vaginal infection in baby?

[girlspn]

My dd is 13 months old. I recently noticed redness in her vagina (vulva?) in between the labia. There's also an odor but no discharge. She tries to scratch when I change her. I'm pretty sure it's an infection... We live in a rural area in India, and I'm not keen to take her to the doctor (I went previously for a yeast infection and they gave me antibiotics). 

We use cloth diapers and disposables at night, so she's changed after every pee and poop, although her poop always smears up the front. 

What should I do?

TIA!!

[smiles2012]

The poo going up the front is the most likely culprit. If its bacterial she needs an antibiotic, so even if you dont like the doc, that's what will work.must wipe front to back and make sure all folds and crevices are clean, but even then, infection can happen, and an antibiotic is needed if its bacterial.

Also, I use cloth during the day and disposables at night. Do you use a liner ( looks like a drier sheet /rice paper)? That helps keep her skin dry and easier to clean the skin. The cloth is great but may make her more susceptible in other ways. Just a thought.

[girlspn]

Originally Posted by smiles2012 

The poo going up the front is the most likely culprit. If its bacterial she needs an antibiotic, so even if you dont like the doc, that's what will work.must wipe front to back and make sure all folds and crevices are clean, but even then, infection can happen, and an antibiotic is needed if its bacterial.
Also, I use cloth during the day and disposables at night. Do you use a liner ( looks like a drier sheet /rice paper)? That helps keep her skin dry and easier to clean the skin. The cloth is great but may make her more susceptible in other ways. Just a thought.

Hi smiles2012-- thank you for your reply.

How can I tell whether it's a bacterial infection or not? 

For cloth diapering, we fold a flat up and pad her little undies. We don't use a cover so we change her right away when she pees. I'm keeping her diaper-free now though, hoping it will help. 

I was prone to UTIs as a kid but never took antibiotics for them... they always went away on its own. So I'm wondering whether this will go away on its own?

It's really hard to find a good doctor here who doesn't prescribe medication aggressively so I'm hoping to inform myself first before taking her to see one.

[smiles2012]

You really should get a urine test...which is painful to watch a baby get a cathater, but if it's bacterial you need to know because while yours went away as a child, they can be painful and REQUIRE an antibiotic. If you get the test then you will know if it's bacterial and to give antibiotic. If its not bacterial, then no need for antibiotic. The test can tell....plus if the doc prescribes a bunch or meds, and it's not bacterial, then you can just not fill the scripts. KWIM. If its bacterial, she should take the med tough. I understand not wanting to give antibioics unnecarrily, but Think about the old days before penicillin and how many babies dies of bacterial infections that developed from sinus infections, bronchitis or other somewhat minor illnesses now...My great uncle died at 13 months due to no antibiotics back then, so antibiotics are a good thing when needed.

Also, when they thought my daugher had a bacterial UTI, she was feverish. I'd get her checked, because yeast and UTI can be common in cloth diapering. I'm not hard core cloth, so I would not have a problem using sposies until the irritation clears up.. Also, read online how to strip and dissenfect your cloth diapers.

[GoBecGo]

My DD had a vaginal infection when she was 4 (or 5, i forget).  It turned out to be totally benign overgrowth of normal bacteria and an antibiotic sorted it out.  They did a very gentle non-invasive swab to diagnose it and medicated after the lab confirmed what it was (Haemophilus influenzae).  Is that an option?