:oops: Strange question, but would someone explain what to look for? Zach has redness (not really rash, this looks like red skin and it doesn't go away) all the way around his...uh...anus. It's probably about a half inch thick, or pretty close to it. Is this what they mean or is the ring actually more on the butt cheeks? Thank you.

Anyone know? :(

If it is what they mean, I want to stop mixing his Zantac with soy formula and cut out all dairy...I've only cut down.

Thanks.

The ring would be around the actual little butthole itself.:wink:

It can be caused by allergies or by yeast infection. Has he been on antibiotics recently? And is this a new discovery?

Ditto to what Leigh said.. a red ring around the butthole could indicate an allergy....

I agree with the wise ladies ahead of me...sounds like a reaction to something. Has his diet changed recently?

Thank you for the replies.

No, he's never been on antibiotics.

It's been there for a long time, at least since he was weeks old. He's now about three months and two weeks or so of age.

He's breastfed...other than breastmilk, various medicine (Zantac, gas drops, tylenol, etc) and soy formula (never more than 3 oz a day)...nothing else, no change.

It's kind of like the redness you could get from smacking your arm too hard. It's all around it, but a wide ring. (There's no normal colored skin between his 'bh' and the redness. I wasn't sure if it could be considered a ring or not. It's more like a solid circle of redness. In trying to explain it well, I'm probably confusing you, sorry.)

He can't get in to see his doctor until 3/21, and it took a couple months to get that appointment. The office is busy and she was on vacation. He got the Zantac from a doctor covering for her while she was away. I think I need to switch peds, too long of a wait when there's problems.

As the others have stated it could be a sign of allergies. Since he is breastfed have you tried the elimination diet.
I breastfeed Owen as well and since we cut out dairy/soy he is doing much better. He is also showing some signs of intolerances to other foods and with help of a food log I was able to eliminate those as well and "voila" the red ring is gone. He hardly gets diaper rashes now and he refluxes a lot less too.
Hope you can figure out what causes this.

I've greatly reduced dairy, it's not easy to cut out completely. I quit giving him formula (soy), I was giving him 2 or 3 oz a day. Well, I still mix his Zantac in a tiny amount...he won't take it as is. I've been wanting to keep a journal, but it's hard when the fits start. I'll have to try harder.

It is hard at the beginning but once you did it for a while it gets easier. Just try and eliminate all dairy first, see if he improves and if not try and eliminate all soy and so on. As for keepin a diary on the foods, it is a pain but it's well worth it. We did it and it has helped tremendously with his reactions. Owen was still showing allergic reactions even though he wasn't eating a lot of solids and it was actually the dairy intake from me that was still bothering him.
I hope that you will be able to eliminate, hang in there it's hard at first but will get better.
Big hugs :hug: