Eczema Diaper Rash? PLEASE HELP!!!

Updated on May 06, 2007
M.P. asks from Greenville, SC
19 answers

My 2 1/2 year old has a "diaper rash" that is not really a diaper rash. It is like severe acne, and it is only on the cheeks, not in the folds or anywhere else. She first got it at the beginning of the year, pediatrician said it was infected and gave us Omnicef (antibiotic) to help clear it up. This worked like a charm, but a month later, the "rash" was back. This time, a different pediatrician said that what she has is eczema, NOT an infection. He prescribed a steroid ointment. We used it for more than a week, making extremely slow progress. Plus, she sometimes complained about it hurting her. It FINALLY went away after more than 2 weeks, but here we are again, 2 weeks later, and it has come back full force. I don't want to keep applying the steroid ointment every day for the rest of her life- that can't possibly be good for her. But what am I supposed to do? I can't get this under control!

EDIT: Sorry, I should have mentioned that she is potty-trained and does not wear diapers. And it really does not look very much like a RASH, more like severe acne. I tried a yeast infection treatment last time before going to the doctor- it didn't make a single difference. I've also used Neosporin, Desitin, and Elidel- no luck. We tried "free" detergents when she was a baby and, ironically, she reacted poorly to them- contact eczema, which was dry and scaly and itchy. This stuff on her bottom really doesn't look like eczema, either, it looks like severe acne and it's only on the cheeks. There is not a blemish anywhere else on her body. It looks very painful and I just want to get it under control, but I can't.

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B.S.

answers from Wilmington on

Hey! I found a lotion made by Arbonne and it helps my son. He had something that looked like a "rash" on his bottom that kept coming back worse everytime and nothing helped. A friend of mine sells these Arbonne products and gave me a sample of the lotion. Within 2 days it was gone. I've used it ever since and it has never come back.

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A.H.

answers from Charlotte on

M., my 2 year old daughter gets this as well and it has to do with her diet. She has food allergies and it comes out in her skin. Depending on the food it will make her hind end break out, usually it is something citrus related or acidic. We try to control her diet as much as we can but when she goes to school and she sees others eating her favorite foods like pizza and oranges it is hard to control since the teachers can not always watch her. You might want to get her allergie tested for different types of foods, A.

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P.B.

answers from Raleigh on

M.,

I can't give you a specific doc since I'm in Raleigh and you are in SC, but take her to a dermatologist.....they do rashes for a living.....ask other moms around your area about a good dermatologist who works well with kids.

Hope it gets better!

Pam

1 mom found this helpful
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K.K.

answers from Charleston on

Not sure if you have heard of Arbonne, but they are an all natural company who has a wonderful product lines for everyone, and a great one for babies. The company has a focus on skin problems, eczema, rosacea, etc... A friend of mine's son had very bad eczema and used the baby oil and lotion and hasn't had a problem with it since. If you'd like more information please let me know. Since I've been introducted to these remarkable products, I've become a consultant for them.

Thanks,
K.
____@____.com

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T.E.

answers from Raleigh on

My suggestion - use the steroid 3 times a day to clear it up.. in between those eapplications, use POLYsporin (not neo).. then you can stop the steroid (like Vanos) and and continue to use the polysporin. Thing is, it might be infected eczema which as also known as impetigo. It's not that easy to get rid of and it's contagious. I can recommend a good dermatologist to you. Obviously my kids went to one recently for a similar issue.

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D.R.

answers from Norfolk on

M.,

Try Dr. Smith's ointment. My daughter too has very sensitive skin and will get a rash at the drop of a hat. We have used perscription ointments but have found this over the counter, very expensive ointment work within a couple of days to have her totally clear. We use it daily in the morning and really put it on super thick at night and she has been rash free since we started using it. Hope this helps, D.

We have found it at Eckerd an Walgreens

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M.H.

answers from Norfolk on

my 2 1/2 yr old son has sensitive skin and gets little pimple like things near diaper(pull up) line and in diaper area. pediatrician says that its from moisture.. try letting her run around without anything on after a bath or whenever possible. the heat causes it too becausethey sweat more(which you cant control) and causes it again along iwtht he heat. have you tried hydrocortizone cream? thats what our pediatrician suggested. my son also had a problem with feel and learn pampers traiing pant(like the ppost before me) and he also developed bumps as a reaction.

