Bad Diaper Rash..... I Need Ideas... It's My Fault

[youretooloud]

I'm kinda new here, I've answered a few posts, but I thought I'd just jump in with a question.

I happily use cloth diapers here at my daycare. I Own tons of cloth diapers, they are all accessible, and right above the diaper changer.

But, today daycare dad dropped off and said "Ugh.. I forgot his diapers, do you want me to go home and get them?" I said , "no problem, I have plenty here"

His parents told me he was allergic to the disposable diapers and that's why they started using cloth. But, I didn't believe them, because I figured they just said that so I'd agree to cloth (I told them I had no problem with cloth though)

Anyway... so, today, I was rushing, and just stuck someone else's Huggies on him. And, then I didn't give it any more thought. After lunch he was standing with his legs apart and pulling on his pants saying "ouch". I said "OK.. Hold on"... but, I waited another five or ten minutes while I cleaned up the other kids. By the time I got to him, he was BRIGHT red.. almost raw skin, everywhere that the disposable was wet, he was burned.

It's not going to go away by the end of the day... and I feel horrible. I don't even know what to say to the parents.

What would you say? Besides "I. Am. So. SORRY"

[jessrlee]

I would call. I would also fill out an accident report because basically you ignored an allergy. I really hope you luck out and have understanding parents.

Next time: YOU don't get to decide if an allergy is legit. Only a dr can. Treat everything as if it WILL harm the child, or require a dr note for all allergies.

[Symphony]

I agree, I would call them right now. I would also file an incident report with your state. I know I would be required to in mine, whether it was my fault or not. I would be very VERY upset as a parent if my child's allergies were ignored, especially when dad offered to bring you diapers and you declined.

[SunflowerMama]

Yikes that's a hard one. I would definitely call or text mom/dad just to let them know and just tell them how sorry you are. See if they were told what to put on it, if anything, when he reacted negatively to the sposies in the past.

Other than that I might just let him be bare bum as much as you can the rest of the day.

Poor little guy and don't beat yourself up...these things can happen. I would just be honest with the parents, file a report and let them know before pick-up.

[Cat Herder]

You can run a tub of warm bath water (about navel depth) and put about a cup of baking soda in the water (stir with your hand to dissolve well and test for temp). Let him sit for a few minutes...

That will take the burn out of it immediately for him and soothe some of the redness.

Pat dry and coat him with a good skin protectant like A&D ointment.

Let the parents know what happened.

[jen]

It was an accident. Of course you feel terrible, but don't beat yourself up too badly. First of all, I would call Mom or Dad and ask what should be done to rectify the situation...would Desitin help or make it worse? Baking soda bath?

Once I washed a kids hands with fragrance soap, I knew he can't have fragrance, but I just forgot and grabbed my dd soap to clean him up as the regular dispensor was empty. It left a rash. Making a mistake is life, how you handle it is what is important.

[Sunny Day]

Again, I would call the parent before I tried to do ANYTHING to rectify it. I would tell them the truth. One thing I would suggest is if you can, let him go bare bum. You don't know what's going to make it worse, especially because it is an allergy. See what they say to do and then follow it. I get the whole being crazy busy, etc. but the bottom line is you still ignored an allergy, so in my opinion, you're going to have to take the heat for it....I know you feel bad and didn't do it on purpose, but if I was the parent of that child I would be really upset and would likely find alternate care. It was a mistake (although a conscious one as you stated you didn't believe them) and now you have a lesson learned the hard way. Good luck, I hope they are more forgiving with their child than I would be.

[cillybean83]

my son has the same allergy, except his is to wipes, and only certain kinds of disposables...what happens to him is the following in order

1. bright fire engine red skin, hot to touch, extremely sensitive and raw looking first couple hours

2. raised bumps, very painful 1-2 days

3. scaliness, super itchy, baby will scratch till he bleeds if you don't hold his hands down while changing diaper 7-14 days

during stage 1 the best you can do is let him bare bum as much as possible, every few hours do a baking soda bath, then let him bare bum some more...the redness will go down

during stage 2 let him bare bum as much as possible, but no baths, keep him very very dry

during stage 3 smother him with desitin, not a & d, not vaseline, not powder...maximum strength desitin, ALL THE TIME...when Jack's got bad because my parents put him in diapers he was allergic to...we had to change him every hour, round the clock, went through 4 tubes of desitin...for 2 weeks.

i don't know if this will work for your little guy, but this is what works for my son, if it's the same allergic reaction these parents are in for a loooong healing process....just do your best to be totally accomodating

[Crystal]

I'm kinda new here, I've answered a few posts, but I thought I'd just jump in with a question.

I happily use cloth diapers here at my daycare. I Own tons of cloth diapers, they are all accessible, and right above the diaper changer.

