Rash help, please

[npl]

Please help.
DD has an awful rash. It's red and peeling. She doesn't seem sore, though she is grabbing herself when I take the diaper off, but I think that's just because she can because she doesn't cry or seem uncomfortable.
Doc saw it a week ago (before it was peeling) and said it wasn't yeast, just sensitive skin and a contact reaction to pee and poop in the diaper. I specifically asked about yeast, because I had been in for diaper rash 2 weeks earlier that he prescribed cream for.
She wears only cotton diapers (mostly prefolds) and the rash is where the diaper sits and the peeling is worse where it rubs more (belly, thighs, etc).
Any ideas what's causing this and how to treat it?
TIA!

[DevaMajka]

a few ideas-
-try to change immediately after she pees, every single time. This will give you an idea if it's related to wetness or something else.
- try going coverless. I never was a snappi girl, so when his rash was really bad, I used gerber flats under cotton pants (it was winter), prefold belt style.
- what detergent are you using? Try changing detergents, and doing extra rinses until all the suds are gone.
- ds had a bad "diaper" rash for a while. We determined that the worst of it was caused by me eating sweet potato. He still had a bit of a rash after that that seemed food related, but we never figured out what food. His rash was on the smooth part between his penis and belly button, and sometimes got worse where the diaper rubbed.

[MayasMama88]

I seem to be reading a lot about babies who are suffering from rashes, and I don't know if it's just a coincidence or not, but they all wear prefolds. Are you able to switch to something else like pocket diapers? When my DD was wearing disposables she had an awful rash almost the entire time, and then I bought some FuzziBunz pockets and she hasn't had a rash since! It just makes me wonder if, because the prefolds are right against baby's skin when s/he pees, rashes are more likely. With pockets (the Fuzzis especially), there is a layer of soft microfleece that wicks moisture away from the skin, into the insert so baby stays drier. Worth a shot!

[nicky85]

Some babies are allergic to microfiber/microfleece, so it's something to be aware of. Antibiotics can cause some rashing. When my son was on amoxicillin he had some rashes. Food allergies can be an issue too. I really like lanolin for combatting and preventing rashes. It forms a waterproof layer against the baby's skin and I've found that it works for healing rashes and controlling them. But that's just been my experience.

[npl]

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone.
I don't have any fb in her size, so I'm stuck with prefolds and ME fitteds for now.
I've already been trying to make sure that the diapers get washed and rinsed really well, and tried a detergent change, which didn't seem to make a difference.
It could be food allergy related, because she does have allergic colitis, although this rash looks nothing like the rash I saw on her brothers when they had it.
I was wondering about the lanolin - nicky85, is it safe with cloth diapers? I've used it for tiny spots of rash in the past, but never for such a large area.
I'm also wondering if it could be a reaction to the zinc oxide in the diaper cream. I changed from Aveeno to Earth's Best today and although both have zinc oxide, I think it got worse with the Earth's Best. I'm leaving her without cream for now, to see if that helps, and I'm still changing her really often.

[cristeen]

You do realize that zinc oxide is very bad for cloth dipes, right?

Lanolin is fine for your dipes - if you wash them in hot water. I wouldn't suggest using it if you wash in cold. You can also use olive oil or coconut oil to smooth on a rash - they'll all provide a bit of moisture protection.

If you can get ahold of some microfleece liners, like Bummis, you can use those in your PFs, and that should tell you if the issue is the wet or something else.

[Perdita_in_Ontario]

Sounds like what DS suffers from - contact dermatitis. Basically, wet or poopy fibres next to his skin bring him out in a scald-type rash that then peels.

I have found that the only way to rid him of it is to have him in synthetic fibres - Fuzzi Bunz, BumGenius, etc. This disappoints me greatly as the plan was to use fitteds and prefolds with wool almost full time, but it is what it is. Even a stay-dry liner on top of a fitted or pf doesn't cover it completely, and will bring him up in a rash.

Any time I have him in a natural-fibre diaper, or any diaper that allows him to stay wet, he comes back in the rash, but if I am vigilant with changing him hourly, and use synthetics, he stays lovely and rash-free. So it's pockets/AIOs and part-time EC for us.

[npl]

cristeen - Aveeno is given 3 starts at pinstripes and polkadots, and it's been fine when I've had to use it occasionally with the other kids. I'm not too worried about buildup, but was using flushable liners if I used a lot. Good to know about the lansinoh, though. I remember using it in the past, but for much smaller areas of rash.
Perdita - does sound like it might be that, as she has definitely been more prone to rash than the other kids, who had almost no rash in prefolds but would get rashes in disposables.
Last night and today, I kept her in disposables, because I wasn't sure if it was the diapers, the cream, or something else. It seems to be getting a bit better. Tomorrow's plan is to rewash the diapers a few times (first with a different detergent, then with nothing and just hot water), whilst keeping her in sposies and using lansinoh on the dry/rash spots. I might then put her in the larger prefolds I have, which haven't been washed in either of the detergents I have right now (were put away from my ds) and see if it comes back. If not, then I'll try the rewashed infant prefolds, and if we are still clear, I'll try the diaper creams again.
Trying to get this all figured out before we go on vacation, because I don't want to be dealing with a rash this bad in a foreign country!
I'll keep you all posted!

