The Conclusion (?) of the Diaper Rash Saga

I think the tyrannical rein of the Diaper Rash is ending.

Fingers crossed. O_O

OK, so, Camille had nary a rash before she turned 12 months old. We used mostly just cornstarch powder with a little Butt Paste thrown in here and there, and her bottom was as smooth and blemish-free as a baby's bottom should be.

When she turned one, the pediatrician said we could start giving her moo-moo milk, and we did. Like, twice. And then he butt exploded, and the Diaper Rash arrived. The arrival of the Diaper Rash was when we had to stop using strictly cornstarch and break out the medicated diaper cream.

I determined via Googlesleuthing that Camille was lactose intolerant, so we cut lactose (milk, ice cream, etc) from her diet. Immediately, her diarrhea went away and her poop stopped smelling like vinegar. All was well!

Or so I thought. The Diaper Rash refused to go away. I kept diligently putting A+D Ointment on it, hoping it would take a hint and GTFO.

The Rash would get better and worse and better and worse, and then aaaaaalllmost go away, but not entirely, and then get worse again. I took Camille to the pediatrician a dozen times for the Dreaded Rash. She got several yeast infections and one bacterial infection from the Rash, and she's had more topical medicine on her ass than you have had on your entire body.

For close to five months, we've battled the Rash with every ointment that is sold for diaper rash. None of them seemed to make any difference. The pediatrician suggested her skin was sensitive to the diapers, so we switched diaper brands. We tried cloth diapers, all-natural hippie diapers, regular Pampers/Huggies diapers, and generic grocery store diapers. The Rash persisted no matter what diaper we used.

I worked both days last weekend, so Jake was left in charge of Camille. He didn't put the ointment on her butt... and the Rash got better.

Jake put the ointment on that evening, and noticed the Rash came back. He then put 2 and 2 together, and determined the ointment was giving her the rash.

When he told me, I did what I always do: ask Google. I sat down with a tube of the diaper rash cream and started Googling the ingredients and any allergies associated with them.

I got a hit.

Dimethicone.

Apparently, dimethicone is a relatively common allergen. It causes skin rashes and eczema-like symptoms.

We ran this by the pediatrician and he said it was very possible. So we've gone through her stuff and cut out anything with dimethicone as an ingredient. Fortunately, her eczema already forced us to use all dye- and fragrance-free detergent and soap, so the only dimethicone-thing she was coming into regular contact with was the diaper rash ointment.

It's only been a couple days, and the Rash is all but gone. She still has little red marks on her butt, but the rein of the Rash is over. I think. I hope. Good riddance.