It's good to have a barrier against the wetness especially if she has very sensitive skin. And, considering how sensitive her skin is you may want to look for a cream that is as natural or chemicals free as possible.
Also if she is on an abx it is always a good idea to feed her yogurt or get a good probiotic. A probiotic is good anytime but especially during a round of antibiotics.

I hope you can figure out what's bothering her, Good Luck!!

hmm...i don't have a girl, but when my son had bad diaper rashes, i would just let him go naked bottom down and let air heal it and that seemed to help a lot! is that possible to do with her? if not, call your ped and if anything i am sure one of the nurses can ease your mind even if it's something you have already tried. sorry, hope she heals fast!

organic unrefined coconut oil works wonders! It is anti-fungal/viral/bacterial. I use it on my daughter at the first sign of diaper rash and it goes away immediately. My niece had a diaper rash for a couple of weeks and was on 3 steroids for it and they weren't working. I was with her one day and started putting coconut oil on every time I changed her and it started clearing within a couple of hours.

When my son was a baby and teething(he was very fair with white blonde hair) he would get bleeding diaper rash. I tried every thing. Not even the prescription creams worked. A friend told me about castor oil. Worked like a miracle! No smell, didn't burn. Castor oil is unrefined vitamin E and is anti fungal. It is very inexpensive. My son is in the Navy and I still use castor oil for everything. You can even put it in your eyes. I used it on a cat that was injured in a fight--saved a vet bill.
Your daughter also needs probiotics (yogurt, acidophilus) daily!!!!!!! GNC has a good chewable.