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J.F.

answers from Fayetteville on

Eucerin has a calming lotion that works great on excema - non-steriodal and helps with any itchiness that may be there too. Also, you may want to try triple paste - it's a diaper rash cream that's very thick and worked great when my daughter had this when she was little. Good luck.

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R.F.

answers from Charleston on

Dear "MOM,"
My daughter had an isolated rash as you are talking about, it was little red bumps on the cheeks of her bum, and unfortunately, it does seem to come back every now and again, but I finally figured it out!! Her M.D. prescribed her an everyday ointment called Nystatin, which is a topical antibiotic also used for many other things like Oral thrush in different routes. If I used this ointment RELIGIOUSLY, it slowly disappeared....BUT, the key that helped my daughter was I noticed it flared up after bathtime. I put a damper on her bathtime and didn't use really warm water b/c it seemed to precipitate the "infection." My daughter is 2 1/2, who also has very sensitive skin and it comes and goes, but it is not HALF as bad as it once was, b/w the ointment and the bathtime dampering, I have got it under control. I thought the MDs were all wrong too, I thought she had red bugs from the playground at daycare where she sat in pinestraw, and I also treated it for that. Hope this helps in anyway. My daughters rash never oozed, it just would FLARE up and get really red and bumpy only on her cheeks.

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C.W.

answers from Norfolk on

My 5.5 yr old son has had eczema since his first few weeks of life. We too have gone the entire course of creams, medications, soaps, bath products, etc. Normally the eczema over most of his body is the typical looking eczema, but occasionally he gets it only on his bottom cheeks. Not in the crack or around the seams of his underwear area, just the cheeks and its exactly as you described it looking. We finally figured it to be a reaction to the bleach/detergent/fabric softener and most probably the addition of heat (weather it be the weather or his getting over heated from playing). Its not a constant rash, and he's worn underwear washed in the same detergents for years, but just every so often he'll get that bottom rash. So we cut out the bleach and fabric softener on his underclothes for a while and continue using the eledel or other ointments we have. If you still have the Elidel as well as the steroid ointments you should try alternating their use. We've found that after a while of using something, its effectiveness goes away, but if you break off and use something else for a few weeks and then switch back, the origional medication will work again. If you are in the Hampton/NN/Yorktown/Poquoson area and need a recommendation for a great Dermatologist, let me know.

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B.P.

answers from Charlotte on

I have two girls who also have sensitive bum skin- that seems to be the only place their skin is senstive. Here are some things we've done to keep things in check (I haven't had to use the steroid cream in a year):
1.Anti-allergen detergent- not just "free" of perfumes and dyes, but one that I buy from www.nationalallergy.com. It is different than most of the "free" soaps you'll find in the grocery store. They are free of perfumes and dyes. The anti-allergen detergents are also free of sulphates, nitrates and petroleum-based cleaners. Also, it can take a few washings for the anti-allergen detergent to get rid of the chemicals left in your washer (and on your clothes) by the regular detergents.
2. No fabric softener on their clothes, sheets, blankets, etc. unless absolutely necessary. For softness, add baking soda (1 cup) to the wash. I only use fabric softener if I start getting static build-up.
3. Our ped recommended Dove soap. I actually prefer products from California Baby (get at Target) or Jason's (get online or from a store like Earth Fare or Whole Foods). They have sensitive skin formulas that have no perfumes or dyes and are paraben free. NO bubble bath ever- not even if it says for sensitive skin.
4. Cetaphil cream (it's thicker and better than the cetaphil lotion in the pump, and it's not as greasy as Eucerin).
5. Limit the dairy. Eczema is often a sympton of a milk-allergy or at least a sensitivity to dairy.
6. Adding a probiotic to their diet. It comes in a powder form and I add 1/2 a teaspoon to their water or juice or a fresh-fruit smoothie once a day.
7. If one of my daughters has a breakout and complains of it itching, I use Burts Bees Diaper Ointment, though I've also used Vagisil when out of the Bees.

I would consider taking her to an allergist. Good luck. I hope you find something to help her.

