Help with recurrent blanitis.

[yogamama13]

I am hoping someone can help, as my intact almost 7 year old has had balanitis on an ongoing basis for the last couple of months.  I will run through what we have done thus far and I am hoping that there is something to clear this up once and for all the little guy.  It really hurts and this is not the relationship I want him to have with his penis. 

First off I want to say that this is not a cleanliness issue he washes daily with a very mild, natural, hypoallergenic soap. 

We went to the doc when he first started to complain about not being able to retract his foreskin to clean(it hurt and was swollen).  We were given an amoxicillin to clear it up and doc did a swab.  It cleared it up quite well but swab came back positive for strep and staph.  Doc then wanted to make sure it was all totally cleared up so he put DS on Clindamyacin.  All was well and at the same time we had DS on a strong probiotic recommended by a naturopath.  About 2 weeks later it came back, we were treating it with polysporin and canesten but it got bad enough we went back to the doc(a walk in one not our regular doc) and he put DS on a sulpha antibiotic.  It cleared up part way but is still lingering. 

Here is what we are now trying

polysporin and canesten applied after cleaning with a watered down grapefruit seed extract. 

no wheat or sugar in the diet including limiting fruit on the recommendation of our naturopath, probiotics, and some homeopathics. 

Please tell me someone knows what to do for this, I really don't want to go back to the doctor for another round of antibiotics.  Thankfully our doc is anti-circ so far but I am worried that it will be brought up. 

[erin23kate]

Sounds like you have a nasty infection there... I would keep up on the antibiotics and go for another culture when it looks like things have been resolved. 

(NOT A DOCTOR)

Some infections can be extremely resistant to antibiotics.  If you don't clear them up 100%, they come back.  It has nothing to do with the foreskin or the penis - this could be anywhere.  DH has a recurrent staph infection in his skin, and we struggle with it.  Does he get infections anywhere else?  Could he have an immune system problem?

FWIW, I think he'll continue to have these problems with a foreskin or without one.

[erin23kate]

I found this old thread (2003) that might have some good info:

http://www.mothering.com/community/forum/thread/75138/recurrent-staph-infection

[Lauren82]

Originally Posted by yogamama13 
First off I want to say that this is not a cleanliness issue he washes daily with a very mild, natural, hypoallergenic soap. 

It could be an over-cleanliness issue. If I get any soap inside of my vagina, no matter how gentle it is, I get itching, redness and irritation. If I were to wash inside daily, the results would be terrible.

The same can be true for soap on the glands and under the foreskin. Many men simply rinse their glands with water.
 

[Ron_Low]

Originally Posted by Lauren82 

It could be an over-cleanliness issue. If I get any soap inside of my vagina, no matter how gentle it is, I get itching, redness and irritation. If I were to wash inside daily, the results would be terrible.

The same can be true for soap on the glands and under the foreskin. Many men simply rinse their glands with water.
 

I agree that the glans should only be rinsed with clear water as a routine hygiene measure.  Antibiotics should only be used when a bacterial pathology is confirmed by culturing.  There are beneficial bacteria that belong in the foreskin area and keep things in balance. 

[Fyrestorm]

I agree that overcleaning might be part of the issue, have you considered yeast?  The ABX might only be making that worse

[JulianneW]

I think the probiotics are very important. 

As far as the soap I would discontinue washing it with soap no matter how mild it is. Washing with soap is unnecessary and can disrupt the flora causing irritation and leave it vulnerable to infection. Think of it as washing in your vagina with soap, the head of the penis and inner foreskin are internal organs and soap can disrupt their natural balance.

I would also try and limit and if possible eliminate anything being directly applied to the foreskin in order to help it regain its natural antibacterial and antiviral function. An anti bacterial directly applied to the area causes destruction of not only the bad bacteria but also all the good bacteria which destroys the foreskins natural balance and inhibits its ability to protect itself. 

I am not a medical professional  But hopefully I gave you some ideas.

[eepster]

he may be reacting to the polysporin.  Stop using it.

It is common for people who don't have problems with polysporin (neosporin) to react to it when it is used on the more delicate skin of the genitals.