I was told you could help me

[SGS]

This is my first post here. I was directed here by a friend who said you may be able to help me. DS is 16 months old. He's currently on antibiotics for a raging ear infection (bloody puss coming from both ears in copious amounts).

In any case I just just changed his diaper and the tip of his penis looked red and a little crusty. I looked closer and it looks like his foreskin has pulled back from his glans a little (about 1/4-1/2 inch) and it is too tight maybe? I know it's swollen at the tip. Is this something to worry about? Am I freaking out over nothing? He's been very fussy the past few days and now I can't tell if it's ears or penis or what anymore. I know he pulls on it as soon as his diaper is off and it seems a lot more elastic than his circed brother. Could he have done damage yanking? No one else has touched it. Not even his doctor.

Thanks in advance.

[Quirky]

Well, with antibiotics, my first thought is yeast. Boys are prone to yeast while on abx just the same as women are. You could try putting a little plain, unsweetened yogurt on it, or a little anti-yeast cream like Monistat and see if that helps. There's no relation to the ear infection though -- it's either yeast or it's just coincidental separation irritation.

I hope he's feeling better soon! Feeding him lots of yogurt wouldn't be a bad idea either to help his gut heal from the abx.

[kiara7]

You could also give him a good probiotic supplement. Not at the same time as the abx, a few hours later.

[PuppyFluffer]

wiggly baby in arms, pardon the short post.

my doctor mentioned that about 1/4 to 1/3 of the yeast out there is resistant to Monistat. Just an FYI. I know there are other anti fungals out there - lotrimin comes to mind. I don't know the safety of use on genital tissue so that would need to be looked into.

Yogurt is certainly safe.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Abx always make me think of yeast. I would ask the Dr. for some nystatin for his diaper area to treat the yeast there. If it is yeast then it will get better pretty fast.

The OTC yeast cream seems to work really well but since he is still on the abx I would get the nystatin since it is stronger.

[Papai]

I got a yeast infection from being on antibiotics so it's totally possible. Especially if the antibiotics are very broad.

I used Lotrimin and it cleared it up. But I'm a grown man, don't know if it's recommended for infants.

[eepster]

Just one thing to add, pull his forskin back down so he has full coverage. don't leave it retracted.

[SGS]

It's not yeast (yet). I'm familiar w/ that since it's one of the most common ailments I deal w/ as a LC. He's also my third and I've dealt with yeasty bum on them as well. I do have both lotramin and monostat on hand though just in case.

(I've used both on infants before as per drs. orders)

Thanks for the thoughts though. I will pull his foreskin back over his glans. I was afraid to touch it.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Have you read this thread http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=764732 it has some tips on there about how to deal with mild irritation.

Since you dont think it is yeast maybe bacterial.

Any time the foreskin is retracted even a small amount it should be put back since it can get stuck and cause some pretty major issues.

Just curious but have your other boys, if you have them had yeast on the penis? Because it looks different on boys and girls if the rest of the bumm is not involved.

[SGS]

My first son had yeast on his penis. So I'm familiar there.

It sounds silly but it honestly looks like my dog's did from when I was a kid, just not as pronounced. His penis would protrude out of the foreskin (is that the protective sheath on a dog too?) and become swollen, red and moist looking and be unable to go back in. His required surgery, but DS is no where near as pronounced as the dog. I know that sounds insane comparing his genitals w/ an animal, but that's the closest thing I can state that it looks like.

I didn't get a chance to check it this morning before I left for class, but I called the baby sitter en route and asked her to check. She said it looked normal to her so maybe it self resolved? I'll check when I pick him up later.

Thanks for the help. I know it's random to have a new poster jump on here and ask questions galore.

ETA: I forgot to mention, we do give probiotics when they are on antibiotics. My fridge is stocked w/ babydophilus and prima dophilus as well as some capsules for mom and dad.

[Yulia_R]

Originally Posted by kiara7

You could also give him a good probiotic supplement. Not at the same time as the abx, a few hours later.

Yep, good brand probiotic is a MUST during and few months after antibiotics. Both, our very holistic pediatrician and very holistic family doctor told me I should be giving my kids at least 20 billions a day (strength of a probiotic). I just open the capsules and mix it with a yogurt.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

I hope it is better and was just a transient thing. It could be something as simple as dry skin. A good barrier cream would help that.

