My 18 mos. old girl had what I thought was bad diaper rash, after fighting it for 2 weeks I took her to our pediatrician (Dr. Ray Rhodes at Fort Worth Pediatrics) and it turned out to be impetigo. That is a itchy, contagious skin condition that produces crusty sores that when scratched can be spread to other parts of the body. They gave me a perscription for bactroban cream. I had to wash her bottom with dial soap 2x a day and then put the cream on 3x a day. At first, the treatment made her skin dry out and get more of a rash, but I finally hit on a system that seemed to help. (In addtion to having oral antibiotics--duricef or the generic for 1 week). Also, my neighbor, a nurse, said not to scrub the area when I cleaned it or put the medicine on, scrubbing made it worse. (That is why I used very moist homemade wipes to remove poop, Q-tips to put on the dial soap, cotton balls to rinse, and gently blotted dry with kleenex. Then I put the cream on and the aquaphor on with my fingers.) I had antibacterial wipes handy to clean my hands so I did not transfer any impetigo.
As I said, bathing her 2x a day with dial soap seemed to be too drying, so I used cotton swabs with dial soap on just the sores 1x a day. (I had her sit in soapy dial water at night.) I washed her bottom with cotton balls and water, dried it with kleenex, put the cream on the sores, and put aquaphor on top of the cream to seal it in. I also put aquaphor on the other parts of her bottom to protect it. I had to change her diaper more than 3x a day, so I couldn't always use the above system. At other times, I used Dr. Smiths diaper cream sold at Walmart in the soap aisle or CVS or Walgreens.
When my son was a baby I had good results with Dr. Smiths and White Desitin Cream. Boudreax's Butt Paste for regular rashes has worked with my daughter, but only Dr. Smiths has worked with our bout with impetigo.
My homemade wipes recipe I got from other moms is 2 Tablespoons Baby Wash, 2 Tablespoons Baby Oil, mixed with 2-2 1/2 cups warm water. Pour this solution on half of a Bounty Big Roll Select a Size White paper towel roll. (I cut mine in half on a cutting board using a large serated knife.) I put the half in a Rubbermaid size 6 round plastic container. They make square ones now, but I think you can squeeze the half roll in that. Put the lid on afer you pour the solution on. Let it sit a minute. Then take off the lid and pull the cardboard center out. Once the cardboard center is out, your wipes are ready to go. You use the wipes from the center out. I only use bought wipes when I am out and about and I do a diaper change using my stash in my diaper bag.
This sounds like a pain, but I was desparate. I knew she didn't feel well. I also tried to let her run around outside without her diaper for fresh air, but I had to watch her like a hawk to make sure she didn't touch the sores and then spread it. I hope you can use some of this information. Good luck!
Holly M.