9 month old, tip of penis is bleeding

[flower01]

My son is intact. He has a diaper rash this week and the tip of his penis has been a little red. I applied diaper cream to his bottom, but not penis. Rash is getting better, however i just took off his diaper and discovered the bleeding. I can't really tell exactly the point of bleeding, but baby is obviously in pain. I'm assuming he is just irritated from the rash? Anybody experience this? Any tips?

[tammyswanson]

Is the diaper rash on his foreskin? Has his foreskin ever been forcibly retracted by anyone? Does he have a fever or any other symptoms? Do you think it could just be from the irritation of the diaper rash and the diaper? Is it a lot of blood, or just a spot?
You may want to help clear up the rash by letting him go bare bum for awhile, not sure if you use cloth or disposables, but with DS we used cloth, but I would notice when we took him to grandmas (she'd use disposables) he would get bad rashes from those sometimes.

When DS did get a rash on his foreskin and penis, I would just gently dab the cream on it, but not put it inside the foreskin or anything. Maybe let him sit in a warm bath to help relieve the pain, then let him get all dried off and go bare butt for awhile?

If it was something serious like a kidney infection, that could also explain the bleeding, but there also may be fever associated with infection as well. Just a thought.

[glongley]

Sometimes diaper rashes can become extensive enough to erode the skin to the point of slight bleeding. And the foreskin can get diaper rash just as much as any other part of the diaper area. At least you know that the foreskin is doing its job - protecting the head of the penis and the urinary opening - otherwise the inflammation and erosion would be taking place there and possibly lead to ulceration or even scarring of the urinary opening ( a common complication of circumcision known as meatal stenosis).

Treat it like you would a severe diaper rash in any other part of the diaper area. Keep the area clean. You can have him soak in clean warm water several times a day, baking soda in the water can help neutralize the ammonia in the diaper area. Use only tap water wipes for cleaning the area, not commercial wipes, as they have perfumes, alcohol, etc. in them that can be irritating to the skin. Let him have naked time, where the skin is exposed to the air, and can dry out periodically. Finally, use a barrier cream on the clean skin everytime you re-diaper him, to keep the area from getting further irritated by preventing direct exposure to urine and feces. You should also consider what might be leading to the diaper rash in the first place. What has his skin been exposed to (detergent, bubble bath, chlorine in pools)? Could he be reacting to anything in your milk? Has he been eating a lot of sugar?

Hopefully others with experience with bad diaper rashes can add other suggestions.

Gillian