separation or yeast?

[attached2mason]

My 4.5 yo DS' foreskin has been red for about a month now. For a while I thought it was just a little irritated (sometimes he waits too long to go pee and a drop or two ends up in his undies - I thought that might be why). I kept asking him if it hurt and he said no so I didn't worry about it. A few weeks back I noticed that the part of his scrotum where the foreskin rests is also red. He was at my dad's and having a bath and he complained that it hurt so my step mom put some lotion on it (eek!). Two days later we took him to the dr and he was diagnosed as having yeast. We started putting nystatin cream on it which tamed it a little but didn't clear it up (big surprise . . .didn't work for nursing thrush either). We started him on a probiotic at the same time. Around the same time we also noticed that he was 'balooning' when he peed. After a few days of the nystatin it was balooning even more and the hole was much smaller (i.e. the opening in the foreskin that allows pee to flow out). We stopped the nystatin shortly after thinking it was maybe clogging things up or something.

Something I am very worried about is that the first few times I put the nystatin on I pulled back his foreskin a tiny bit - not nearly enough to expose the glands (he has lots of foreskin, it overhangs his penis a fair bit) but just enough to get a little in the foreskin opening where i thought the yeast might be living. I now know this was NOT the right thing to do - have I done irrepairable damage?!? I'm so worried (which would explain why I am so rambly).

Our treatment plan now is to use Dr Jay Gordon's yeast rash spray recipe (10 drops of grapefruit seed extract per ounce of water) along with stronger probiotics from our naturopath. We will also buy new underwear for him once the yeast is cleared (and wash the ones he wears now in very hot water with GSE).

So . . . my questions . . .

- should I continue to assume this is yeast? Or might it also be partly separation (given the ballooning)?
- have I done damage by retracting it slightly? He did say it hurt when I did it (and I stopped immediately and promised to never do it again)
- does our treatment plan sound appropriate? It works well for nipple/mouth yeast but I have never known anyone who used it for yeast for a child out of diapers

Help!!! We have done SO much reading on foreskin this week (thanks to nocirc.org!) and feel much better equipped than before. I am a bit scared, still, to take him to a Dr about this though ...

Thanks so much in advance!

[tutucrazy]

Sounds like you are on the right track. We have dealt with internal yeast and butt yeast. From my experience and research, Nystatin simply does not work!

I gave my son a round of oral diflucan, which worked like a charm. He was in diapers so I didn't have to worry about underwear, but I did have to worry about my bras b/c I was nursing. I hung my bras in sunlight after rinsing in vinegar. The GSE you are using should work great to kill the yeast but I would also recommend hanging his underwear in the sunlight just to be sure. I also had to use a GSE solution on my nipples. That stuff works great!

It is normal for there to be some swelling as a result of the yeast which would narrow the opening of the foreskin. My son experienced this when he had yeast. The creams to treat the yeast tend to irritate the foreskin even more than it already is from the yeast, which is why I recommend skipping straight to oral diflucan.

My son also balloons and has done so for a long time. His penis always appears red during and after ballooning b/c the skin stretches and the veins give a red appearance. The very tip of my son's foreskin usually stays red for a little while after urinating to. This is pretty normal. If your son's tip seems very red or peely then he might still have yeast. In any case a round of oral diflucan can't hurt him.

Keep with the probiotics! Those are great for the body even if he doesn't have an actual yeast infection.

[tutucrazy]

By the way, the oral Diflucan comes in a 40mg/ml dosage. You will give 6mg per kg (weight) on the first day. Then, 3mg per kg (weight) for the following 6 days.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

A helpful link here http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=764732

Ballooning in case you are not aware is normal and is part of the process of seperation for some boys.

[attached2mason]

Thanks tutucrazy! I have used diflucan myself to treat systemic yeast when he was just a few months old but am a little leery about using it on him first off since it can be hard on the tummy. If it isn't cleared up by next week, though, I may go get a script (although dr's around here hate rx'ing it, they always go for the nystatin ).

Originally Posted by MCatLvrMom2A&X

A helpful link here http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=764732

Ballooning in case you are not aware is normal and is part of the process of seperation for some boys.

Yup, that is what I had read which made me wonder if this was yeast at all. The redness on the scrotum likely means it is, though, I suppose.

[tutucrazy]

Originally Posted by attached2mason

Thanks tutucrazy! I have used diflucan myself to treat systemic yeast when he was just a few months old but am a little leery about using it on him first off since it can be hard on the tummy. If it isn't cleared up by next week, though, I may go get a script (although dr's around here hate rx'ing it, they always go for the nystatin ).




Yup, that is what I had read which made me wonder if this was yeast at all. The redness on the scrotum likely means it is, though, I suppose.

I wanted to tell you that sometimes my son's scrotum is red where the urine has been sitting on it.

My doc tried the nystatin first and after it (yeast) came back not even a month later I insisted on the diflucan. Yes, it can be harder on the tummy but then again it works well and the tummy goes back to normal pretty quick, especially if you are using probiotics.

Hard to say whether this is really yeast or just normal separation. If you want a def. answer you can always have them culture the tip. All they have to do is swab over the tip of his penis. If there is any yeast it will be present on the tip. Make sure you tell them NO manipulation!