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Your Baby Has Antibiotic Related Issues
Going into the winter months, children at daycares and schools begin to pass some nasty illnesses around. As a pharmacist, I usually spend my winter helping people select products for colds, counsel on children’s remedies, and help Moms with baby rashes from antibiotics. Today I would love to share with you my advice on the topic I speak to the most….chances are you or a friend will run into this situation at least once this winter!
TOPIC: Severe Diaper Rash from Antibiotic – Related Diarrhea
This is one I get the MOST from patients and from Mom’s on social media asking the New Mom Help Desk. Antibiotics not only kill the bad bacteria that are infecting your child, but it also can kill some good bacteria. This sometimes results in very harsh bowel movements, and baby can get a nasty diaper rash.
What do you do when you have to keep the baby on antibiotics, she is in diapers, and she has diarrhea? GREAT question! Here are the steps you want to take-
1. Keep the baby on the antibiotics for the EXACT amount of time specified by the doctor. This is SO IMPORTANT. Why? If you stop early guess what you have done – all the weak bacteria has been killed and you just left the last and the strongest bacteria in baby’s body. It will multiply and become harder to kill with a new antibiotic, and you will have to deal with worsening diarrhea. Moral of this story- KEEP the antibiotics on board the FULL time and as prescribed by a doctor.
2. Change diapers frequently (every 2 hours if a blistering rash has occurred), and change immediately after any soiling. I like to also purchase night diapers because they are more robust and use them during the night stretch.
3. Soak and air dry – this is a tried and true method. I like to fill up my kitchen sink (after cleansing) with luke warm water and put my baby’s bum in. I let her play and soak, making sure she is nice and warm during the soak, and then I take her out and let her air dry without a diaper on (yes you may get pee on your floor this way!). I put a long robe on her, nice fluffy socks, and then I dry her legs. If your child has a blistering weeping rash, the air might be painful so you can just skip this step and go on to the steps below. Also, if it is that severe, I also recommend seeing a doctor- there are prescription ointments that can help tremendously.
4. Which creams and wipes? GREAT question. I have Moms tell me ALL the time that even with their cream/wipes and changing frequently, the rash persists. I had this issue and my twins weren’t even on antibiotics! One day I decided to switch it up. I went to the drugstore baby section and picked out Pinxav, a diaper rash salve that I now cannot live without, and I also found my all-time favorite diaper wipes – WaterWipes. I literally spent 20 minutes in the aisle examining every single product’s active and inactive ingredients, and these were the two that had all the ingredients I was looking for. I am not a paid spokesperson for these companies. I just LOVE the products! My twins’ rashes went away as soon as I switched.
5. Applying the cream – this technique is used by a lot of people, and it works for me, so I will share. If your child has a severe rash, first place the clean diaper under them. I wear disposable sterile gloves while doing this to avoid ANY bacterial or viral contamination (that is extreme but do it if you want). Next, making sure baby’s bum is dry, apply a very thin layer of baby powder and lightly rub it in. You don’t want loose powder. Then, take a VERY generous amount of Pinxav and put the salve over the baby powder; make sure to cover any area that can get wet, and avoid areas where urine will exit the body. Once the cream is on, then take the baby powder and apply a generous amount (don’t let it get into baby’s mouth or let baby breathe it in) to the salve covered area. Now it will almost look like a paste. Place the diaper on loosely, but so it stays on, and then choose a pant or short that is breathable and loose on the bum area.
6. Regarding the diarrhea – you need to keep baby hydrated and fed. Diarrhea can be a very dangerous ailment for a baby; diarrhea causes mass loss of electrolytes which balance our bodies. Pedialyte is excellent. Probiotics, while not proven but can’t hurt, can be added as powder to a bottle. NEVER give a baby ANY over the counter diarrhea medicine. If a doctor or pharmacist ever recommends that, RUN AWAY (and then email me for help)
Hopefully I have given some great recommendations. If you follow all these steps, you should see resolution of the rash within 1 to 2 days. Sometimes, depending on the severity, it will take longer. If it does NOT resolve or the baby has unresolved diarrhea for more than 24 hours, contact the pediatrician or doctor immediately. As I stated before, if the rash is severe enough, you will want to contact a doctor anyhow.
Thank you all for reading and have a great Thanksgiving!
-New Mom
www.NewMomHelpDesk.com
New Mom Help Desk now has a baby/toddler clothing line and accessories! Check out www.HayKayandCompany.com, and come see us in person at the Strongsville Bumps to Bows Show in Strongsville, Ohio in December!