The One Hundred Dollar Diaper Rash

// July 12th, 2007 // Opinion //

Has anyone seen those commercials for a new prescription diaper rash cream called Vusion? I thought it was odd, so I decided to look it up and get more info on it. I knew as soon as I saw the $25 rebate on the site it wouldn’t be good, because you know right then it’s going to cost way more than $25. More than $25 for a diaper rash cream..wtf??

So I check the ingredients-

Miconazole
Zinc Oxide
White Petroletum

Let me translate this for the average consumer-

Monistat
Desitin
Vaseline

The price for this magic combination of products that you can only get by paying your $15-$30 doctor co-pay?

$98.93
(via Drugstore.com, and they tend to have very competitive prices)

Every one of those above listed products can be found in any Walmart, and all of them come in store brands, which means you can treat your little one’s yeast rash for at MOST $12.

What is it about companies trying to screw over new parents???

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Comments to “The One Hundred Dollar Diaper Rash”

Mama Zen says:

July 12, 2007 at 8:57 am

For a hundred bucks, they better send someone over to change the diapers, too!

Sensible One says:

July 12, 2007 at 9:07 am

I think the notion of “if it’s more expensive, it must be the BEST!” has been around for a long time. Gone are the days of frugal mothering being the standard, I’m afraid. The trend (at least in my neck of the woods) has long been Uber-Mom-itis, whose members all make their own baby food, or only buy organic, and spend thousands of dollars on “earth-friendly” diapering products, etc.

Hey, a pack of Luvs and a can of Similac worked just fine, last time I checked.

Cakehead says:

July 12, 2007 at 9:51 am

Seriously? $100 for diaper rash cream? Are you kidding me? Vaseline always did the trick for Alexander.

Heather says:

July 12, 2007 at 9:52 am

I’d only put that expensive of a cream on my ass if it had like liquid gold it in or something.

AbsolutelyBananas says:

July 12, 2007 at 10:48 am

verrrrrry interesting!

Chris says:

July 12, 2007 at 10:48 am

That’s just crazy. When I had Bean one of Prince Charming’s co-workers gave me an Arabonne baby starter set…it cost $90!!! And she raved about the diaper rash cream…but ya know what…desitin worked a heck of a lot better! LOL.

JayMonster says:

July 12, 2007 at 11:08 am

What’s worse is there is some salesman going around to Pediatrician’s Offices right now, giving out little samples, and some free lunches to get the Doctors to write scripts for this stuff.

After all, you only have a “$5 co-pay” (the argument will go) for a “prescription strength” product rather that $12 (since insurance won’t cover) over the counter products that are “not prescription strength”

It is just pathetic… all of it.

Stephane says:

July 12, 2007 at 11:37 am

That’s obscene. There are always going to be people around to prey on the ignorance of the uninformed.

Devan says:

July 12, 2007 at 11:55 am

wth?!

Jennifer says:

July 12, 2007 at 12:15 pm

I’ve seen the ads and ASSumed that there was some miracle ingredient in it. Huh? Nice to know it’s just overpriced vah-jay-jay cream.

Cate says:

July 12, 2007 at 12:33 pm

$100? USD????? Holy shit!!! I’ve used OTC Monistat cream for my boys’ diaper rashes…that combined with your average zinc oxide bum cream works wonders….inexpensively!!!

mcewen says:

July 12, 2007 at 12:56 pm

Shame. You know it will be first time parents who are scourged. By the time the second one comes along everything changes.
Cheers

slackermommy says:

July 12, 2007 at 1:26 pm

That’s just plain wrong! I hate when people try to take advantage of us desperate moms to make a buck. Butt Paste and Triple Cream are good enough.

Kimberly says:

July 12, 2007 at 3:30 pm

Sad commentary on the state of the world, isn’t it?

tulipmom says:

July 12, 2007 at 5:16 pm

And I thought it was crazy when my ped. prescribed Triple Paste for $30. Have to say it IS the top of the line as far as diaper rash creams go and now you can get it OTC. But $100? That’s just nuts.

james says:

July 12, 2007 at 8:38 pm

I don’t know if you have it in the U.S. but Sudacrem is fantastic for nappy rash. It’s over the counter and very cheap – less than $10.

In Australia the best selling product for cleaning showers is called “Shower Power”. People think it’s absolutely wonderful. The ingredients are water (> 60%), a dash of orange oil and citric acid, and a mysterious proprietary ingredient that can’t be revealed. I’m pretty sure it’s just sugar or a sugar derivative!

From the manufacturer – “Shower Power was the result of an intensive reasearch and development program by Ozkleen’s chemists.” Hmmm.

Jennie says:

July 12, 2007 at 8:58 pm

Sara- good detective work! That is SO ironic!

james says:

July 12, 2007 at 10:08 pm

I’ve just been reliably informed (my wife) that almost all rash creams have zinc and castor oil as a base. You don’t necessarily need more than than, and it can often be made to order in a drugstore / pharmacy (well at least in my neck of the woods).

Andi says:

July 12, 2007 at 10:48 pm

I was just going to say what James said. My brother is a pharmacist and he just whipped me up some fabulous bum cream (which we nicknamed “Cheeky Monkey”). Anyhoo, most pharmacists should be able to mix up something similar – and for a lot less than $100.