But, today daycare dad dropped off and said "Ugh.. I forgot his diapers, do you want me to go home and get them?" I said , "no problem, I have plenty here"

His parents told me he was allergic to the disposable diapers and that's why they started using cloth. But, I didn't believe them, because I figured they just said that so I'd agree to cloth (I told them I had no problem with cloth though)
Anyway... so, today, I was rushing, and just stuck someone else's Huggies on him. And, then I didn't give it any more thought. After lunch he was standing with his legs apart and pulling on his pants saying "ouch". I said "OK.. Hold on"... but, I waited another five or ten minutes while I cleaned up the other kids. By the time I got to him, he was BRIGHT red.. almost raw skin, everywhere that the disposable was wet, he was burned.

It's not going to go away by the end of the day... and I feel horrible. I don't even know what to say to the parents.

What would you say? Besides "I. Am. So. SORRY"

Oh no!!! That is NOT good! As a parent I would be IRATE. I would understand if you had not been informed, but you were, you AGREED to comply and then INTENTIONALLY did what you were told not to do and what you agreed not to do and basically thought the parent LIED. WOW

I would call the parents right now, they may want to have him seen by a doctor, as there are medications designed for severe rash that are only available with a prescription.

This is reportable, and I would not be at all surprised if that is what the parents choose to do. Good luck with all that

[youretooloud]

I sent Mom an email and she said (she's so sweet)

"Oh, that's OK.. I actually thought he might get a rash anyway, because he ate a whole can of pineapple and half a can of Mandarin oranges all by himself yesterday"

I just got him up, and his rash is much better, just spotty and very red in some spots, but not as angry looking as it was.

[Crystal]

It was an accident. Of course you feel terrible, but don't beat yourself up too badly. First of all, I would call Mom or Dad and ask what should be done to rectify the situation...would Desitin help or make it worse? Baking soda bath?

Once I washed a kids hands with fragrance soap, I knew he can't have fragrance, but I just forgot and grabbed my dd soap to clean him up as the regular dispensor was empty. It left a rash. Making a mistake is life, how you handle it is what is important.

Jen....you are almost always the voice of reason here - but this time I think you are wrong. It was NOT and accident. She was told about it. She agreed to cloth diapers. She refused the offer from DCD to go get diapers and stated she would use hers. She then did the EXACT opposite of what she said and agreed to and put him in a disposable and ASSUMED the parent shad lied. NOT COOL.

[Crystal]

I sent Mom an email and she said (she's so sweet)

"Oh, that's OK.. I actually thought he might get a rash anyway, because he ate a whole can of pineapple and half a can of Mandarin oranges all by himself yesterday"

I just got him up, and his rash is much better, just spotty and very red in some spots, but not as angry looking as it was.

very lucky for you......hopefully it will be much better by end of day. don't be surprised if Mom changes her mind about it though.

[Childminder]

It's not like you did it on purpose to harm the child. Kids get butt rash all the time, some worse than others. You did right by the child and called the parents, apologized and won't do it again I'm sure.

Wait till the child, or another, shows up on a Monday with blisters on the bum and bleeding. It happens, sometimes from the diapers, sometime from the food he/she consumed, sometimes from a virus or allergy, sometimes from parental neglect. This too shall pass.

I have a dcg 18mo that is allergic to her own feces and we have to change her immediately after she poops or her butt blisters. Also we go thru TONS of vaseline and coat any where the feces might touch her to help prevent the blisters. Started at birth and still continues. Can not wait to potty train this one.

Crystal, imo, it's not what you say but how you say it that upsets people.

[jen]

Jen....you are almost always the voice of reason here - but this time I think you are wrong. It was NOT and accident. She was told about it. She agreed to cloth diapers. She refused the offer from DCD to go get diapers and stated she would use hers. She then did the EXACT opposite of what she said and agreed to and put him in a disposable and ASSUMED the parent shad lied. NOT COOL.

I could be wrong..this is how I took her post...

She interviewed the parents who mentioned that the child was allergic to disposables; which she didn't take seriously (yes, that was a mistake).

Fast forward until today....she grabbed a disposable, not because she didn't believe the parent in the first place, but because she didn't think about his allergy...which I admit, she probably would have remembered had she taken it seriously to begin with.

I don't think this was a case where she consciously thought: "Oh, he's not allergic, I'm just going to use it anyway." I thought this was a case where, because she didn't really believe them to begin with, the whole thing was forgotten.

Original poster?

[Crystal]

Crystal, imo, it's not what you say but how you say it that upsets people.

FTR, i haven't said anything in a VERY long time that has upset anyone.

But, I do not care if it upsets someone. When a provider ADMITTEDLY is doing something against a parents specific instructions, ESPECIALLY when it pertains to health related issues, they NEED to be told that what they are doing is wrong.