# Gooey baby armpits?!?



## guestmama9911 (May 24, 2005)

I was looking over my 3 month old today and found that her armpits were raw and had a yucky smelling goop in the creases. Is this simply me not washing right in there, or something more sinister? What might heal stinky armpit skin?


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## TeaLeaf (Jun 19, 2007)

It's amazing what can hide in those creases if one forgets to clean them regularly!







'been there. I was told to be sure to dry those areas nicely after a bath so they don't get irritated.

If you cleaned regularly and dried the areas up nicely already, not sure what it could be.


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## guestmama9911 (May 24, 2005)

When I put lotion on her, perhaps I need to make sure I skip the arm pits...


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## sandy'smama (Oct 16, 2005)

my ds had it and I think it was because I was not drying him well after the bath. I paid particular attention to his armpits after I saw the gloop, dried them well with a towel and put tiny bit of baby powder on to make sure they were very dry (careful with powder!) they were much better after a couple of days.


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## roostery (Jan 23, 2004)

I've definitely been there.

I would definitely skip the lotion there, or in any deep creases in your DC's skin. It's all about moisture collecting in areas which don't have a chance to dry off. My DD's have had problems with their necks (until they could lift their heads more), armpits and thighs in the diaper area. It's just really hard to get the depths of their creases dry and keep them dry. I have had great success with diaper cream with zinc. It heals the skin up almost immediately.


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## MotheringHeart (Dec 18, 2005)

It's yeast. It grows in the dark places that don't get ANY air. It can grow in the folds of their necks and armpits. It's not anything to be overly concerned about. A little corn starch will help dry it up. Or you can just wipe regularly with a slightly moist rag. Do be careful because the yeast can cause skin breakdown and so the skin is can be much more fragile (ie it might bleed if you wipe to hard/often).


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## puffingirl (Nov 2, 2006)

I found that powder irritated her more, but diaper cream did the trick. Plus we have to be very diligent about raising one of her arms all the way up to get in there with the towel after baths.


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## guestmama9911 (May 24, 2005)

Thank you very much for all your replies! This didn't happen to my first child so I was pretty confused. We'll be more diligent from now on!


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## Magali (Jun 8, 2007)

My ds had this also. I make sure to dry his pits well. I put cornstarch in his pits and it cleared right up. I know that yeast thrives on cornstarch so I really don't know why it worked, but it did.


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## Shami (Oct 9, 2007)

a follow up question. My dd has it in her neck folds. Would you put zinc oxide diaper cream in there? I wash and dry every day, but it is still red and irritated.


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## dachshundqueen (Dec 17, 2004)

sounds like yeast....

liz


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## valkyrina (Dec 18, 2007)

It definitely sounds like yeast. We've had good luck with just keeping it clean and dry, and sponging a little bit of white vinegar on there once or twice a day. The vinegar makes it too acidic for the yeasties to live.


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## nalo (Oct 25, 2005)

My did has had this since birth but it's finally happening less often. She's a bit of a chunk and just has this skin fold over in her armpits... I just make it a habit to check her pits every time I change her onesie and wipe them with a warm cloth if needed followed by thorough drying and a tiny bit of calendula cream. It does the trick. We use calendula for everything!


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## STJinNoVa (Dec 25, 2007)

our little chunky monkey has this in several places. doc called it intertrigo, we call it neck cheese.

the best thing for it that we've found is washing gently, not with a cloth but with warm water, a hand, and a little unscented aveeno liquid baby wash, then blow-drying it a little and putting a bit of california baby baby powder on it. works like a charm. doc also recommended the desitin zinc oxide cream, but it has cod liver oil in it and it irritates my skin.


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## Datura (Mar 18, 2005)

Its something that we have to be really careful about here in NZ due to the humidity. Just make certain that all those little folds are well dried. The Weleda nappy rash cream works really well at zapping it (and fixing just about anything else, hehe).


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## roostery (Jan 23, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Shami* 
a follow up question. My dd has it in her neck folds. Would you put zinc oxide diaper cream in there? I wash and dry every day, but it is still red and irritated.

I've put it on my DD's neck and it worked great. Just watch out for staining clothes. The zinc really sticks so I'd put her in a white shirt that day.


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## boheime (Oct 25, 2005)

I had to watch the arm pits with my first. With my others it was the creases where their chunky thighs connect.


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## crazyrunningmama (Dec 16, 2006)

My dd had this and it sounds stupid, but it was because I didn't see how deep her armpits really were. Like I would lift her arm to wash and dry, but I if I lifted a bit more and poked around, the skin unstuck and it was a really deep armpit! Washing but not with a cloth, and drying very gently and thoroughly helped. For a while I was in the habit of lifting her arms and blowing in there whenever her clothes or diapers were changed, fun game for her, and good preventative medicine for yeast.


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## MamaHippo (Dec 4, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Shami* 
a follow up question. My dd has it in her neck folds. Would you put zinc oxide diaper cream in there? I wash and dry every day, but it is still red and irritated.

My DD gets it inher neck folds and I put A+D ointment in there after every bath after drying it thoroughly, and ive found it keeps the yeast away and heals the skin as well. No problems since Ive begun using the A+D.


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