Desitin Makes Her Scream

Didn't read through all the answers, but when my daughter got horrible screaming red diaper rash from her antibiotic treatment, my pediatrician recommended a warm bath with baking soda in the water. It really, really helped, and quickly too! I highly recommend it. It seemed to soothe her bottom, too.
Good luck

All of my kids were that way with desitin- I switched to using the A&D ointment and that worked a lot better- or I would just use lanolin- that seemed to work well also.
Good luck!
~C.

I always use the Aveeno Diaper Rash Cream http://www.aveeno.com/products/diaper-rash-cream. My son is 2 1/2 and I still use it when needed. It works wonders and I can see improvement after only 1 use.

My son had loose stools so bad one time I Googled for help. Ended up using a spray mixture of water with some liquid Mylanta in it. I got some of those adult disposable pads that can be placed under someone while sitting or lying down in bed. Put one under him on the changing table and instead of wiping would just spray him down with it. It balances the acid and takes the sting away plus coats the bottom for the next loose stool.
Never used Desitin but used a product called Resinol that I got from the pharmacy at Walgreens. Is stuff is a must have in your medicine cabinet. Cures all sorts of rashes for children and adults.
Hope she heals up soon. It's miserable having such a bad rash :(
C.

We found the best medicine was water and paper towels. Gentle on the tush and the diaper rash cleared up quickly - and painlessly! Sometimes medicine isn't always the answer (and trust me, it took us awhile to figure that out.)

When my son had HORRIBLE diaper rash, the ONLY thing that worked was triple paster diaper rash cream. It is fragrence free and is guarenteed to be gentle and effective! The reason why your daughter was screaming wasnt because the diaper rash cream was burning, it was because the area that is all red is very sensitive and hurt when you touch it. (Think of how sun burn hurts when you put anything on it) Desitin creamy (in my opinion) doesnt work very well or AT ALL in my babys case).I have also found help in Balmex with activ guard, but really, the triple paste works better than any other cream I have ever used. I saw results over night, it was great. No matter how much your daughter screams, make sure you put diaper rash cream on it, other wise it will only keep getting worse and cause her further pain. Cornstatch alone wont do the trick.

Poor baby!!!! So this is my diaper rash best kept secret. You will need desitin creamy (the light blue one, the other one is too thick) (or balmex, burt's bees), A&D, and Jonhson's pure corn starch powder. Mix equal amounts of desitin and A&D, apply a super thick layer on your baby's bottom. Apply the powder on top of the ointment. Put the diaper on a bit tight so it doesn't move around, but make sure it's not pressing her tummy. The secret is to change the diaper often. Also when she does have a diarrhea, the ointment acts as a "repellant." The easiest thing to do to remove the mixture is to use baby oil and soft cotton balls. It comes off like magic and you will not hurt her bottom. Or just wash it with warm water. Another secret, is to use a blow drier. Blow dry her bottom before you apply the ointment. Low temperature and far from her skin. I can tell you it works like magic. Good luck!

m

I actually do not like Desitin at all. I even tell my minority parents to avoid it 100% of the time due to skin pigmentation. When bottoms are that sore, I suggest A&D OINTMENT. It really works. Use the brownish Ointment in the tube not the cream. I lik Butt Paste as well, but rather go for A&D at the time of major trauma. Poor Baby! Good Luck. Too bad your pediatrician did not give you a nystatin to use since he had already given you the antibiotics. Know it soon will be better.

The Desitin might sting if her bottom is that raw. Anything will probably sting, but some creams might be better than others. Put baking soda in her bath and just let her soak- it really really helps my daughter who gets awful diaper rash all the time. I always notice a huge difference within 12 hours of doing this. It might be a fungal rash if it's really red and bumpy. You can try over the counter anti-fungals (like Lotrimen cream) and if that doesn't work you can call the ped for a perscription. The first time my daughter had awful diaper rash nothing over the counter worked, so I brought her to the ped and they determined it was fungal and perscribed Nystatin cream which along with the baking soda baths really helps. I also only use Butt Paste as a diaper rash cream. Put the anti-fungal on first where she's red, then load the Butt Paste on top.

When my son gets a bad diaper rash and it is too painful to rub cream on him I buy this oatmeal diaper rash spray at babies r us, i love it because it's a spray and I dont have to irritate his skin anymore than necessary.

It could be a yeast infection... You may want to try over-the-counter Vagisil or Monistat 7. That REALLY worked on my son's thrush (yeast infection) when he was little. The prescription cream the doctor made us get made him bleed, but the Vagisil was gentle enough AND effective.

My son was just put on an antiobiotic this week and I think he has the same issue... My Mom put Desitin on him, and it didn't take the redness away. I will try Vagisil again.

Good luck!

I have always used A&D ointment.

We once had a diaper rash issue and the pediatrician's office told us to use Boudreax's Butt Paste. It was wonderful and we never used anything different after that. the most economical way we found to buy it was in the tub at Target, although we never seemed to scratch the surface of that tub!