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M.H.

answers from Charleston on

My son has eczema and my pediatrician determined that he was allergic to something. We ended up switching his formula from milk to soy and that cleared him up. I know that your daughter is too old for formula but do you think that maybe she is allergic to something in her diet? I have heard of kids having break-outs from tomatoes too......Hope you get it figured out! Good luck.....

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A.G.

answers from Greenville on

She might be having an allergic reaction to the diapers. My son can not wear any clothing or products next to his skin that contain blue dye in them. We used the FoodLion diaper on him only once and he broke out into hives.
We only figured this out after a whole summer of him sweating with the blue dye and him coming to us saying it hurts and I'm ittchy. Maybe try a different brand of diaper and see what happens.

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T.G.

answers from Charleston on

I have an 18-month old son, who has had severe eczema since he was 1 month old. There is not cure for it, all you can do is soothe it. We have tried almost every steroid cream, antibiotics. He goes to his pediatrician, an allergist & a dermatologist. And basically they all give me something new to TRY each time and tell me "hopefully he'll grow out of it". I did find a place online www.guaranteed-eczema-relief.com. My doctor never heard of them, but I was desperate. This company sent me free samples and even though they didn't clear the eczema up, it did make it 100% better than usual. It's kind of expensive, but the company is great!!!!
All I can offer is my sympathy and tell you that you are not alone!

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B.Y.

answers from Charlotte on

My mother is an herbalist and used to have her own soap making bussiness. She made a soap that she called baby soap. Best thing since sliced bread. Now before I get your hopes up she is out of the bussiness of soap. However I can tell you the main ingredient in the soap was a flowering herb called calendula. She used the petals from the flower ground up in the soap. Also for severe cases she used to give me the left over petals ground up in a jar to be used in a warm bath which was highly effective for big breakouts. Anyway if you can get some of these petals at a health food store do it, if not try to find herbal soap makers and maybe they have something similar. I am not in to using alot of man made drugs to treat aliments especially a skin disorder such as excema. It makes sense to me that something like this is only going to get irritated more by any chemicals. Just thought I would pass the info along. my daughter benefited from this greatly and so have alot of other people that my mother sold the soap to. It also sounds like it could be caused my yeast. Has she taken alot of atibiotics in the past. Sometimes the topical treatments dont work very quickley. Yogurt has alot of anti yeast properties especially the soy kind.

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S.M.

answers from Greensboro on

My son gets yeast infections every few months. He has since he was born and is 18 months now. Your daughters sounds a lot like his. They give him Vusion cream or nystatin cream, and that clears it up better than anything else. Maybe ask your ped about those and see if they help.

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S.G.

answers from Savannah on

It sounds like an irratant rash. Either caused by heat or a reaction to something (laundry soap, bath soap, friction to that area). My daughter gets something like that in the summer time right below her belly button from the waist of her shorts rubbing her there and the heat just aggervates it even more (she doesn't get it in the winter time). When she gets it I put hydracortazone (sp?) cream on it a few times a day for a few days and that seems to clear it up but it always comes back shortly after. But if you are getting different answers for every other Ped in the area, ask to see a dermatologist and go from there.

Good luck!
S.

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P.Y.

answers from Norfolk on

my 15mth old had the same problem he got it really bad when he was on the omnicef antibiotic. his pediatrician gave me a tropical ointment and it cleared up in three days. i will see if i still have it if i do i will tell you what it is called. it is good for a year so if it does come back you can use it again. my sons hasn't came back yet so i am crossing my fingers.

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S.H.

answers from Columbia on

You don't think it's an allergic reaction. Have you tried different diapers, pull-ups, etc? Or if she's in panties, have you tried the "free" detergent? My 8 year old gets rash on her behind and arms that is like little bumps/pimples. We finally figured out it was the detergent/downy/dryer sheets. Now I only use the "free" of dyes, etc. detergent.

Also, have you tried using lotrimin or some other ointment for a yeast infection. You never know, it could be yeast. My younger daughter use to get that sometimes when she wore diapers and I'd put on ointment for yeast infection and it would go away. Just some ideas. I feel for her!

I also agree that a dermatologist may be able to help. Good luck!

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