Severe Diaper Rash

[sarahtheresa02]

I have a 12 mo old baby in my care. Her parents for the most part are very relaxed and I have had no problems.

Until now

She woke up from her nap with what I will call "acid poop". It's the kind that welts the skin all over the diaper area. She was screaming bloody murder which is completely understandable. Poor baby! Her parents wrote on her info sheet that they do not want her to have any diaper ointment or lotions applied to her without prior authorization. As far as I know she doesnt have a history of skin problems according to her medical forms.

I called her mom at work to ask if it would be ok to apply some zinc oxide to the welted areas. I had to leave a voicemail. I called dad who works on the road and left a message on his cell phone. No one has called me back yet. She is somewhat calm at the moment after screaming for an hour while I wait for word.

Do I apply the cream and suffer the wrath of her parents? I know that she will instantly feel relief and be happy again. Or... do I make the little girl suffer and stick to their wishes?

Please give me advice quickly...

[GretasLittleFriends]

Personally, I'd say stick to their wishes and unfortunately make her suffer. I am required to have a signed permission slip to administer sunscreen, diaper ointment, bug spray, and anything like that.

An alternative could be baby powder or even just plain corn starch. Another idea is just some plain vaseline or petroleum jelly.

[seashell]

I would put the cream on. You tried to get them and they didn't respond. It's up to you to use your best judgement now.

[sarahtheresa02]

I ended up just using the diaper cream in her bag. I figured if it was in her bag then someone had used it on her before. She stopped crying instantly. Her parents never called me back. Her dad just came to pick her up and I told him what happened. I explained that I didnt want to go against their wishes but that she was in extreme pain. He thanked me for taking care of her and said it was ok to administer only what was provided in extreme cases. I had him sign her information sheet to that effect. That poor baby. I almost cried with her. That would have been great for the other kids, huh. LOL... thanks!

[tymaboy]

I always feel bad when a kids gets a diaper rash. It always pisses me off when I work so hard during the day/week to keep their tiny butts clean just to have every Monday they have a rash (I know that wasnt the issue here) My current policy states that I will automatically put cream on unless they tell me other wise. I have yet to have a parent say otherwise.

[sarahtheresa02]

I am going to change my policies to say the same thing. I dont want to have to deal with this again.

Another thing that really makes me mad is when a little one comes to my house with a diaper that hasnt been changed in hours and has that diaper jelly stuff on their butt and they stink to high heaven.

[Former Teacher]

Oh I am glad that it all worked out in the end. I have mixed feelings on this though. I agree with Greta and stick to the parents wishes. However, you are entrusted to take care of the child's wellbeing and had it got worse, then the parents would have been upset with you.

I remember at my former center all parents (there were always more than half per group) that never brought sunscreen, or bug spray, etc. for their children to use. It would always upset me because here I was using other kiddos stuff to put on these kids that didn't bring theirs. I would think, yeah let them suffer, not my fault parents can't read notices, etc.. But my former boss loved a sob story and she would say the children couldn't be the ones who should take the downfall. Then on the other hand my former boss would get upset when SHE would have to buy the bug spray, etc...because there would be none left.

Anyway, I know that totally didn't go with your post (haha) but I would have thought like Greta, but in the end, I would have done the same thing. I am glad that it worked out for you

[Chickenhauler]

If it was in the kids diaper bag, I would have used some.

If there was none, I would have applied nothing until I heard back from the parents. Some kids have some wierd allergies, reactions, etc to common items and creams, some even deadly.

My mother had a kid in her care who would have near fatal reactions from any bug spray-if it was sprayed anywhere near him, his throat would close up like a drawstring bag. He was OK with Skin-So-Soft, though.