Poor baby! Are you giving her probiotics at alternate times from the antibiotic? That would help prevent a yeast infection, which antibiotics cause. Also, we do two things:
1. We use mustella products. They are made with almond oil, so just watch for a nut reaction. It is rare, but not impossible. We love it and it smells so good.
2. We make our own wipes. I use high quality paper towels (Viva). Cut the roll in half and take out the tube. In a tall square rubbermaid container add 2 c warm water, 1-2 Tbsp almond or other light oil, about 5-10 drops each of Lavender and Tea Tree essential oils. Mix it and then add the 1/2 roll of paper towels. Put the lid on and wait a few hours. The water will absorb into the towels. Pull them out from the center of the roll, and they tear off at the perfect wipes size. The lavender is very soothing on the bottom, and the tea tree oil is anticeptic without stinging. They are so silky soft and wonderful! And, no junk in them at all. They are great for baby and everyone else! So healing, so great. You'll love them (and so will your baby!). And, they are much, much cheaper than the store bought kind, and always available. Hope her little bottom gets better soon. We never use desitin. Can't stand the stuff personally.
Blessings!

I have very sensitive skin, and have found that there are supposedly innocuous ingredients in many topical skin products (moisturizers, cosmetics, cleansers and even medicated products) that can sting. I'm so glad you were able to notice the connection between the application of the Desitin and your daughter's reaction.

The simpler the product you apply, probably the better for your daughter. She might do well with any of the oil/natural wax-based products you might find in your local health or nutrition center. Ask the employees what they would recommend – I've gotten some great results that way.

If at all possible, let your little girl go diaperless for an hour or two a couple of times a day. If she's still pretty stationary, try keeping an absorbent pad underneath her.

I work with babies and we see all kinds of cream come our way. I have many, many babies scream with desitin. I often recommend to new parents A&D type ointments or just vaseline or aquaphor. The cornstarch works well too, as you have found out.
But, hands down the best cream I have ever come across is Weleda. When the diaper area is sore and red this cream calms the most sensitive ones down. I dont know whats in it that does it but wow, works in seconds.
You received a lot of good advice, hope this helps some too.

I know I'm a little late, but my daughter was allergic to Desitin so I thought I would throw in my opinion. Sorry if I'm reapeating by Butt Paste has always worked wonders for us!!!

Good luck!

Dear A.-

I have to 'second' 'balmex'...

Now that "I" am approaching the 'second half of MY life...think I will have MY kids make a note of balmex...not only for their kids in future...but perhaps for me?? lol

Best Luck!
michele/cat

She is raw and sore so something in the desitin is making it worse as you already figured out. A few things to do. I dealt with the same thing before. The nurse at the peds office said to take liquid maalox and take a cotton ball and put it on the butt and let it dry. Once dry apply the diaper cream. I would try triple paste which you can buy at walmart. Also give her a bath with baking soda. Let her air dry for a little while then put ont the liquid maalox which will relieve the soreness and let the cream stick better. Also feed her some yo baby yogurt. This is the best wsy for her to get probiotics. Good luck

Everyone in my family swears by Bag Balm! It has been used by everyone in our family since my aunt was a baby (she's 55 now). My boyfriend's daughter is 3 and always waits a little too long to go on the potty, so she pees a little in her panties, and that makes her a little red sometimes. I tried Desitin on her at a friend's house and she kept saying that it "hurt bad with the butt stuff on it" so I wiped off what I could. When we got home, I put her in the bath and made sure I cleaned all the Desitin off her and then put Bag Balm on it and it was cleared up by bedtime (about 4 hours later).

It probably hurts her skin when you are putting it on, its not easy to rub around. I have used Aquaphor with both kids and love it. A couple of times the got a bad rash and it took 2 days to get rid of it but as long as they had Aquaphor for a barrier they were happy. I hope she gets better soon.

Is it possible she is allergic to the zinc oxide in the desitin? If that is the case, any generic brand of desitin would also cause the same reaction. A good alternative would be neosporin or triple antibiotic ointment. This is what we use in the nursing homes for patients with incontinent associated dermatitis (diaper rash) with zinc oxide allergies.
just a thought.
Good luck.

I found that "Little Bottoms" diaper rash spray (if you can find it) works great. You don't have to rub it on and it provides both cooling relief AND a bit of a protection barrier. My daughter loved for me to spray her with it.

When my son was first born he had a pretty bad diaper rash. His pediatrician wrote him a Rx for something called "Butt Paste" (seriously, that is the name of the medicine that is printed on the Pharmacy label!) - it works awesome.
It's a white paste, like many of the other diaper rash creams. He doesn't get diaper rash often at all, but when he does I put some of the Butt Paste on him and it's gone usually the same day or by the next morning.

Good luck!

