Serious Diaper Rash

Awww... poor hiney!! I was going to suggest Aquaphor simply because that's what the hospital used on my daughter and we put it on with a thick coat before putting on her diaper to buffer her hiney from the poopy. I never tried anything else, but I hope that you find something soon that works. I can imagine how frustrating that can be. Of course, I would also call her ped to see what else you might be able to do....

Tracy

The only thing I can suggest that you haven't tried (maybe you have though) is to coat her butt with aquaphor and then cover it with desitin. That is what the NICU recommended to us. Supposedly Desitin has been medication to help with the rash but it is very painful to rub off on a sore tush. So the aquaphor creates a barrier that allows you to wipe it off the Desitin easier each time. I also have heard that some doctors can call in a prescription to the pharmacy to have some connoctiion made up using aquaphor (generally) and some antibiotic ointment.

I wish you lots of luck and hopefully some other people here on Share have better ideas!
-Jackie

At this point, I would call the doctor they may want to see her and they have more tools at their disposal, like steroid or antibiotic creams. It seems like you have exhausted many of the standard mixes. Sometimes the "phone nurse" has a good idea and you don't have to bring them in.

Good luck.
Ellen

We have dealt with the horrible diaper rash, as well. My son is tube fed and has limited intestinal motility, so he often deals with acidic diarrhea! I can feel your pain! We have liked Triple Paste, but have also had prescriptions for special mixtures. I wish I knew what was put in it. At times, though, nothing has worked. I would have it looked at by the doctor and see if they have any advice. I am so sorry she is having to deal with this!

Missy

I know this may sound crazy but when my son was having breakdown on his skin from his ostomy the Ostomy nurse recommended Mylanta (yes the liquid antacid). We would pour on the Mylanta & use a hair dryer on the cool setting to form a protective layer on his skin. Then we would put a very thick layer of desitin overnight creme on top. After he had his takedown surgery he would (and still does) have runny stools. he has had severe diaper rash & this method has worked well for him.

My daughter also had a colostomy and just had her takedown surgery 7/24/09. We're currently dealing w/ the severe diaper rash. The hosp sent us home w/ barrier wipes to wipe her w/ then put a layer of Sensi Care on it then Vaseline over that. Not only has it not worked, it's also nearly impossible to do! Her skin is blistered and open so nothing sticks, plus she screams and fidgets when I try to apply anything then trying to put Vaseline over the cream only wipes the cream off... I switched to slathering her diaper in Vaseline to make it a little easier.

I took her to the pediatrician earlier in the wk and he told me to use Lotrimin 3xs a day for yeast then continue to coat her diaper in Vaseline to keep it from sticking to her bottom and to use any type of diaper rash treatment (Desitin, Triple Paste, etc) at every diaper change and then during dry times sprinkle cornstarch or baby powder w/ cornstarch on her bottom. I also stopped using wipes and was using just a wet washcloth but he told me to let her soak in a little tub of lukewarm to cool water to wash the stool off rather than wipe because it causes add'l irritation. I invested in a small dishpan and I let her soak in it because she still has her stitches in from her surgery and they can't be submerged such as in the bathtub. He also switched her formula to the Enfamil AR because it thickens in the stomach and causes her stool to thicken. The surgeon's nurse suggested lots of foods w/ pectin to help thicken her stool because that's the key to clearing it up. She's still stooling very frequently but fortunately the stool is getting thicker and doesn't stick to her bottom much. I think we're finally getting the diaper rash under control (it's not getting better but it's not getting worse either) but it hasn't been easy. Fortunately I'm a stay-at-home mom because the diaper rash has become a full time job! She's extremely cranky and wants to be held all the time! I've been giving her Tylenol to help w/ the pain but she still seems to be in pain all the time.

I heard about the Maalox/Mylanta and asked my dr about it but he didn't really say yay or nay. I've heard it more than once so I might try it as well.

I think I've spent about $100 on different products to treat her diaper rash and here's what I've used:
Shield barrier wipes
Sensi Care
Triple Paste
Vaseline
Pure cornstarch baby powder
Bag Balm
Lotrimin
Spray Lamisil
Tri Derma

I'm also going to contact the dr this wk about a prescription treatment if I don't start seeing significant improvement.

I wish none of us had to go through this but it's great to know someone else can relate!

We also have used the lotrimin. Also rotated it with hydrocortisone cream. We'd put either one of these on then cover it with overnight relief destin. My sister is a nurse on peds and she told me they also mix the mylanta in sometimes. Good Luck!

