Feeling Confused About Conflicting Dr. Statements - DS penis blisters

[not_telling]

Sorry so long...


At DS's 9 month WBV our ped saw him scratch at a spot an inch or so above his penis and asked if he scratches there a lot. It was a red spot that I believe to be a scratch from one of his fingernails. It had been there a while - over a month - which I attributed to it being in the area that's always covered by a diaper. Ped said she thought it was yeast and prescribed Nystatin. We didn't actually start using it until about two weeks later, and in the interim the red spot seemed to get better...although DS still scratched at it during diaper changes. I read about yeast and how it can be persistent so we decided to go ahead and use the Nystatin anyway. Probably our first mistake.

Over the next couple months we used the Nystatin off and on. We also noticed that DS started to get these little blister type things on his penis. We would use the Nystatin or our regular diaper cream and they would seem to clear up for a while, then come back, then clear up, then come back, etc.

About a month ago the blister things seemed to start to get worse - there were more of them, they weren't really going away. We had stopped using Nystatin by then. I tried using GSE in the wipes solution and sometimes when we washed the diapers. By last week things just looked yucko, so I took him to the Dr's. Because it was a same-day visit, we ended up seeing another Dr. in the practice. He looked at the blisters/pustules on DS's penis and scrotum and said definitely not yeast. He decided to culture for bacterial and viral infections. He said he was pretty sure it was viral, by the look of the pustules (he thought maybe molluscsum contagium...or maybe herpes 1). In the meantime, he prescribed Bactroban and Lotrimin. A couple days ago we started the Bactroban, but not the Lotrimin because, as someone here on MDC pointed out, if it's not yeast, why use an antifungal?

Today (after 4 applications of Bactroban) I thought maybe DS was looking a little better...or, at least, different. Some of the blister things were looking kinda honey brown and scabby. They've never looked this way before.

Today was out scheduled 12 month WBV. Saw our regular ped. The results of the bacterial culture showed standard skin flora and e. coli. Ped said e. coli to be expected because of proximity to poop. The viral results, unfortunately, were not back yet. Our regular ped said she doubted it was viral. She thought bacterial and she seemed to stand behind her initial idea that there was yeast (which I'm really doubting) and that maybe yeast, combined with very little nakey time allowed some bacteria to flourish and cause the blisters. I said, "But, if he has also the kinds of bacteria that other babies have down there, how come this isn't happening to other babies?" She went back to the wet diaper/"petri dish" idea. Then she started talking about it probably being impetigo. Well, I looked up impetigo and it said it was staph and staph was one of the bacterias we were specifically culturing for (I thought, since not-our-usual-ped and I talked about it) - and our ped didn't say anything about excess staph. She said keep on with the Bactroban and do as much nakey time as possible. And we're still waitig to hear about the viral results.

So I have one doc guessing probably viral. I have another saying probably bacterial. I have a bacterial culture that looks "normal." I have a missing viral culture. I guess we'll continue with the Bactroban this week... but I'd like to use some more natural remedies, too...

But I have no idea what I'm trying to remedy!!

[desertpenguin]

my first thought was MRSA as a friend of mine, her dd had MRSA on her bottom and she said it looked like a huge blister. if you're having skin issues though, it sounds like your ds may really have dysbiosis so getting him on kefir would be a good idea. if your gut is not in balance, your skin won't be either which can definitely lead to overgrowth of things like e. coli on the skin, etc. i would try turmeric made into a paste with raw honey or water, and possibly some coconut oil added in too if coconut is not contraindicated because of allergies. raw acv might be helpful too but i would think it would sting. so either raw acv or baking soda in the bath water. make sure you are really getting the cloth diapers rinsed entirely when they're being washed. when i don't get ds2's diapers rinsed well enough or leave him in the same diaper for too long he'll get pimply red bumps.

[SquishyKitty]

I second the tepid baking soda mixed with bathwater. If nothing else, it will help to dry it out. Also, lots of nakey time.

However, until you know for certain what it is, definitely make sure you bleach the bath tub and anything else he sits on naked until you know it isn't contagious. If it is MRSA, you don't want to spread it around to the rest of the family.

[michelle0077]

not_telling: what was the end result? i'm facing this issue now. thanks!

[sbgrace]

Your description and location is consistent with staph in my experience. I know when my son had clear strep in his underwear area (he was older) the doctor did culture but she told me that it was very difficult to get a good culture from those areas because they were often heavy with e. coli and other stuff. I also remember when my son had staph on his face the doctor cultured and told me that she likely wouldn't get a good culture because she wasn't willing to dig around and hurt him. My point is that I think the culture/lack of findings doesn't necessarily rule out bacterial, the description sounds like staph, and he appears to be responding to bactroban (bacterial infections including staph will do that...viruses and yeast won't). I'd keep using the bactroban personally and treat this like bacterial (switch to disposables if using cloth and boil or bleach the cloth if you can or at least wash in very hot water and dry on hot, be careful with baths and wash towels after every use..treat it all as contagious both to others and spreading it back to himself).