repost - need help with brown discharge in 17 month old

[Thing1Thing2]

Ok so my intact 17 month old had a swollen penis last night. The foreskin was red and i could tell the penis was swollen underneath. (It feels harder and looks larger than usual).

i just took his diaper off and noticed a foul smelling brownish discharge with some white chunky discharge disbursed throughout. i plan on taking him in, but just need some advice first.

Im not sure how serious this is and I do want to try and steer clear of antibiotics and I want to make sure the doctor doesnt retract ,unless retraction is ok in this case.

Im really scared - please help.

[jgallagher66]

You sound really worried.

Is he in pain? Does he have a fever?

I have never seen a brown discharge in any of my sons and I asked my husband and he couldn't remember anything like that ever but if one of my sons did have that symptom and were not in pain or feverish I wouldn't panic.

If there is a high fever or extreme fussiness I would seek help sooner though. I would first try calling the answering service for my pediatrician and tell her my concerns. Our office always has a doctor on call. I wouldn't go to the emergency room unless I spoke with the doctor on call unless it was life threatening.

I would have him sit in a warm bath with no soap and then try and keep him diaper free as much as possible.

If you do see a doctor I would tell them immediately that he is not circumcised and should not be retracted. Before they look at him. They should be able to treat him without retracting him.

Good luck. I hope he feels better soon.

[mama24-7]

You do sound very worried.  What a lucky boy to have a mama so concerned about him & who left him intact.

I wonder if the brown is some old blood, not necessarily from the urinary tract (a foreskin does not cause UTIs) but from whatever is going on under the foreskin/with his glans.  

I do think having him seen would be a good idea, provided the medical people aren't going to make it worse by retracting your ds.  In the mean time, I'd likely put him in a baking soda or bentonite clay bath (clay can clog things so don't let it go down the drain).  Then I'd apply probiotics directly to his penis.  From all the research & reading I've done over the years (plus using it on myself & having my itchyness go away w/ probiotics), I think a lot of our genital problems are due to lack of proper flora in & on our bodies.  If you use soap on him, either directly or in a bath, he may be imbalanced.  If you (either while pregnant, during delivery or while nursing) or he has had antibiotics, then his flora is off.  There's lots else that influences gut & surface flora as well.

I hope that he's better now.  If you can update us, that'd be great.  

Best wishes,

Sus

[Thing1Thing2]

Hello and thank you for the comments and advice. Yes, I do tend toward the anxious side most of the time.

He has not had a fever or even acted as if in pain. His penis was swollen at first and its possible while I was rubbing probiotics on it, I pulled a little hard on the foreskin. Maybe you were right, jgallagher66, when you said it could have been a little blood. I did not take him in last night because he was sleeping fine and it was snowing out. This morning, his penis is looking less swollen and had less discharge.

Although I was not on antibiotics while pregnant with him, we do suffer from yeast/candida imbalance in this house. My fault! I have leaky gut, allergies, candida and passed it all on to my poor babies!

What concerns me most now is that he has been sleeping alot today. Only woke up once last night, which is unusual and has slept for 3.5 hours for his nap. Usually he gets a 2 hour nap.

Besides that, he has been playing just fine. So i think I will bring him in to his doctor tomorrow. I dont want to risk an ER doctor pulling his foreskin back, seeing as I am intimidated and likely to go with anything they tell me.

[mama24-7]

Originally Posted by Thing1Thing2 
Although I was not on antibiotics while pregnant with him, we do suffer from yeast/candida imbalance in this house. My fault! I have leaky gut, allergies, candida and passed it all on to my poor babies!

OT: I'm right there w/ you, unfortunately.  I've had candida overgrowth, pretty much my whole life & have passed it onto my children.  They have lots of allergies (the oldest has the least, the youngest the most & the middle one is in the middle w/ that too) & as of now, my system is very messed up.  Had a stomach bug in early Oct & haven't been right since.

Have you heard of GAPS?  If not, it may help you.  We're not on it because my youngest, who is 3, is vegan.  I'd like to change that but he reacts to so much, it's been a long, slow process of finding even a few foods he can eat.

Best wishes,

Sus

[Thing1Thing2]

Just another update - he is doing fine now. He is no longer swollen and red, and there is no more discharge. Everything looks back to normal.

We never did bring him to the doctor because we got a flat tire that morning! I will mention it to the Ped at his 18 month checkup.

Thanks mama24-7, I looked into the GAPS diet a while back when I was trying to figure out our sensitivities. We have glutamate sensitivities (broth) as well as dairy, corn, soy and gluten allergies. So the GAPS will not work for us.

I know the long slow tiring never ending process of allergies!  We are currently gluten, corn, soy and dairy free. Worst part here is that I can not find a multivitamin for them that they don't react to. There's corn in EVERYTHING. So I know the frustration!

Thanks everyone who helped on this thread!