Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Never Google "Baby Rash"

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We have been extremely lucky that Kenley has never gotten anything worse than a cold and has only had one cold in her life {I am knocking on wood so hard right now}, so when she got a little rash on her leg, I wasn't overly concerned because she's been so healthy. The rash was nothing more than a bunch of small red bumps. 
She didn't have a fever, she didn't have any symptoms, it didn't itch and she was eating, sleeping, playing, peeing, pooping as usual. We tried putting extra lotion {and Eucerin} on it in case it was just super dry, we tried putting her to bed in just a onesie in case it was heat rash and we dried her extra well and let her air dry after her bath in case it was water related. This little rash just didn't want to go away.

After a few days, I started to get a little concerned. She still had no symptoms, it wasn't bugging her and it wasn't spreading but it wasn't going away either. So, I did what I'm guessing a lot of moms do and I googled "baby rash". Whatever you do, DON'T DO IT! The results are terrifying, disgusting and heartbreaking. For those of you who just minimized your window to go google "baby rash"....curiosity killed the cat, don't say I didn't warn you.

Of course after reading all about different types of rashes and looking and hundreds of poor babies with awful skin conditions, I started to get a little panicked. I didn't want to be one of those moms who ignores an obvious problem and then feels super guilty when the rash turns out to be rubella or the mumps or something awful but I also don't want to be one of those moms who runs to the doctor every time my kid sneezes.

So after an internal debate and chats with both my mom and my Beeb, I decided to call the nurse line which I felt completely silly doing because how a nurse is supposed to diagnose a rash over the phone is beyond me but you know what, she did. She was so sweet, so helpful and made me feel like a good mom for checking in. When I said "well I googled baby rashes and..." she replied with "oh honey, never google rashes, it is terrifying what comes up." She recommended trying a teeny bit of hydro-cortisone three times a day,  which we did, and the rash is looking much better. It's not completely gone, but we have a 15 month well check up on Friday, so we'll have the doctor check it out then.

I guess the moral of this story is follow your mama gut {and boy do I have a mama gut} - don't feel bad about not rushing to the doctor, don't feel bad about calling the nurse for help and DO NOT under any circumstances google "baby rash".


17 comments:

Carolyn said...

Mama gut. BAHAHAHA! Definitely don't google rashes. I did that when we were "diagnosing" the problem, and I'm scarred for life.

The Bennetts said...

I’m convinced I should never google anything that relates to kids. Talk about information overload. Then you start to wonder should they be doing this, should I be doing this, they are not doing X but this website says they should be doing it by this time does that mean there is something wrong with my baby. Google is the devil at times!

Ashley said...

Oh so true...never ever feel guilty about going to the doctor about your little nugget! They're there for a reason! Glad it's almost cleared up.
Whenever C gets a rash, he gets a baking soda bath and oatmeal lotion. It helps SO much! :)

hello erin said...

Google is such a dangerous place!! Especially for ANYTHING medical... Im sure I would have been convinced lex had some rare African rash within 45 seconds of being online. Poor K! I hope it goes away soon!

P!nky said...

Umm ewww [not lil K, just a rash in general, so not fun]! I will never google baby rash, that just scares me!

~Dawn~ said...

Ugh, I've done that before and it's terrifying. Lilli ended up having 5th disease. No other symptoms other than the rash. It really looks so much worse than it actually is.

Anonymous said...

Good job mama! I did not have Google when you were little so I had to rely on my gut and my nurses just like you did. Do you remember the Hives? xo m

Kelly said...

First off. FIFTEEN MONTH APPT??! No way.

Secondly... I googled diaper rash because I had NO idea what to look for if our little one gets it (which has been a no so far :-)) That was a mistake...

Glad K is doing okay!!

Vanessa Esperanza said...

This is so crazy I'm going through this similar problem. I googled baby rashes and quickly stopped myself from reading. I've cut all scented products and changed our laundry soap. I've seen a huge difference on my son's skin. We have a 15 month check up today, which helps me feel a little better. Xo

Nessaswrld.blogspot.com

Katie @ yellowmangolife.blogspot.com said...

Google is the absolute worst! But also the best all rolled into one. So many things easily convince you that it's the end of the world, however, I wonder how our parents operated without google for some of the more minor, non-health related things. Babycenter is my go-to. I feel like the information I've gotten then is reasonable and not made to send us mamas into panic mode. You did the right thing mama - and so glad your nurse was so sweet about it!

Jill @ Bluegrass Belle said...

Google is the best and it is also the worst. Any little problem I have, I suddenly discover will soon kill me, thank ya Google. The funniest part of this whole post was the nurse, "Oh honey, never google rashes" I'm sure she has heard it all though!!! :)

Nat said...

Googling anything baby related is the worst!! Sometimes it's been really helpful but most of the time you're lead to believe your child has some rare horrible disease. Glad to hear the hydrocortisone is working!

Sarah said...

Aubrey has always had super sensitive skin and hydrocortizone cream works wonders for all the weird bumps, rashes, eczema etc. she's had! So glad it's getting better for Kenley!

Jessica said...

I try not to google anything symptom-related anymore because every time I do, it ends up being cancer or something equally terrifying. NO thanks! Glad to hear that your little one is ok:)

WinterBenson said...

We are dealing with a REALLY bad diaper rash right now, and since we cloth diaper it's SO hard to deal with. It could be anything from yeast to teething to the detergent we're using. It's SO frustrating.

I agree though, NEVER google anything to do with medical stuff, especially when your child is involved! Hope everything resolves soon!

ajs {of MN} said...

i am proud of my mama gut too!! my little has pretty sensitive skin and the smallest things can randomly make her skin go crazy.

the weirdest one ever, i called to doc on, was something that kept popping up and going away in different spots on her body. the only thing we can think is that it was due to one of those punching balloons.... so strange.

i google NOTHING. EVER! and i always keep the three day minimal-zero symptoms rule in mind.

Courtney B said...

Oh man.... I avoid google with everything I've got when it comes to medical. I'm SO sorry!!
Not that I'm a doctor or nurse or anything close to it.... but Mia sometimes gets little rashes or dry spots that are eczema. It could be something as simple as that? Hopefully! If it ever happens again, aquaphor has worked wonders, but we only put it on the effected spot. Other than that we use cetaphil moisturizing cream to lotion her morning and night!
I can't believe it's 15 month appt time! Mia is 14 months tomorrow, AH!