Of health, safety, creams and bottoms

It is nothing new that I can get quite aggravated at certain health and safety regulations that seem to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Well, here's another one.

My little girl has a bit of a skin thing going. She's a ginger nut and a tad sensitive as far as her skin is concerned. Nothing too serious, some dry spots that threaten to become full blown excema but so far haven't, and then her bottom which regularly flares up big time.

I've trailed the knowledge of my wise friends on this one. I tried out every conceivable product on her bum. I tried out natural medicine, even imported German creams.
The verdict is that what was prescribed, made things worse and that the omnipresent sudocrem is a big nono on Snowflakes behind.

So we've figured out what works and what doesn't. There shouldn't be a problem, but hey, there's health and safety regulations at nursery so I was informed that I can't hand in anything without a prescription. Not even coconut oil.

As a prescription was needed, I trailed to the pharmacy for the minor ailments scheme, not wanting to bother my GP and her time with bum cream prescriptions. Pharmacies however can only give out prescriptions for sudocrem (which is a big no no on my Snowflake's bum).

So I made an appointment with my GP, who lectured me that I and the nursery were wasting her time, how there was no need at all for a prescription, citing this guideline or that. She even printed off a letter to the nursery explaining why she won't prescribe bum cream.

Reluctantly I took the letter to the nursery. In a way, I empathised with the GP's position, surely it's a waste of NHS resources having to get a prescription for bum cream from a GP? Especially when I'm looking for the mildest of creams?

The nursery made it clear that they don't care about whichever legislation was quoted but that their internal policy was to use prescribed bum cream only.

So here was my poor little girl, with a weeping sore bum and between pharmacy, GP, NHS and nursery policy there was no way to get a bit of non-sudocrem bum cream on her bottom to make it better. Explain that to her when she wails with pain at every pee and walks herself to the changing table to get that wet nappy off.

 I didn't dare go back to my GP (when she gets excited she's quite scary and I prefer to hide). I did go back to the pharmacy though and pleaded with them. Finally the pharmacist offered that I pay for a cream and she'd print off a label with Snowflake's name on it. So effectively not a prescription, just a printed label.

And that's what we're using now. Psst, don't tell the nursery. (Needless to say that I still can't use coconut oil or the magic Penaten cream from Germany which is really the bestest cream ever).