Dani's delicate area

[danikins]

Hello all, I need some advice as Dani is my one and only child.

She is 5 and we have been working on potty training for over two years. She tends to get a lot of red spots like diaper rash on the outer region of her girl parts clear up to the pull-up lining. Her pelvic region even seems a bit puffy. Anyway, I have been applying ointment, diaper rash cream, powder and some neosporin up higher. I bathe her every other night and use gentle wash to clean on the nights she does not get a bath. Living in Nebraska, can really dry one out.

Does anyone have any thoughts on other ways to treat all these red dots and irritations. She holds her bladder every night and 90% of the time she goes before we leave in the morning. However, we have the misses. Also, she relaxes on her bus ride from daycare to pre-school so comes with very wet pull ups. As a result she has angry spots. I called the doctor but they did not seem to concerned.

Dani has shown a lack of interest in milk lately too so am wondering if her diet is too acidic making her urine acidy hence the skin irritations.

She will methodically take her dolls potty and will even get herself on the potty but will not go unless I sit with her or leave for awhile.

My biggest concern is how to soothe the irritations in her pubic area and any recommendations on creams or ointments you have used with success.

It breaks my heart to see her so broken out. Daycare, pre-school, her daddy (when she is with him) and myself have been proactivley working on keeping Dani dry and getting her into the potty--but as you all know it can be a hit or miss--usually a miss. So she holds her bladder and lets lose a lot of fluid.

If anything, thanks for letting me vent my concern and curious to see if this happens to anyone else's lovebugs.

Kim and Dani [glow=red,2,300]I will love you forever and ever[/glow]

[Deannalee]

We made a special paste at home before that used maalox and vaseline. This helps a lot. Aquaphor is another good one. If it is yeasty...I use nystatin then over that I add creamy desitin with zinc or A&D with zinc. I am wondering if the red spots could be the satellite lesions from a yeast infection. If so, the latter would be the best treatment. I hope this helps.

Deanna

[momofrussell]

I'd say it might be a yeast infection, especially if it's chronic like you are describing. Diaper creams are a BIG NO NO with yeast infections. It also sounds like you are using too much, but that is just my opinion. I'd stick to Bag Balm or Aquaphor. They are similiar in nature and WONDERFUL for yeast infections. My oldest had a chronic yeast infection from the time she was born until she was potty trained and out of diapers. We lived off of Bag Balm and it saved us. Our peds told us NO Diaper Creams (the ones with zinc).

Bag Balm and Aquaphor are petrolium with other things in them. Bag Balm has lanolin in it also, I do believe and Aquaphor has other stuff too. They are both good. You get more for your money with Bag Balm but you can't find it in the pharmacy dept usually. It's in the pet dept Aquaphor is in the pharmacy dept with the vasaline usually.

We also used Lotrimin cream (kinda like the Nystastin I presume but OTC instead) for her yeast infections when they were outta hand. You can get that in the foot cream dept

Deanna, I am surprised the desitin stuff worked with the yeast infections. We were told not to use it and I know it can make it worse... you got lucky!

Good luck, I hope it goes away soon!!!!

A.

[CC]

If it were my child I would bring them in to see the Ped to let them see what exactly you are describing. If it is a yeast infection it may need to be treated with meds. One thing I have found is a yogurt a day keeps those nasty yeast infections away

Or my other suggestion would be see a dermatologist (sp?) may just be a skin problem that is happening in that area KWIM??

Chris just recently has had some nasty pimple like red marks on his butt area Hmmm I am sure he is thrilled I am sharing this on a public board LOLOL but he has and we went to a dermatologist and they prescribed some cream and foam stuff for after his bath and antibiotics. She told me he is very clean and noting to due with not being clean and that its common kind of like an acne (sp?) just not on the face.

BEST of LUCK

CC ~

[Googsmom aka Jennifer]

YES... YOGURT A DAY AND BAG BALM. I MAKE BOTH THE GIRLS AND MYSELF EAT A YOGURT A DAY. BAG BALM IS THE BEST INVENTION EVER. WORKS FOR ALL KINDS OF STUFF. (IT DOES KINDA SOUND LIKE A YEAST INFECTION TO ME TOO.) BEST OF LUCK
P.S. YOU COULD ALSO TRY AVENO (EVENNO) (CAN'T REMEMBER HOW IT'S SPELLED) OATMEAL BATH. WORKS GOOD FOR RASHES LIKE HEAT RASH AND SUCH. I DON'T THINK IT HAS ANY THING IN IT THAT WOULD MAKE IT WORSE. ASK THE DOC.

[danikins]

You know what, you are all right on target. One day her teacher suggested a yeast infection. I will try and find the bag balm. I have aquafor here and a Vasline based ointment with vitamin D. I will definitely stay away from the zinc/oxide--I am sure it is exaserbating the condition. Will let you know what happens. Dani is with her dad this weekend but I will let him now.

She loves yogurt and yogurt drinks so will encourage those for her too.

I am sure this will help me help her. I think my sister told me about the maalox too.
Thanks again,
Kim

[momofrussell]

Let us know how it all goes! I was looking at my Aquaphor tube.. it has mineral oil in it also.. and lanolin which is what Bag Balm has in it.

One thing our ped told us with Regan was that it really won't go away until she was out of diapers. So Regan literally had a yeast infection for 2 yrs. And true to form, the doc was right... she was potty trained at two, no more diapers at all and that yeast infection was GONE like it was never there!