TRIPLE PASTE!! It is the best, a little more pricey, but it is medicated to get rid of rash/redness. Aquaphor, A&D, Destin... they are all basically Vaseline! They are great to prevent diaper rash, but there is nothing that can cure it like Triple Paste does :)

We use Triple Paste - my kiddo was sensitive to Desitin, too.

Hi, A.:

Ask the Ped for a RX of Vusion.
Obtain Lavendar oil from Young Living and
add a few drops to bath water.
Hope this helps.
D.

Diiferent babies need different creams. My daughter worked best with the thick white stuff like Aveeno while my son did better with the greasy yellow kind like A&D ointment.

My son reacted that way to desitin / a&d/ any other diaper rash cream, EXCEPT a sample of a numbing "diaper" cream used on adults in nursing homes, whenever he developed a yeast infection caused by the skin being slightly abraided/weakened from the acid in the diarhea. (If it is, avoid cornstarch like the plague... yeast feeds on sugar and corn starch is pure sugar). If his anus is all red, it may not be irritation from diarrhea, but a yeast infection. On boys (or non-vaginal) the first sign of yeast is bright red skin. Second is small blister like bumps. 3rd it starts actively bleeding from hundreds of little cracks, and swelling, and the baby will be screaming (just like with the cream) at any contact of that area.

My son once had a yeast infection on his scrotum that the ER had to deal with (NEVER got faster service in an ER, btw, not even with arterial spurting... than a little boy with a problem with his nuts that were swollen twice their normal size and bleeding... male triage nurse, male nurse, male doctor we were in there almost comically FAST ... their eyeballs just about fell out of their heads and they turned green when they saw him). We had sooooo many yeast infections (turns out he was allergic to wipes), and it took us so long to figure out what it was... that when I hear "red skin" + "screams" that is the FIRST thing I think of.

The only thing that clears up a yeast infection is a lotrimin cream OR a lot of time and luck (weeks)... so we just stated keeping lotrimin on hand at all times. They come on fast and they are painful as all get out. And the cream stings like hail for the first couple applications on broken skin. I'd dose him with tylenol about 15 minutes before applying the medicine. But the rash would be gone in 24 hours. Thank GOD we figured out he was allergic to wipes!

A&D Ointment!

I just used it by accident with my first son, and it always did the trick which I assumed all of that stuff did. But when my second was born he had to stay in the hospital for a while and came out with an awful rash and a tube of some Rx white paste that didn't seem to be helping. Once I got him home, after ONE application of A&D it was visibly clearing up! Now, that's what I swear by.

Hi A. B :-)

Well.. .I have read through the responses and I don't see anyone talking about the one I used to SWEAR by.. LOL.. BALMEX! I have tried Desitin and even A & D and what worked for my daughter was always Balmex. I even use it today in my adult world when my family has a severe raw redness from chafing. Looks like the best received so far is A & D, so why not try that and if it doesn't do the trick.. get a little Balmex :-)
hugs,
A. R.N. Energy Medicine Practitioner

The BEST thing I have found is Arbonne's ABC Herbal Diaper Rash Cream. It is safe for extreemly sensitive skin. All ingredients are pure, safe, and beneficial. A little goes a long way, and it helps faster than anything I tried.

Use A&D ointment. It works great.

Boudreaux's Butt Paste - I don't like it for everyday use, but it worked for the worst diaper rashes every time.

I agree with Rachel D. Arbonne's ABC Diaper Ointment (and the other ABC products) is the best. My grandson got a yeast infection we tried everything the DR. recommended since we had run out of Arbonne's Diaper ointment once we started him back on that his rash cleared right up. We also make our own home made diaper wipes with the ABC Wash and they are great. If you want to try a sample just private message me and I will send one right out to you. Once you try Arbonne you won't want to use anything else since all of the products are Pure, Safe, Beneficial and Effective and made from only natural herbs and botanicals. Hope she is better now.

I second Weleda. I have always used Weleda Calendula Diaper Cream with my son. Calendula, is very soothing. It heals even bad rashes, so quickly. There are also no chemicals, in the cream.

The best product is Dr. Smith's diaper ointment. It's expensive but it WORKS!!!! One application and there is a significant improvement plus it soothes immediately. You find it at Walmart in the bath section where they keep a section of baby oil and such..it's not in the baby section.

the antibiotics could've caused a yeast rash, which is only made worse by diaper cream. look up photos of a yeast diaper rash online and see if it looks that way.

my daughter doesn't like it either. i started using Vicco vanishing cream and everything cleared up. I also don't like how the Desitin is hard to wash off when she bathes.

A. B Maybe the desitin is stinging her some and that is why she is screaming, I would try Neo-Sporin. I used it on my kids when they had Diaper Rash and it was gone in a day or two. I used it on them for any kind of skin break or rash and it really did work. I also purchased the store brand not the name brand. Good luck

The blue label Desitin has fragrance in the formula. My pharmacist pointed that out to me and suggested I use just the purple label.

Updated

The blue label Desitin has fragrance in the formula. My pharmacist pointed that out to me and suggested I use just the purple label.