constant redness/infection/yeast/? - remind me why we didn't circ.

[kcparker]

My 3 1/2 year old seems to have a foreskin that is red, swollen, and/or blistered looking more often than it looks what I would call normal. This is driving me nuts - we have taken him to the doc. twice and been told once that it was bacterial, once yeast (and to use vaginal yeast infection cream on it). He wears cotton undies and loose fitting pants during the day (it's too cold to go bottomless now, even in the house), a clean pocket diaper at night, we pee him at midnight, change the diaper if it's wet at all, have him soaking in a sitz bath every morning, clean his penis when he has an accident, and generally try to keep him as clean as we can. His foreskin looks gross, like it's trying to be an extra in a zombie movie right now, with dead skin, leathery bits that looked like blisters yesterday, a little bit of fiber from his undies stuck on it when I cleaned him after he peed his pants, and redness. I am really distraught by this because I feel like we did him NO favor by keeping his foreskin, and I am wondering what we are doing wrong. Nobody else seems to deal with this. This latest bout I suspect might have been from one day last week when he peed his pants like 5 or 6 times (this also drives me bananas, but that's another post). Do we make him take a full sitz bath after every accident? I am concerned that he's going to end up with scar tissue or worse (circing) if we don't get this situation under control soon. Plus, it makes me feel like a candidate for the Crappiest Parent on the Block award.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Some questions. When you give him a bath do you use soap? Does he have issues other than on his foreskin like eczema or dry skin? How long did the treatment with the cream last? It is possible that it didnt last long enough to totally get ride of the yeast. Have you stripped his diapers, they can hold the yeast causing it to come back. When you clean him after an accident do you just use plan water? Keep in mind that overcleaning can cause problems as well with dry skin which can let in bacteria.

If he didnt have his foreskin then you would be dealing with this on his glans probably which would lead to meatel stenosis of the urethral opening.

[Lauren82]

It sounds like over cleaning and the yeast may still be there. I would try the yeast cream again and lay off the cleaning. Just rinse it with water. Baby wipes (if you use them) are probably irritating the skin too. When my ds was little, my pro intact ped told me to not even bother to use a wipe on him if he peed. The kid never ever had a diaper rash. I also 2nd the advice about stripping the dipes.

[EarthRootsStarSoul]

Increase his vitamin C intake to strengthen the mucous membranes.  I used to get YI all the time until I started taking mega doses of vitamin C. 

[eepster]

Are these accidents pee or poopy accidents?  If they are poopy, there may be something in the poop that is irritating him (which may also be causing the accidents to begin with.)  Do these accidents happen in the car?  The crotch belt of the car seat would press his wet clothing against his penis.

I agree, it sounds like you are over cleaning.  Just wash him with plain water, no soap, no bubble bath.  Never ever try to retract.

Burt's Bees make a very soothing diaper cream that DS has continued to use sometimes long after he's been out of diapers.  

If you'd had him circ'd as a baby, then he would have had all this irritation happening to the exposed glans.  It is very likely that he would have suffered meatal stenosis and/or meatal ulcers.  Your DS's foreskin is doing what a toddlers foreskin is meant to do; it is protecting his delicate meatus (pee hole) from damage.  10% of circ'd toddlers suffer meatal stenosis, but it is unheard of in intact boys.  These discomfort he is having are very minor compared to the discomfort from having meatal stenosis.

[Dev]

Hang in there kcparker, my thoughts are with you. Your son’s condition is treatable without a circumcision. He is having a reaction to something and I guess a reoccurring yeast infection or irritation from soaps and over cleaning, his ph or good bacteria is out of balance. Find a pro-intact doctor in your area.  Call the following organization and ask for advice & reassurance: www.nocirc.org. (415-488-9883 - ask for Marilyn Milos, RN).

Above all, don’t question yourself about keeping your son intact!  Your son is very fortunate to have you to protect him. Remember we live in a male circ. Culture where parents and docs. give numerous rationales and reasons to circ. If your 3 yr. old daughter was experiencing the exact same symptoms would you or a doctor recommend that her labia or her prepuce (clitoral hood) be amputated ?  Of course not. We live in the 21^st century USA and since medical science has come a long way, your son’s problem can and will be resolved without needing a circumcision…period. The only valid reason any little boy born with a normal, whole prepuce would need a circ. would be due to severe frostbite causing tissue to die/ become necrotic, or severe injury making repair impossible (his penis mauled by a dog).

Best Regards, Devin    

Edited by Dev - 11/27/10 at 9:54am

[kcparker]

No soap, just water, but a bit of baking soda or plain salt in the sitz bath (one advised by the doc, the other by the PA who saw him last time). When he pees his pants, I just wipe him gently with a moist washcloth and pat dry. And no poop, just pee. My husband is the one who runs diaper laundry, and I talked with him and found out that he's been NOT rinsing the diaper/pee laundry, just tossing it in the washer with a light amount of soap and running it through once. So, that might be part of the problem. Does the stripping work with underpants too? Is the baby at risk, as they have common diaper laundry - it all goes in one receptacle if it gets peed on? Also, thanks for the tip about Vitamin C - I will give that a shot and see if it improves matters.

