It seems like only yesterday that my wife and I were daily fighting the "diaper rash wars".  I can still remember the look of horror on the faces of my wife and myself the first time we witnessed a full-bloomed outbreak of diaper rash and the helpless crying that goes with it - both our daughter's and ours.  And so, determined to minimize the misery of diaper rash we began accumulating balms and salves to protect our babies bottoms. We tried a number of different medications over the years, from A&D Ointment to Desitin and finally onto Balmex. For our two oldest daughters, the thick white paste of Desitin was the standard.  This medicated barrier cream seemed well tolerated and usually did the job nicely, particularly when applied heavily to an inflamed bottom.  With routine diapering we found it was a decent if not perfect protectorant. **Enter Balmex** But with the birth of my youngest daughter we found that she didn't take very well to the Desitin and we soon moved on to Balmex.  Also a zinc oxide based medicated barrier cream for one reason or another it seemed to agree with her (and hence us) far better. **Becoming an Involved Grandfather** So, when my grandchildren started to come along, I of course started passing along our accumulated "diaper rash wisdom" along with the "Balmex on my Tush" song I had written so many years earlier.  My daughter listened attentively of course, but informed me "we got it covered Dad, we use **Sudocrem**". **Sudocrem** Sudocrem isn't one of the more recognizable diaper rash creams sold in the US.  That's because it's a European product manufactured in Dublin, Ireland by Forest-Tosara Ltd, a subsidiary of Forest Laboratories of the UK.  It's widely available across Europe and in fact my daughter usually brings it back in quantity from her annual trip to Greece.  In the event that she's running low, there are no shortage of relatives there ready to airlift her some more. At first glance, the creamy white paste doesn't seem too much different from Desitin or Balmex.  The fragrance, derived from lavender however is decidedly more pleasant. **According to the manufacturer:** Sudocrem contains a number of active ingredients and properties, such as: - hypoallergenic lanolin, to help provide emollient properties - zinc oxide is an astringent which reduces the loss of tissue fluid - benzyl benzoate and benzyl cinnamate are amongst the ingredients of Peru Balsam, recognised for its healing properties - benzyl alcohol is a weak local anaesthetic which acts to ease localised pain and irritation. It also acts as a disinfectant/antibacterial agent and is responsible for protection against common bacterial contaminants. I've witnessed first-hand the more immediate calming effects that **Sudocrem** has as it's immediately applied.  It's consistency is somewhat lighter than other preparations, but it seems to stay in place even longer than the thicker balms. **My Viewpoint** Although it's not readily available in this country, except over the Internet, I'm convinced that it's well worth the additional effort to obtain this superior product.  Now I'm going to have to get busy composing a "Sudocrem Song" I guess. 

RudiXeno

Boca Raton, FL