split in skin "down there"

[Sally's mom]

I hope that somebody can help. I have a ten month old baby girl who has a little tear in her skin starting at her anus and moving up towards her vagina. It doesn't go all of the way up to her vagina, it is about 1/2 of an inch long starting at the anus. It isn't real deep, but the skin is definitely split and it is deep enough that you can see red flesh and it sometimes looks like it could start oozing blood at any time, although it never has. Sometimes it looks a lot worse than others. It has never gotten infected and the baby doesn't seem to be bothered by it, so it must not cause her much, if any, pain. The bad thing is that she has had it since she was less than two weeks old! I have been asking the doctor's office about this every time that we go in and have also made seperate appointments for it. They are not concerned and tell me to just "keep doing what you're doing". Basically, we are just extra gentle when changing her pants or bathing her and are careful to make sure that she gets cleaned well so that it doesn't get infected. We have tried keeping it moist and covered with Aquafor & various diaper creams and have also tried using nothing at all. Nothing has made it any better. It makes me want to cry every time that I change her. I have had other moms look at it to make sure that I am not overreacting and everyone agrees that this looks awful and needs to have something done. I'm glad that it's not causing her problems, but I'm sure that it's just a matter of time before it does end up becoming infected. She has had this basically her entire life. There has got to be something that can be done to help get this healed. It's awful to see it and it's beginning to seem like it she is going to have this forever. I would love any ideas or suggestions!

[fuzzy]

Have they refered to it as fishers?My son had those and it was quite raw at some points,I just kept putting vaseline or Zincofax and my MIL had suggested baking soda in his bath (put a couple Tbsp of baking soda in the bath and let her soak without soap or anything for 10 min or so).It seemed to clear up much faster after I started doing the bath thing!But he was still almost a year..I always kept it moisturized though cause it's caused by dry skin.I hope this helps you some:)
Melissa

[MommaC]

Yep--fissures were the first thing that popped into my mind as well. My brother had one as a child, but our pediatrician addressed it. I think fuzzy's suggestions are very good, but I think I'd also make an appointment to see a different pediatrician.

[Sally's mom]

Thank you so much for the information and tips. I am going to start trying the baking soda tonight! I will be thrilled with any improvement at all.

I love our ped, but MommaC, you are probably right that I need to consider someone else.