[Super~Single~Mama]

I would put some A&D ointment on it, and then just leave it alone.  It doesn't need to be bathed as much as you are I don't think.  My ds has never had a problem (granted he's only 22mo), and he doesn't even take a bath every day.  I barely wipe his penis off when we do diaper changes (unless his penis is covered in poop, then we wipe to get all the poop off it), and sometimes use A&D ointment when his skin is a little dry - so more often in winter than summer.

Why sitz baths??  That doesn't really make much sense to me, I wouldn't do that for anything other than like stitches or major discomfort since it seems it would dry out the skin, making it worse?  It really sounds like the problems stems from your ds's skin down there being too dry, so I think sitz baths would make it worse.

[EarthRootsStarSoul]

I would stop the baking soda in the bath.  IME it actually promotes yeast.  If anything, a dab of vinegar in the water would be OK. 

[rabbitmum]

You don't need to wash his penis every time he has peed his pants. The washcloth and water can be irritating to his skin. Just change his pants. And he doesn't need a bath every day, particularly not with soap or anything else in it (like baking soda). He does not need to be wiped every time he has peed in the toilet, either. It sounds like his penis needs to be left alone a bit more. And yes, strip the diapers!

Good for you to keep your son intact! :)

[3 little birds]

IME, this can be caused by a dietary sensitivity as well as/ in combination with external irritation.  If DS gets too much sugar, wheat, dairy this can start up.  I also think it is possible that the pants wetting is related.  Hope you and your ds get some relief soon!

[eepster]

Originally Posted by kcparker 

No soap, just water, but a bit of baking soda or plain salt in the sitz bath 

Occasional baking soda is OK for soothing, but doing it frequently isn't a good idea.  It is an alkaline with a similar ph to commercial soap.

[2xy]

Originally Posted by EarthRootsStarSoul 

I would stop the baking soda in the bath.  IME it actually promotes yeast.  If anything, a dab of vinegar in the water would be OK. 

This.

Also, I suggest using a free-and-clear detergent in the wash if you don't already do that. There are a couple of people in my family who get rashes from regular detergents. We use Charlie's Soap.

[LaffNowCryLater]

My boys got like that from not rinsing the diapers well (no double rinse) or by a detergent that irritates them. My oldest is circd (my younger two are intact) and this was WAY worse with the circd one b/c the irritation was on his glans instead of just the foreskin.

[To-Fu]

I'd suggest leaving his penis alone as much as possible, too.  Anything that alters the pH seems dangerous, so I'd cease and desist on the baths as well.  It's like with vulvas--sitting in a bath can often make some infections worse!  If this approach (plus diaper stripping) doesn't work, I would find a pro-intact doctor and see what s/he has to say.

As for diaper stripping, we do it once a week or more, just to be on the safe side.  We put a dime-sized amount of Dawn in at the wash cycle.  (I do a rinse and spin first in cold water, then I run it on the sanitize cycle with an extra rinse at the end.)

I hope you'll keep us updated!

[Eligracey]

If there's any chance it's yeast, have you tried giving him children's probiotics? They certainly can't hurt even if it's not yeast--probiotics won't make a bacterial infection worse. Agree with the others about overcleaning--I never wipe my son when he pees, just when he poops (and my son is 23 mo and in diapers full time, so he's got pee on him a fair bit). A tiny bit of soap in the bath every night and that's it. Stripping diapers with Dawn is probably a good idea, too.

[Cutie Patootie]

Originally Posted by Super~Single~Mama 

I would put some A&D ointment on it, and then just leave it alone.

I wouldn't recommend A&D ointment.  It is a petroleum product as well as it contains fragrance and is a 4 on the EWG skindeep database.  I would lean toward something comparable but natural.  Weleda wound care, Badger Balm Baby balm and Country Comfort Baby Cream are all excellent.

[sapphire_chan]

Originally Posted by Eligracey 

If there's any chance it's yeast, have you tried giving him children's probiotics? They certainly can't hurt even if it's not yeast--probiotics won't make a bacterial infection worse.

Yeah. Makes a huge, and immediate, difference with yeast symmptoms.
 

[AFWife]

Strip everything that comes in contact with his penis (cloth wise) with scalding hot water to make sure you kill yeast. As someone that had multiple yeast infections as a teen and finally came to the conclusion that I was constantly reinfecting myself (I bought all new panties and the problem stopped) I can tell you it's a likely cause. Yeast is hearty like that...

[goldenwillow]

Originally Posted by Cutie Patootie 

Originally Posted by Super~Single~Mama 

I would put some A&D ointment on it, and then just leave it alone.

I wouldn't recommend A&D ointment.  It is a petroleum product as well as it contains fragrance and is a 4 on the EWG skindeep database.  I would lean toward something comparable but natural.  Weleda wound care, Badger Balm Baby balm and Country Comfort Baby Cream are all excellent.

I second that.

Maybe just plain zinc oxide?

I appreciate this thread.  DS has had a little red at the end of is penis, noticed last night... contributing to not stripping his diapers enough.

Thank you for all your thoughts on this Mamas!