A little worried about son.

[Crunchy Frog]

My twin sons are five months old now, and one of them I've noticed that he tends to have a little redness and slight swelling at the tip. He never appears to be in any discomfort, and he pees just fine, but he kind of has this persistent look of a slight inflammation going on. It's been going on for a few weeks now. For obvious reasons, I don't want to bring it up with his doctor.

My worry is that if this becomes a chronic thing, that he could get scarring that would cause later problems.

Is this something I should be worried about? Is there anything I can do about it, other than what I'm already doing (baking soda baths, frequent diaper changes, naked time)? Is it possible that it could be yeast?

Thank you in advance for any help.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Sounds like he is just having a bit of diaper irritation to me. Probably just more sensitive to a wet diaper. Have you put barrier cream on it to see if that helps?

If it where yeast you would have seen it get worse by now. From your description it seems very mild so I wouldnt worry about scaring personally.

[BlessedMommy2006]

Sounds like his foreskin is doing it's job well. If he wasn't intact, his glans would be inflamed.

[calngavinsmom]

That happened to my guys as well. Penis' can get irritated just like butts. It always cleared up with just a dab of diaper cream(zinc) for us. If you have some you could try that or if you are bf, you could dab some bm on it. BM seems to cure all ills.

Good luck!
Tara

[glongley]

Don't worry about the "scarring" thing. That kind of thing is not going to happen from just a little diaper irritation.

Gillian

[Crunchy Frog]

Thanks guys! I'm just being a little bit of a hysterical new mom.

I tried a little dab of A&D ointment and it started looking much better right away.

Interestingly, I have quite a bit of experience in dealing with irritated little pee pees in baby squirrels, having done wildlife rehab, and A&D always worked really well with them for much worse. (When the lose their mom, they tend to suck on pee pees instead.)

I think in our society we're conditioned to see intact boys as having a ticking time bomb between their legs, no matter how much we understand intellectually.

[trmpetplaya]

Originally Posted by Crunchy Frog

I think in our society we're conditioned to see intact boys as having a ticking time bomb between their legs, no matter how much we understand intellectually.

I think you're absolutely right about that. If it was a girl or a circumcised boy, most people wouldn't think twice about a bit of redness in the foreskin area (clitoral hood for a girl or glans for a boy), but even doctors tend to overreact if an intact boy who wears diapers has some redness on his foreskin.

I'm so glad you feel better about it now and that the cream helped! :

[tutucrazy]

I just wanted to chime in and say that this is normal. My son had this frequently before we started elimination communication. Even now he gets red when his urine is very concentrated. The foreskin is doing it's job. You can put a tablespoon of baking soda in his bath water from time to time.

[Night_Nurse]

Originally Posted by Crunchy Frog

Interestingly, I have quite a bit of experience in dealing with irritated little pee pees in baby squirrels... (When the lose their mom, they tend to suck on pee pees instead.)

Nothing I've ever read on this forum has stopped me cold in my tracks like that statement. I never would have guessed something like that in a million years!
Anyway, I'm glad your son is doing better!

[eepster]

Originally Posted by trmpetplaya

If it was a girl or a circumcised boy, most people wouldn't think twice about a bit of redness in the foreskin area (clitoral hood for a girl or glans for a boy),

The odd thing about is, that a little diaper rash in that area is much more serious for circ'd boys, since they don't have the foreskin protecting the meatus (pee hole) and it can lead to meatal stenosis (narrowing of the pee hole.)

[Peppermint Poppies]

Originally Posted by Crunchy Frog

My twin sons are five months old now, and one of them I've noticed that he tends to have a little redness and slight swelling at the tip. He never appears to be in any discomfort, and he pees just fine, but he kind of has this persistent look of a slight inflammation going on.

My son is 26 months and still gets this from time to time. I do think it's related to diaper irritation (we're currently going through 2yo 'exerting their control' issues and don't change as frequently as we should) and it has always cleared up with a little time and TLC.

[robertandenith]

my girls AND boys get this, it is just a diaper irritation. It's normal in both genders. Use some baking soda on his bath, it will go away on it's own.

[PuppyFluffer]

Originally Posted by Night_Nurse

Nothing I've ever read on this forum has stopped me cold in my tracks like that statement. I never would have guessed something like that in a million years!
Anyway, I'm glad your son is doing better!

It happens with kittens too! They have a suckling instinct and when the mother dies, the litter crawls around on each other and tries to nurse on each other. Sometimes they will latch on to an ear or sometimes the genitals of a litter mate.

The odd little things you never have reason to know unless you do the work! LOL

[Crunchy Frog]

Originally Posted by Night_Nurse

Nothing I've ever read on this forum has stopped me cold in my tracks like that statement. I never would have guessed something like that in a million years!
Anyway, I'm glad your son is doing better!

Yes, you'd be amazed at how bad those little pee pees can look. Sometimes it becomes an almost unbreakable habit, and they get completely scabbed over so they can't even pee. I once had to make a tiny elizabethan collar for one little guy who wouldn't quit, cuz I thought it was going to fall off. They always seemed to make a full recovery, though I don't know what their future sex lives were like.

Anyway, DS is looking way better after a few days of the barrier cream. Thanks again.