My daughter's girly bits

Ok, this might be a really weird question. Next time I take her to my GP I might ask him what he thinks, too.

So, my daughter (almost 5) is still in night nappies (although day toilet trained at 2). She's a heavy wetter and deep sleeper and I find that even if I wake her at -say 11pm- to take her to the toilet, she's already fast asleep in a sopping wet bed. So, she's still in nappies. I'm currently not using cloth as she refuses to wear the wool covers I have to fit over her night nappies. But she even frequently wets through the Huggies pyjama pants.

Anyway, this is not my main issue. But gives you a bit of a background.
My daughter always seems to have pimples on her bottom. No matter what kind of nappy we use.
She also gets quite a red, sore crotch frequently.
She also tends to smell very bad. First thing in the morning, I put that down to being in the nappy all night. But I also notice it later on in the day.
We wash her nappy area every morning which helps a bit but does not eliminate the issues.
This has been going on for quite some time (a couple of years). I initially thought it was mainly due to her not wiping herself properly after going to the toilet. But now that she's older, she seems to be doing a pretty good job.

Any thoughts?

My DD (nearly 5) suffers from a red, sore crotch infrequently and I took her to our GP b/c I thought it might have been an infection. He told me (unsure if I believe him) that kids do not generally have infections until puberty and most likely it is from friction ie: touching herself, undies rubbing, rubbing when riding her bike. This could be true b/c I notice she does pull a bit at her knickers, particularly if wearing leggings/pants. I just treat with bepanthen cream when sore and keep reminding her to drink more water.

Given your DD is still in night nappies I'd say the smell in the morning is due to just sleeping in a urine filled nappy. I'd not wash her vagina with anything but water ie: no soap. Is there any smelly discharge down there? Even a quick visit to the GP might be worth it just to rule out anything.

Some apple cider vinegar in her bath water can help neutralise the bacteria that cause odours. A proper shower in the morning might help too.

Thanks for your reply. Feels better knowing we're not the only ones facing issues like this.
I'm not sure about the friction thing...
I don't actually wash her vagina - ever. we just wash the outside. I've tried washing with pure water for a few months and washing with a very mild detergent (tried Moogoo and Burt's Bees) for a few months. There was no difference.
no, there is no discharge.
she drinks tons of water already - that's partly the reason she is such a heavy night time wetter.

I was also thinking it could be things like too much fruit or juice or other highly acidic foods. But that doesn't really apply to her either...

It's not a reaction to the nappy itself?

Onyx, we do have a proper shower in the mornings - well, most mornings. I have one of those hand shower thingies, so she doesn't have to get her hair wet every time.
A good wash does get rid of the smell. I am convinced the smell in the morning is just due to the nappy. What bothers me is not the morning smell, but the fact that she smells in the afternoon, too. And not just a little bit. Enough for you to notice when you sit next to her and she's only wearing knickers and a short skirt.

I'll try the vinegar thing...

ss_storm, we tried cloth (with and without stay dry liners) and disposables, so I don't think it's the nappy. More likely the urine.

You could also try a few drops of teatree oil, lavender or eucalyptus oil in the bath. They are anti-biotic and anti-fungal so they help with smell.

My DD1 had a vaginal infection at 7 or 8 & is still nowhere near puberty. It was the discharge she had that was the give away though.

My DD2 wets the bed at almost 7. She wears nappies also. Drynights though we use. If she's wearing a nappy she usually just washes with a face washer - no shower. We're attempting cutting the nappies out, so if she wets the bed, she showers.

I'm going to try the apple cider vinegar. I often put a couple drops of dettol in the bath with my kids (just had impetigo do the rounds, so started this again), but the vinegar sounds like a much better option.

I haven't noticed a smell with any of mine, unless they've managed to skip a bath/shower for a few days :rolleyes: Does yours bathe often? Or usually shower? Maybe just switching to a bath would help?

Is there any chance she could have thrush?

sounds a bit like thrush hun

Just a thought, has she been tested for Type 1 Diabetes? One of the symptoms is drinking a lot of water. Also diabetics can have a sickly sweet smell at times, depending on their blood sugar or ketone levels. It might be worth asking the doctor, if only to rule it out :)

I'm not convinced it's thrush. Sounds to me like a combination of nappy rash and possibly some mild bacterial vaginitis. I'd run it past your GO, as it sounds like you're doing all the right things.

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Just a thought, has she been tested for Type 1 Diabetes? One of the symptoms is drinking a lot of water. Also diabetics can have a sickly sweet smell at times, depending on their blood sugar or ketone levels. It might be worth asking the doctor, if only to rule it out :)

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I was about to suggest this. Prior to my daughter being Diagnosed as T1D she was back in nappies 24/7 and soaking through them. She always "smelt" even if I changed her hourly. She also had a horrible pimple looking rash. (she was 2y 8m at diagnosis so a bit different in age)

Although now at 6 she can still wet the bed and only came out of night nappies Xmas 2010.

I do hope it's not that serious though :)

Feel free to PM me as well if you have questions