Diaper Rash?

The past 6 weeks or so my 14 month old has had some pretty severe diaper rashes off and on. His bottom has been really red- it almost looks like a sunburn and has been so raw it's been bleeding. It has also looked blistery. There have been several nights he won't sit in the tub because his bottom has hurt so bad. I blamed it on teething because I had no other explanation, although he hasn't gotten any teeth in a few months.

I couldn't really figure why he was having them. I heard something on the news last week about the new Pampers with Dry Max being investigated for problems, and looking online last night the complaints were of the exact type of rash we've been experiencing. I felt horrible that I didn't figure it out on my own- but I rotate between Pampers and Huggies and didn't even think that it could possibly be from the new Pampers. I've always thought Pampers were superior to Huggies and have started using Huggies only recently since I've gotten such good deals on them. When the rash was more severe, I even made sure to put Pampers on because I thought that wearing them would help and did the same when I sent him to our babysitter, yet the rash kept getting worse.

I spoke with my pediatrician this morning and they said they have had similar complaints and advised me to contact the Consumer Product Safety Commission to report the problem. They advised me to put diaper cream or Vaseline on him (we're using Butt Paste) and that if it doesn't improve within a week or so of discontinuing the diaper to bring him into the office.

The new "Dry Max" technology that might possibly be causing the problems is only with their Cruisers and Swaddlers. Pampers Baby Dry diapers have stayed the same.

If you're having similar problems, please contact the Consumer Product Safety Commission to fill out form online- call them at 1-800-638-2772. I called them today and they took the report down and said there is a pretty serious investigation into these diapers. The representative I spoke with was really nice and said there were many similar reports. Please make sure to call if you are having problems with these diapers- the more parents that call the more quickly they will respond.

I called Pampers to report the issue to them as well (1-800-726-7377) and they said they tested the new diapers on over 20,000 families... I know I did a diaper trial not too long ago for a different brand and my "trial" was only 20 diapers and I was only required to use 10 to receive compensation for participation in the survey. My son's rash from these Cruisers didn't happen instantly- so even a 20,000 family study could have missed a reaction that takes a bit more time to develop. Pampers did take a full report and said I may be contacted for more information and will send me coupons to try their other lines of diapers that do not include the new dry max technology. They representative I spoke with there was very nice and did say they take all complaints seriously.

Sorry for the long posting-- but I wanted to share this with everyone so you can make sure your children don't experience similar problems!

Have you had similar problems? Let me know if you use Cruisers or Swaddlers and if you've had similar problems or if they're just fine on your child...