Elizabeth says:

July 13, 2007 at 7:28 am

DUDE. I’m sitting here typing this comment and what comes on the TV but the Vusion commercial!

I’d be nervous trying to blend my own if the rash was that bad. How much Monistat to how much Desitin? Half and Half, blended with enough vaseline to make it spreadable?

My daughter Kaitlyn was born with diaper rash. It was so bad that the top layers of her skin were gone. She looked like she’d been burned. Our Pediatrician prescribed an ointment that clearly said on the label “hydrocortisone, Desitin Creamy, and Vaseline”. We happily paid the $15.00 co-pay for her not to have that horrible rash anymore.

~JJ! says:

July 13, 2007 at 7:41 am

No frickin’ way.

I can put that together for under 5 dollars…

Whymommy says:

July 13, 2007 at 8:10 am

Awesome! Excellent work and clear explanation. This triple combo has been recommended by our pediatrician too (the otc do-it-yourself mix), so I don’t even see the NEED for the fancy stuff!

shauna says:

July 13, 2007 at 12:55 pm

I’m all for Bourdeaux’s Butt Paste. I about fell down laughing when the nurse said that was the perscription’s official name. But it is, and about one month after using it on my little one’s bum, Oprah had Mr. Bourdeaux on to talk about his amazing invention. It worked wonders and cost less than $5. I don’t think the Big O would invite Mr. Vusion on for his $100 butt paste.

Redneck Mommy says:

July 13, 2007 at 7:55 pm

Hmmm…100 buck butt cream…wonder if that comes with a gold plated case and a handsome model to come to home to your house to rub it on your kids ass for you….

Jen says:

July 15, 2007 at 9:48 am

I just wrote a blog about my kids’ diaper rashes and I am so thankful that no one ever suggested $100 cream. I don’t think it’s ever been so easy to sucker new parents. Ick.

mommy the maid says:

July 15, 2007 at 10:15 pm

That is insane!! I make my own diaper rash cream with Aquahor and Maloxx so I think I could figure out the $100 concoction myself.

Silvia says:

July 20, 2007 at 9:12 am

Omg! My girlfriend just told me her daughter was needing this 100 dollar cream! I almost fell off the chair….almost deleted a site i was working on!

I said “there HAS to be a recipe for it!” she sent me the lovely “Vusion” site…aww…how cute. 3 butts….with a recipe on the left right under the stupid logo!

I was thinking “OMG!”….hello! those are just regular creams mixed to a perfect percentage.

I found your site with the ol’ Google by searching under:

“make your own vusion diaper cream”…

guess what? You were the FIRST hit!

You ROCK mommy! Totally rock!

California-Mommy to Carisa
North Carolina-Mommy to Jordan and Kaitlyn!

Blue Momma says:

July 21, 2007 at 10:44 pm

One word – Resinol. Best stuff ever. Its cheap and works wonders.

It’s usually kept behind the counter, so you have to ask for it, but no prescription is required.

Even works on brothers in law who get a little out of hand with the bengay!!!

anna bray says:

May 24, 2008 at 11:07 am

actually the diaper cream cost–$257.83–thats without any insurance at all!!! and yes–it has 3 main ingredients that u could possibly make urself if givin the right opportunity!! lol–but thank god i only had to pay $10– for it!! other than that–i would not have gotten it!!

Melissa says:

July 13, 2008 at 10:26 am

Monistat used to make a diaper rash cream and it was expensive and my doctor told me to just get some OTC generic Vaginal Monistat for my kids. I got a few strange looks intially from my Mother Inlaw. Then her daughter had 6 kids bada-boom-bada-bang and money was tight for them and I seen the old generic dollar store brand vaginal cream on the changing table! You could essentially buy all these products at Dollar General and make a large amount of it for around 10 bucks! No office call, no waiting for a prescription to be filled and a happy baby sooner! I would probably skip the heavy sticky creams and just use the Monistat Those other things tend to “gunk” up the baby and its hard to wash off. I know thats the point of those creams they don’t rub off but is the risk worth the benefit?

Sherry says:

November 1, 2008 at 1:08 am

I just picked up the prescription from the pharmacy and the price was 261.99 My son’s doctor gave me a card that Barrier Therapeutics gave out to them.My co-pay was $90 ,but the card only charged me a $10 co-pay.

Glorygirl says:

November 16, 2008 at 11:52 pm

Here’s the Percentages for the mixture…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Vusion (0.25% miconazole nitrate, 15% zinc oxide and 81.35% white petrolatum) Ointment for the treatment of diaper dermatitis complicated by candidiasis (DDCC) in infants 4 weeks and older.

So, it’s comprised of mostly Petroleum Jelly? lol. niccceeeee…

anna says:

January 15, 2009 at 1:05 pm

I can’t believe what i am reading… i also got this prescribed for my son’s rash and was told that it was $280.
so i called up my benefits and with them it is 40 + 50 deductable… so i am about to dish out $90!!! tonight!!!
I tried switching his food/dipers/wipes and used balmex – did’t work.. so i guess i will get the damn thing in hopes that it will work like a “million bucks” miricle…
it better!

Anna

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