Swollen Painful Uncirc Penis

[mia_jean]

I'm trying to decide if I should take my 3 yr old son to the walk in clinic today or if I should wait.It looks like his penis is swollen lopsided toward the top, though he is saying it hurts more at the base. He says it hurts when he touches it . I obviously haven't tried to retract his foreskin so I'm not sure what's going on under there. There is no discharge and nothing looks really red. It doesn't seem to hurt him when he pees. It really just looks suspicous and obviously is causing him some degree of pain. I believe it started Thursday; he started saying it hurt but I didn't notice anything wrong. By Saturday I could tell something was up. He has been taking a lot of baths lately, including jumping into the bath with me or my husband. My husband uses alot of shampoo as he thinks it's also a body wash (silly). My son also spends most of the day with out pants or underwear on(he won't keep them on) and is pretty active....he's been practicing jumping off the couch and doing sommersaults. Maybe it's bruised?

[Fellow Traveler]

I am at a bit of a loss to be honest. You've done most of the things we might recommend. Some boys at your sons age will go through a stage were the foreskin is separating form the glans and for some it can cause discomfort including redness, swelling, and discharge among other things. It's a growing pain like teething and for most the symptoms, if they do occur, disappear with in 48 hours or so. If this is the problem (separation) one thing you might want to try is to add some baking soda to the bath that has been known to help. I am also wondering (in the back of my head) could it be a yeast infection? If so something like Monestat I believe works well. Just some ideas.

[mia_jean]

It just seems to be getting worse so I ended up calling an on call doctor, who suggested some hydrocortisone and a cool cloth, then coming in tomorrow. He threw out that he might have to be circumcised, that 20%-30% of men medically need circumcision. Ugh.

[Treece]

Maybe talk to DH about the shampoo thing and ask him to at least limit ds's exposure for a little while. COuld one of those female testing strips help to determine if it is yeast as a PP suggested?

Also, maybe don't take him to that doc sounds a little circ happy to me.

[Fellow Traveler]

Originally Posted by mia_jean

It just seems to be getting worse so I ended up calling an on call doctor, who suggested some hydrocortisone and a cool cloth, then coming in tomorrow. He threw out that he might have to be circumcised, that 20%-30% of men medically need circumcision. Ugh.

That rate is far too high, only in America. I would be very cautious with the Dr. if he intends on prescribing anti-biotics, insist on a culture to determine whether it is actually an infection again it could also be yeast in which case ABX would make it worse. Please let us know how it goes, hopefully someone can ad more for you.

[beru]

If a doctor said that to me over the phone I would have immediately asked if there was another doctor in the practice that I could see. To suggest amputation for problem he hasn't even seen yet is absurd! I wish you had asked, "If I had called to tell you that my girl's genitals were swollen, would you warn me that her labia might need to be amputated.?"

Where do you live? Maybe someone here can recommend a doctor who is not completely insane.

[Fellow Traveler]

You might want to give Marilyn at NOCIRC a call just to see if she can provide some more concrete ideas. She might also be able to provide you with a local referral if you don't like the approach of your current doctor. I've looked through the list I have but don't have anyone identified in Iowa.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Have you seen this thread? http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=764732

It is possible that normal seperation has allowed bacteria to enter ie fingers going in there. So if it where me what I would do is go get some OTC yeast medication like 7 days monistate try that for 24 hours if it dosnt show big improvment switch to OTC bacatracin and see if it improves.

Now if you could get in to see a Dr. that actually knew what he was talking about then by all means go in and get a culture done to see what is growing. But I would NOT risk taking him to a foreskin ignorent one like the one you spoke to.

[kiara7]

You can give him some good probiotics in case it is yeast. In any case, it's not going to hurt anything, and could help if it is yeast (helps girls).

[mia_jean]

Thanks for the replies. I ended up soaking again with epson salt and then putting hydrocortisone on. It looks much better this morning and he's not complaining about it. I'm going to keep an eye on it and I will add some probiotics back into his diet.
Somedays I take all the things that motherhood throws at me in stride and other days I crumble......unfortunately this one hit me on a crumbling day. You know, those times where it's hard to keep a clear head and make rational non knee jerk decisions. Like taking my son to the ER because his penis is swollen..which I almost did it. Luckily the ER was incredibly full when we walked in with very sick people(thus the emergency part!). Who knows what would have happened if we had stayed....though I'm guessing it would have involved a lot of talk about circumcision!

[latinalonestar]

Originally Posted by mia_jean

It just seems to be getting worse so I ended up calling an on call doctor, who suggested some hydrocortisone and a cool cloth, then coming in tomorrow. He threw out that he might have to be circumcised, that 20%-30% of men medically need circumcision. Ugh.

NO, NO, NO!!! It never ceases to amaze me how American doctors seem to think that foreskins need to be lopped off for every little reason. THE ONLY MEDICAL REASONS FOR CIRCUMCISION INCLUDE: FROSTBITE, MALIGNANCY, GANGRENE, OR SERIOUS TRAUMA!!! That is IT!!!!! Funny how it is only american foreskins that have these "problems" (sarcastic tone). Here is some reading about this:
http://www.nocirc.org/publish/pamphlet7.html

You clearly don't have an intact educated ped. Sorry to tell you this but you will either have to take the reins and educate this doc or move on to one that is familiar with the intact boy (which can be hard to find).

Please read and keep this article on hand to protect your son:
http://www.mothering.com/articles/ne...uncircson.html

This is my opinion about what is happening. I suspect that your son is either:
1. Having normal separation trauma. You say he is taking a lot of baths which might be aiding/speeding up the separation phase. My son separated all at once and it was quite painful and there was a great deal of swelling, pain, and redness. Don't confuse separation with retraction. A boy can separate and still not be retractable b/c the opening has to widen for retraction to become possible. For example, my son's foreskin is fully separated but he is not retractable b/c the opening is still very narrow. This results in ballooning when my ds urinates, which is a normal phase. I believe that my son's separation was more uncomfortable than many other boy's experiences due to the fact that his was so sudden. This is about separation:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions....php?t=764732?

2. Your son could be irritated from all the soaps. Never let your son (or daughter for that matter) sit in soaps/shampoos. These products irritate the genitals and can cause a flora or bacterial imbalance. When there is an imbalance it can result in either a bacterial or yeast infection. The above thread also discusses yeast and bacterial infections. Bacterial infections are rare but yeast can happen after a round of antibiotics, due to use of soaps, or even due to moist environments. (just as they occur in women) Bathe him in water only and clean him with a mild shampoo (I use Avalon Organics Baby) at the end of his bath so he isn't siting in soaps. Also be sure to rinse him well.

3. My best guess is that both #1 & #2 are happening simultaneously. When the glands are freshly separating they are extra sensitive to any irritants.

Keep us posted. We are happy to help. I'm very glad you didn't go to the ER. Forcible retraction and mistreatment of intact boys is the real fear. Everything else can be handled moderately just as you would with any other body part.

[mia_jean]

His penis seems to be all better. I think it may have been an irritation from to much soap. Thanks for all the advice!

[latinalonestar]

Originally Posted by mia_jean

His penis seems to be all better. I think it may have been an irritation from to much soap. Thanks for all the advice!

Glad to hear! This is what happens in 97% of cases.