[SGS]

I just picked up the baby from daycare and examined the goods.

It is no longer swollen and seems to be covering the glans now. Though on examining it there still is a crusty patch in a line shape almost like a cut that never dries out. It looks like it is at the opening of the urethra. It also looks like the foreskin is completely attached on the anterior end but possibly retractable at the posterior end. I didn't want to mess with it too much so I didn't tug or anything on it just looked and tried to shift the foreskin up over the glans some more.

I'm wondering now if he scratched himself and it was just swollen from the irritation?

[robertandenith]

my son yanks his penis all the time so that's not a problem. Do you have a daughter? Do the same care you do for your daughter to your son. Antibiotics will do the same effect to girls and boys, both creates yeast infections. Add probiotics to her diet daily.

[SGS]

Why would I treat her for a yeast infection if she has none? Color me confused for a moment, but what does my 8 year old daughters genitals have to do with my son's irritated penis?

I'm not adverse to probiotics. Yogurt is a common theme here, but *if* he has a yeast infection requiring treatment with an antifungal why would I treat her when she has no symptoms?

Actually, I almost 100% positive it isn't yeast anyway, so what we are doing currently by giving probiotics in addition to antibiotics should suffice for now. I'm just not sure what this sore looking thing is at his urethra. It's not yeast looking in the slightest. It does look sore though.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

It is very possible that he scrated himself and caused a bit of a infection. You can try dabing some bacatracin on there to help it heal. It wont hurt and it may help if it is just chaped. Tugging and pulling can cause irritation as well because it helps the seperation process but it can make things a bit sore. Did you get a chance to look over the link I put up before?

I think what robertandenith was saying was you would treat your ds the same as your dd and made a bit of a typo there should say add the probiotics to his diet daily instead of her.

[SGS]

Oh o.k. I was envisioning her freaking out over me telling her to drop her panties so I could put some lotramin on her bits lol.

Of to read the link now. I'm in finals week at school so I'm a tad distracted.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Good luck with your finals :

If there was a bacterial infection there or even yeast it would get bad fast with major swelling so I am hoping you are just dealing with some chapping or irritaion. :fingerx:

[dancindoula]

I'm wondering if it's not just a bit of smegma pearling out the tip? If he's tugging on it then it may have started to retract slightly, built up a bit of smegma, then released along with a bit of irritation from the separation. If that's the case, it's totally transient and not something to worry about because he won't pull on his own penis hard enough to damage it, and that kind of separation/buildup is a natural part of the retraction process.

[tutucrazy]

Originally Posted by SGS

It's not yeast (yet). I'm familiar w/ that since it's one of the most common ailments I deal w/ as a LC. He's also my third and I've dealt with yeasty bum on them as well. I do have both lotramin and monostat on hand though just in case.

(I've used both on infants before as per drs. orders)

Thanks for the thoughts though. I will pull his foreskin back over his glans. I was afraid to touch it.

Yeast can appear in many ways so what you might be accustomed to seeing might not be the same for the foreskin. The swelling, crusting, and antibiotic use really tips me off that it is probably yeast. Since he is already on ABX it is NOT bacterial. Bacterial infections are pretty rare anyway.

Please take a moment to read my thread on Intact Care where I specifically address ABX usage and yeast treatment. In my son's case he had to use diflucan for his yeast b/c the nystatin did not work. Yeast can be very difficult. If you cloth diaper you need to strip diapers and hang them in sunlight. Only use sposies until this clears up. Yogurt is great yeast prevention but it isn't high enough in cultures to prevent/treat yeast during ABX use

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...893&highlight=

It could be normal separation symptoms but you should know that sometimes the swelling from yeast can cause some secondary separation symptoms. If he has a little swelling then urine can pass under foreskin aiding in the separation of the foreskin from the glans. This is nothing to worry about but I wanted to tell you that I commonly see boys show symptoms of separation in conjunction with swelling from yeast. Swelling is also a symptom of separation so he might not have any yeast but given that he has been on ABX it is very likely.