[npl]

Figured out the rash - today she pooped and peed all over me while I was changing her diaper. I'd already cleaned her up from the wet night-time diaper, and was just putting the clean one under her. I watched the spots come up as the bodily fluids touched her skin, and it didn't matter how quickly I cleaned her up, the rash just grew and grew.
Now, I have to decide whether to retry the zinc oxide creams to treat this rash (when they might have exaccerbated the problem). And, whether to go back to the cloth, now that I know this isn't yeast, and probably isn't build-up (though I did do multiple hot-wash cycles with no detergent, so there won't be any now).
Any suggestions?

[fruitfulmomma]

PLEASE, PLEASE go over to the allergy forums. This is exactly what was happening to my daughter before I found out that she can not tolerate high levels of salicylic acid in her diet. Basically every time she pooped her skin would be melting off. We are on a pretty intense elimination diet right now but also transitioning to supplements to help start healing her body so that someday hopefully she will be able to tolerate them.

You can also start reading here...
http://salicylatesensitivity.com/about/food-guide/

If this is the problem with her it has nothing to do with her diapers and no cream is going to stop it from reoccurring again and again.

[lunita1]

How old is she? Could this be some sort of food sensitivity?

[npl]

Thanks for the concern, guys. Yes, she does have food sensitivities, and I'm on a very restricted diet to help keep it under control, although the ped didn't see a link between the rash and the other gi symptoms. Although she hasn't got a formal diagnosis yet, because it requires invasive surgical testing, it is probable that she has the same gi condition her brothers had, though not nearly as badly. In my experience with them, a barrier cream really helped to protect their skin, so I guess I can try that.
And, I'll add diaper rash symptoms to my food diary to see if I can find a link.

[Perdita_in_Ontario]

Huh. Apparently I am addicted to salicylic acid, as I love almost every food that's high in it. And I eat it a lot.

I will have to investigate more, but fruitfulmomma, do you know if it would be transferred in BM? DS is EBF at this point, and gets the rashes we're talking about here - I'm wondering if my addiction to, oh, say, berries, acidic fruits, etc etc, is to blame.

[chely7425]

Originally Posted by fruitfulmomma

PLEASE, PLEASE go over to the allergy forums. This is exactly what was happening to my daughter before I found out that she can not tolerate high levels of salicylic acid in her diet. Basically every time she pooped her skin would be melting off. We are on a pretty intense elimination diet right now but also transitioning to supplements to help start healing her body so that someday hopefully she will be able to tolerate them.

You can also start reading here...
http://salicylatesensitivity.com/about/food-guide/

If this is the problem with her it has nothing to do with her diapers and no cream is going to stop it from reoccurring again and again.

Minor thread crashing, but THANK YOU so much for that link!!!! You just filled in a huge piece of my younger son's issues... I have a growing list of things he can't eat but I could not for the life of me figure out what was going on! Thank you thank you thank you!! If you have anymore info or wisdom to share could you pm me?

[fruitfulmomma]

I will have to investigate more, but fruitfulmomma, do you know if it would be transferred in BM? DS is EBF at this point, and gets the rashes we're talking about here - I'm wondering if my addiction to, oh, say, berries, acidic fruits, etc etc, is to blame.

Yes, it is transferred through breastmilk. We are both on the diet until she gets better or is weaned.

[RhianaW14]

npl- try Burts Bees diaper cream. It's the ONLY cream I can use on DD that works. Has no animal/fish oils in it, and it doesn't stain my diapers. I've also never had repelling issues w/ the diapers.

If you do not have any fleece lined diapers, go to the fabric store and get a 1/2 yrd of some cheap fleece and cut it into liners. Just in rectangles. Fleece doesn't fray, so you don't need to sew it.

[npl]

Thanks everyone!
The rash is almost gone, and has been barely there for a few days now. I think it was something I was eating, although I now have to figure out what!
RhianaW14 - I had a whole bunch of fleece liners from the other kids, but they've disappeared! I was actually thinking of buying some microfleece and using it to make pocket fitteds out of some contour diapers I have that don't get much use. That might work for night-time and trips, and be cheaper than buying more FB (though she did fine in the two that I have in size M - no leaks, just incredibly bulky).