penis hurting & discharge

[daisymama12]

I'm not sure if this is the right forum, bc I'm not sure if this is relating to being non-circumcised or something else.
My son is 8 - almost 9. He says his penis hurts when he squeezes it. It looks a bit red all over, but most surprising to me is that there was a tiny bit of white discharge at the tip.
He said he thinks it's because he got hit by the soccer ball in his privates, but I asked him if he kept playing and he said yes, so I figure it couldn't have been that hard, plus I don't think that would cause discharge, would it?
I'm figuring it's an infection, and the discharge makes me think of yeast, but I have no idea. I have a call in with the pediatrician, but I find she's quick to diagnose antibiotics, and she pulled him back once - I'll make sure that doesn't happen today!

I'm wondering if anyone had any idea what this might be?
He's in school, the pain isn't there if he's not touching it, and it doesn't hurt him to pee, no fever...

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Sounds like he is going through the separation process check out this thread and see if anything rings a bell http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=764732

[Quirky]

I wouldn't think it's an infection -- white discharge is probably just smegma. Perhaps he's having some separation irritation, perhaps he just got bonked harder than he realized with the soccer ball, maybe the laundry detergent is leaving residue behind, maybe he grabbed it a bit too vigorously.....

Penises really don't get infections very often. The best thing to do is just leave it alone for a day or two -- maybe give him a warm bath with baking soda -- but odds are very good in a day or two it will be back to normal.

[daisymama12]

Thanks for the info so far, I read through the article, thanks for the link. I've read it before, good to review. He's been ballooning for years, so I've gotten used to that. He & my younger DS have had redness before, which goes away with a few baths with baking soda.

The thing that concerns me that I haven't seen before is the white discharge. It's coming out of the tip, where the urine comes from. Is that where smegma comes from? I really should know this basic stuff.

I hesitate to leave it as we are heading into the weekend, and don't want to have to visit a walk-in clinic. I'd rather have a prescription & not use it than be stuck, kwim?

[glongley]

"Discharge" could mean a lot of things. Smegma is the shed cells that accumulate underneath as the foreskin separates from the glans. You might not ever see any smegma, or it may come out in little crumbs or clumps of whitish cheesy material, and I believe some mothers have reported being in some cases more liquidy and having variable colors (depending on the skin color). It is usually odorless, but can smell a little funky sometimes if its been in there for a while, although this is harmless. Smegma is commonly mistaken for pus, however on the other hand, other types of discharge could indicate infection or tissue damage underneath. Since he's having some soreness there, I'd keep an eye on it. Do frequent warm tub soaks or sitz baths to bring in circulation. If it gets worse, or he has other symptoms like fever, certainly have it checked out by a doctor.

Why do these things always have to come up on a Friday??

Gillian

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Smegma often mixes with urine and comes out the tip in the form of a watery looking discharge. Do you know if he is retractable yet? Does he retract to wash? Not that he needs to just to get more detail.

[daisymama12]

No, he doesn't fully retract yet, I don't think. I actually haven't looked at his penis closely for a while now. When he showed it to me, he pulled back a bit to show me the tip, which is when we saw the white discharge at the tip. I noticed it retracts a bit more than before, but it still seems kind of tight. Then again, I don't have much to compare it to...

And he's still ballooning, which I understand from reading here is still ok, right?

He pulls back a bit to wash, but I've recently read that it's not necessary. Confusing!

[eepster]

Sounds like smegma. When My DS started to separate I found spots in his underwear that I wasn't sure if they were smegma or ice cream (he started early around 2 3/4 or 3 yo IIRC.)

If it hurts when he squeezes it, there is a really simple fix for that...


Tell him not to squeeze it .

Seriously though, I would just take a wait and see approach.

[daisymama12]

We are waiting and seeing

The ped. said to wait and see, too.
He's in the bath as I type, w/baking soda. It's still red, but no worse.
He's really old for separating, isn't he? I know he doesn't play with it very much, I wonder if that has something to do with it.

[Fellow Traveler]

Originally Posted by daisymama12

We are waiting and seeing

The ped. said to wait and see, too.
He's in the bath as I type, w/baking soda. It's still red, but no worse.
He's really old for separating, isn't he? I know he doesn't play with it very much, I wonder if that has something to do with it.

Not really, it can occur at any age. I think the wait and see approach is fine too.

[MyBoysBlue]

I wouldn't say he is old. The average age for complete separation and retractablity is 10 years old so there will be some boys who experience these things younger and older. Some boys never have any kinda trauma at all. My 8 year old didn't experience any discharge or swelling but my 3 year old has. I can tell he has some separation because he started balloning afterwards.

[KGB]

Originally Posted by daisymama12

He's really old for separating, isn't he?

I've heard that it normally separates fully at puberty. I don't know when mine separated, but I never fully retracted it until I was around 12yo.

[eepster]

Originally Posted by daisymama12

He's really old for separating, isn't he? I know he doesn't play with it very much, I wonder if that has something to do with it.

There is a wide range of normal. Some babies are even born retractable, though that's very rare. Also it isn't always an overnight thing, but can happen gradually.

Since your DS has been ballooning, he has been partially separated. The ballooning occurs b/c of partial separation. What happens is the separated parts of the foreskin fill with urine, but the tip/opening is still small and/or attached letting the pee out slowly.

[daisymama12]

Thanks for all the great information!

My DS has been ballooning for years. It doesn't relate to this event only. Since it doesn't hurt him, and it resolves as soon as some of the urine comes out, I figured it was fine.

He took another bath this morning, and everything looks the same or a little better, and no discharge, so I think we're headed in the right direction

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Ballooning is a normal part of development for some boys so yes it is normal. It is also normal for it to come and go for many years before full retraction happens.