A.

[lespring]

Do you have Cub Foods near you? If so, go to the dairy section and see if they carry a product called "Ya Cool" (I may have spelled it wrong.) They are really tiny 2 ounce bottles.

In Mexico this is called Bio Solut, and is what the families drink there at least once a day to combat the bacteria in the water. One little two ounce bottle has more acidophilus than a 2 containers of yogurt with active cultures! It's kind of the consistency of Yo-J.

The rash you describe sounds very similar to what Angela gets if she wears a pull-up. After consulting with a dermatologist we finally decided she was reacting to the pull-ups. Get her out of them if you can. Just go cold turkey, let her have some accidents and figure out how to keep herself dry. You'll notice a HUGE difference in her skin after you do.

[Pat]

For my kids, all 3, the doc recommended Lotramin AF. (like Adrienne, momofrussell said) He said buy the walmart brand (he likes to save money too). It cleared my kids up in no time flat, 1-2 applications.
Pat

[Googsmom aka Jennifer]

IF YOU CAN'T FIND THE BAG BALM AT YOUR REGULAR STORE, THIS WILL SOUND SUPER STRANGE BUT, LOOK AT THE "FARM STORE" LIKE WILCO OR ANOTHER TYPE OF "FEED STORE". THAT IS WHERE I HAD TO GET MINE BEFORE OUR TOWN CAUGHT UP W/ THE TIMES I'M NOT SURE WHERE YOU LIVE SO YOU MIGHT HAVE WAY BETTER LUCK THAN I DID BACK IN THE DAY JUST A THOUGHT.......

[laurasnowbird]

Sounds like Victoria.....and I'm with A., I think you are dealing with a yeast infection.

We got aggressive with hers....put Nystatin on it to get it under control. Nystatin is prescription only, but if she has an infection that is of long duration, it would be good to just give it a blast of Nystatin to make the yeast die off.

We also kept her as dry as possible and changed diapers OFTEN. A warm, moist diaper is the perfect growing ground for yeast. DON'T use cornstarch baby powder, it breaks down into simple sugars that feed the yeast. It's a little harder to find the old kind of baby powder (talc) but it doesn't encourage yeast overgrowth.

A yogurt a day is a great way of keeping good bacteria in the body. We also used either a powdered or liquid solution that we added to her drinks each day. You want to find something with lactobacillus acidophilus in it. (sometimes called L acidophilus). You can buy the powder or liquid at a health food store like GNC, or even an online store.

It isn't a bad idea to keep some acidophilus around after you get the yeast under control. If she has to take an antibiotic for anything, especially any broad spectrum antibiotic, be aware that they are indiscriminate, and kill both good and bad bacteria. They have a tendency to kill off some of the good bacteria that act to keep the yeast that is always present in our bodies under control. We have been fortunate with Victoria, she never gets sick and hasn't needed any antibiotics, but Aidan is prone to these and we've used the acidophilus very successfully.

You might have more success with toilet training after this is treated! A yeast infection can make it painful to urinate, and perhaps she is experiencing that.

We used the Rhino brand of powdered acidophilus...it was tasteless, and I could add it to the kids' drinks without them refusing to drink. Here's a link to a place to get it if you can't find it locally.

www.outletnutrition.com/027917001081.html

Good luck!!!!

[tcwilli]

What brand of pull ups are you using? If I use the cheaper or store brands my daughter gets the same type rash as your daughter. I am wondering if she has an allergy to something in those brands. Now I only buy Huggies pull ups or Pamper Easy ups. Also, if you have a Wal-mart you can find the Bag balm in the pet section. We have been using that for several years!

[danikins]

Wow---you are all the best.......Great suggestions and I feel much better about how to treat pumpkin. She is with her father this weekend so I e mailed him on how to treat it--using all your great input and suggestions.

I went to Walgreens and purchased a few of your suggestions. I could not find the bag balm, but know exactly what it is. I just wish I could get my hands on my little lovebug now to ensure we can keep that yeast infection at bay.

I only use Huggies pull-ups. Great thought. I was wondering about that too.

I am also eliminating orange juice and acidic items from her diet. Thank goodness she loves yogurt. I will have to look for the drinks mentioned too.

A good point was brought up. I wonder if Dani is uncomfortable with going potty because it may hurt. Insightful.

Gosh, thanks so much from the bottom of my heart for all your wonderful, kind and intuitive comments. It is kind of hard and lonely being a single mom with only one child and not really having other's understand some of the issues that can arise. I am thankful for the wisdom, humor, trust and respect garnered here at UNO MAS. Accolades to all of you. ;D

Kim
[glow=red,2,300]mom to Dani--I will love you forever and ever.[/glow]

[char]

Bag Balm is easy to find at any feed store. It's used to treat udders on cows and other animals that are nursing their young and having inflamed spots on their udders. It comes in a square, green can about three or four inches on each side.

Bag Balm has been around for as long as I can remember, and I'm 63. I'd give anything for some right now to treat my dry feet. It's 35 degrees here in Tucson, the furnace is running all of the time, and the humidity must be all of 5%.

char

[Deannalee]

A....the Desitin isn't what worked with the yeast infection.....it was the whole combo. Nystatin applied first.....then Desitin over top of that. The Desitin sealed the Nystatin in and kept urine and stool from aggravating the already sore spots from the yeast!!!!!!

Deanna