diaper rash

[Mum-of-Two]

I looked through some stickies... my son is almost 3 so its hard to distinguish some signs posted about the younger child.  I've always suspected something with him... mostly constipation.  But lately I wonder if it is a food intolerance or allergy of some sort.

He is in a constant state of pooping.  The poo isn't coming out in pebbles, but is often clay-like or softer.  Also, it smears all around in what I often equate to wet gas.  But here is the odd thing... where ever it touches instantly becomes red and blotchy, sometimes raised and VERY VERY painful.

Now I get poo that sits on skin causing a rash, but this isn't sitting more then 10 minutes.  Not every poo does it either.  Right now, we're in a bad patch where he tries to poo more times then I can count, it literally stops him from play time every half hour or more.  Most of the time its wet gas, sometimes more. We have to stay on top of it to keep the rash away.

So I thought I would quickly ask here, does any of this sound familiar?

[my3girlsjde]

Yup - sadly very familiar

We still don't know what's causing E's diaper rash either. And I know exactly what you mean about it raising and being very painful. I'm using an antifungal (nystatin) cream, then a hydrocortisone cream before the barrier zinc cream and it sorts it out quickly.

Does he have issues with milk? My big girls constipate horribly when they have milk, and E gets the diaper rash from diarrhea immediately after having milk.

We're heading for more allergy testing, though I've been told this could be a symptom of an intolerance also which is far more frustrating.

I know for sure with E that milk causes it, quite possibly oranges, soy, tropical fruit and bananas. Not sure about eggs and haven't dared try peanuts.

Best of luck figuring it out, but it does seem like a food issue. But then everything to me sounds like a food issue now. Here to hold your hand while you sort it out.

[koe2moe]

Hi Jill, big hugs to you!  It is so hard to see LO suffering.  Also for Vicki!

I have been suffering very complicated allergies but I am pretty healthy now and no need to avoid any food at all.  I went for alternative allergy elimination treatment which work very very well for me.  If you are interested, I can give you more info but I understand many people are skeptical and I respect that.

One thing you can do is to keep a journal of food and drinks he has and also the reaction, in your case is BM.  I started keeping my food journal since May and from that I could see very clear patterns of what might be the trouble makers.  By going through it over time, you will be able to spot something.  You can then go on elimination diet to try.  Some people might tell u to go off dairy, citrus, wheat or what not, from my experience with allergies, all kinds of foods/drinks can cause the same reactions, so what one experiences can be totally random compared to the next.

My journal is very simple,  I just put down BF, S, L, S, D (breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner) and add reaction, say constant BM, soft, stinging, rash, etc at when it happened. 

It is a long journey and more hugs!

[Mum-of-Two]

Big hugs all around, this sucks.

Oliver has started holding his poop now... I am so lost, I don't know what to do for him.  He's obviously having bad tummy aches too.

Time to call the doctor.  Is there a description of allergy testing on toddlers in this forum?  I'd like to prepare.

[my3girlsjde]

Not sure if there is. I've got a thread going on here too but can't get a link for some reason.

We've had a RAST blood test for dairy and eggs, though I wasn't told not to give her antihistamines for a week before and she was on a daily dose. So she only had a minimal response to dairy and egg There are skin tests that can be done, but are far less reliable and can give false positives if there is eczema present. Personally I'm asking for more bloodwork as it's more reliable and only one prick versus several scratches.

I'm still trying to figure out what to ask for but at least I've got an idea to some of the things she's reacting to. You could ask for the basic common ones - milk, egg, nut and wheat to start out. I'm going to be asking for more intensive this time and really pushing it. E has also come in the room and said "no poo" in a sad voice and then has diarrhea a few mins later   So I know if she were able to withhold she'd be doing it. And that's where I draw the line on what she's going through. It's too hard to see them like that and I know she'd happily potty train if this weren't going on. And I just can't add the diarrhea element to what would be a successful process for her iykwim. Many hugs for you seeing that too. I know how hard and frustrating it is.   

[Mum-of-Two]

Yes!  We can so relate to the potty training thing as well... this will continue to be a huge inhibitor if we can't get it figured out.  Odd thing is a week ago he woke up in pain, doubled over.  We almost took him to the ER, he ended up pooping on the potty so big we thought it might clog our pipes -- easily the largest poop he's had since birth.  He's never pooped right.  I remember a lot of mucus in his poo's when younger and while his doctors wouldn't entertain reflux (we're not with those docs anymore, they turned out to be very bad), I did put him on sensitive formula which I think was for intolerance to milk?  Ugh.  I wish we had better doctors back then.  We do have great ones now, hope we can get in soon and manage 3 years of a story in one visit!

[my3girlsjde]

Take it from me, write it all down. Just so it doesn't look like you're guessing and have a chronological order of events. I've found Dr's tend to listen more when I go in with a list.

And yup seen the 'log poos' and wondered how something that big got out of my child's butt . The girls also still have lots of mucous and we're going to push for some testing with them.

[Mum-of-Two]

Its so strange, there are days I seriously wonder if his insides work right.  Thanks for the support, I am glad I finally posted over here.  Big hugs back at you, keep me posted ok?

[my3girlsjde]

Glad you posted too, though sorry you're on this bumpy road also.

Here's my thread for my little super sensitive child http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=221552.0;wap2

Let me know how you get on with it too