Our first nappy rash

My peads textbook describes nappy rash as:
Erythema(redness), umbilicated pustules (raised pimply looking spots) with ulceration of the perinium (breaking of the skin of the perineum) and some times of the genitalia:)

Bronz - I was thinking I should leave him out in the warm sun for a while but I saw its cold in CT tomorrow, hopefully saturday is warm. Will join the May thread again!

Claudia - I thought that cloth nappies weren't neccesarily worse than disposables, but wasn't sure. So thanks for the info! At night I use a fleece liner and the fleece cover to try keep him dryer as I don't change him at night (cause then he won't go back to sleep). Will try using the fleece in the day tomorrow too then. And I've never actually seen a nappy rash, so just assuming that's what he has... Small red dots/raised areas that are grouped together? Oh, thats such a bad description ha ha!

Are you sure its a nappy rash if its just on the tip of his penis?

Re the use of disposables, James has had a rash twice - both times after he had been in disposable nappies. I know there is a lot of debate about this, but the fact is, Nappy rash has become more prevalent in the last 2 decades which correlates with increased disposable usage. Disposables contain chemicals, which yes draw wetness away from the bum (a positive in the fight agaisnt rashes), but often these chemicals are the very thing that cause the rash in the first place, plus people tend to leave disposables on for a lot longer than they should (you should actually change a disposable just as often as you would a cloth nappy). The plastic outer isnt breathable, which keeps bums damp.

If you are in cloth nappies, change more frequently and use PUL, fleece or no waterproofs when you can. The PUL is waterproof, but breathable, the fleece gives some protection and when I'm at home and not worried about spoiling clothes (normally when its hot) I dont even use one. The plastic ones you get from pep etc arent breathable, so will agravate a rash.

I believe bepanthen is very good, have never tried it though. I use the woolies earth friendly bum cream, which I think is excellent - it contains zinc oxide, which is great for rashes. Also cornstarch powder at each change to help dry the area. Again the woolies natural baby powder is great because it also contains zinc oxide.

I dont think its cloth nappies that cause a rash and I believe that disposables are more at fault, but I know there are some out there that would disagree:)

Hey Kaye

Graeme had a similar thing, and what cleared it was putting him in clothe nappies and I let every thing air in the sun for about 5 mins (covered his face from the sun). And then left him naked for a good portion of time in the shade.

And I found that creams only made it worse as it kept moisture there.

(Weren't you on the May mommies thread? You must come join us again. )

Hi

My son has his first nappy rash this week. (started sunday) But it's not on his bum, its a little on his penis and mainly on the soft skin above this area. So I've been using bepanthen, which before has cleared any small marks and rashes he's had. But it hasn't cleared the nappy rash yet. Is there another cream which works well? Or should I continue with the bepanthen?

And does anyone know, will using cloth nappies increase his chances for nappy rash, or make a rash worse? That little rash makes me feel so bad that I've even put him in a disposable for tonight. Although the little man doesn't seem to notice the rash so I'm probably just being silly!

Thanks!