USE LANTISPETIC.. you have to make the bottom look like icing on a cup cake but it works and is soothing to bad diaper rash.. my baby also has Short Bowel Syndrome but has less than 90cms of intestine he is on a continuous feed poops a lot and has very watery poop he had his re connection surgery and had breakdown on his bottom Lantiseptic is the only thing that worked for him.. the wound/ostomy nurse at the hospital kept pushing sensi care on us but it only made things worse and since its gritty it hurt him and was very messy I've also tried desiten, boudreaux's butt paste, triple paste, and calmoseptine but had no luck with them.. you can get the lantiseptic at cvs in the pharmacy they have it behind the counter so you have to ask for it and its only about $11. GOOD LUCK I HOPE IT WORKS FOR YOU TOO!!!

a nurse that my son had said her baby randomly gets really bad diaper rash where it looks like someone took razors to his bottom and she lets him sit in the bathtub with corn starcy and its gone after a day i don't know if it would work for a short gut baby but it may ease the pain she also printed off something about mixing mylanta in the blue bottle with corn starch

My son is 27 months and we still struggle with diaper rash from short gut. I haven't found the silver bullet yet unfortunately. We use something called EPC (extra protective cream from Secura) after all diaper changes. When we have broken skin, we use Ilex and aquaphor as it sticks really well to raw, open skin. We also do soaks in corn starch when things are really inflamed. We try to thicken the stool and reduce the frequency by using imodium and being careful about his diet.

Hi-One of my triplets (who passed away) had a drain from his bowel to the outside that was constantly draining gastric fluid and breaking down his skin. We tried everything for months, and then finally found "Critic Aid Clear". It really helped his skin. I have since had a full term healthy baby, but he had a wicked case of diaper rash. After spending over $100 in various creams, one of my NICU nurse friends suggested using Critic Aid Clear on his butt. It completely resolved the problem within days, and it's the only thing we use on him. You may have to order it at the pharmacy, but it is over the counter. Hope this helps!

We didn't have anything that severe but the best I found was Arbonne herbal diaper cream. I like all of their baby stuff you just have to find an Arbonne rep. Good luck!

Hello,
   My son has short bowel syndrome and the doctor told us to use Calmoseptine it's been working good with him, he also has loose stools all the time. and has rashes all the time too but that product been helping him alot
 jamie

HELLO MY NAME IS JAMIE AND I HAVE A SON WHO IS 9 1/2 MOS OLD BUT HE WAS BORN AT 24 1/2 WEEKS SO HE CAME 3 MOS EARLY. HE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH PVL AND HE HAD NEC WHEN HE WAS BORN AND HE ALSO HAD LASER EYE SURGERY AND NOT SURE WHAT HE CAN AND CAN'T SEE RIGHT NOW . IF ANYONE BEEN IN MY SHOES OR HAS A CHILD WITH THE SAME DIAGNOSES PLEASE RESPOND TO ME .
THANKYOU,
JAMIE

HI Jamie. Welcome to Share. I don't have a child with these issues (although my daughter was treated for ROP, all her follow ups have been good).

I know there are other women on here with kids with PVL, kids with NEC, and kids with ROP - not sure how many have all 3. But if you search for those terms in the "Find A Discussion" box you should find a lot of info on each of the disorders.

Good Luck,
Jackie

thank you for emailing me back
jamie

My twins were born at 24 weeks. My daughter went to heaven at three days old and my son is now just 3 months old and in the ISCU (same as NICU, basically). He has just been diagnosed with severe PVL followed by another diagnosis of Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) stage III. Laser surgery is likely imminent.

My baby boy's PVL was likely caused by complications following a severe case of NEC (Necrotizing enterocolitis). We have many unanswered questions that only time will reveal the answers to.

Our pediatric ophthalmologist wanted to specifically point out to my husband and I that while he may be able to repair the physical eye damage present, that complications resulting from his PVL may create vision impairment. In fact he stated that 85-90% of laser surgeries performed do result in a positive outcome, yet those same metrics can NOT be applied to children suffering from the added complication on PVL.

That being said, I still have hope for my baby. The fact is that neonatologists JUST DON'T KNOW what an infant's outcome will be. Try to stay strong. When I was given this news you could have knocked me over with a feather. One very kind person said to me "Collin (my baby boy) is going to be who he is going to be. Just help him be the best version of himself that you can. Just love him." Good luck, Jamie.

"Collin (my baby boy) is going to be who he is going to be. Just help him be the best version of himself that you can. Just love him."

That is a great piece of advice.... Think I will post that one up somewhere in my house. Thanks for sharing!
- Jackie

I agree with Jackie....this is a great piece of advice that your friend gave you. It's so true for all of us, but especially those who are our miracles already....they're already perfect and were given to us as a gift!

Tracy

Our Gi Doctor gave us this recipe for my lil girl.
a tube of zinc oxide
a tube of benadryl
quite abit of liquid mallox its for stomach acid in the stool
corn starch for thickening

This makes a big batch just store it...