VERY swollen foreskin after diarrhea--guidance please!

[LWruby]

Hi all-

My 12 month old has his first ear infection, for which he is taking amoxicillin. He was fussy and seemed uncomfortable on and off throughout the night last night--I attributed his fussiness to his ear hurting and stayed up with him much of the night. This morning, when we went to change him, we saw-to our horror- that he had a diaper-full of diarrhea (probably caused by the antibiotic) that appeared to have been there for some time. It was probably the real reason he was fussing, poor bub.

He never poops at night and we were thinking "ear", so we never checked his diaper. 

He is pretty red (like a sunburn) over his bum-area, but his poor penis is very swollen and pink. (He is intact) His foreskin area is particularly irritated/swollen and about 3-4x's the normal size. It appears he is still able to urinate. I'm assuming the delicate skin got very irritated as he sat in his diarrhea overnight. (ugh, I feel so guilty for not thinking to check his diaper!) It is very tender and he is very sensitive to his penis being touched to clean it or change his diaper. 

I am adding a probiotic (Culturelle) to his diet to hopefully negate some of the diarrhea-side-effects of the Amoxicillin. So far, we have just sat him in a baking soda bath for about 45 minutes and cleaned the area with a drop of mild soap (Shea Moisture), just to get the poo off. I slathered him in Calmoseptine (not on his actual penis, but around the base) and put him in a chlorine-free diaper. I'm not sure what else to do. I do not want to take him into the doctor's office for fear of retraction/unneeded intervention.

My middle child had a similar incident happen several years ago, but his foreskin wasn't as swollen. From what I recall, it resolved on it's own.

Has anyone had similar experiences with their intact little ones? I would love some guidance/reassurance/advice. Thanks!

Laura

[crayfishgirl]

My son had swollen/red foreskin when he was sick, and it quickly resolved itself after a couple of baths.  We didn't use soap and generally don't wash  his genitals in the bath, but assume they get pretty clean from him rubbing/pulling.  We also tried to keep him naked more, which I assumed helped.  It was clearly better after about 12 hours, and pretty much back to normal after ~36 hours. 

[EchoSoul]

The only time my son's foreskin was swollen, I put aloe vera on it. Inflammation went down a few diaper changes later.

[LWruby]

What a great idea. We have an aloe plant here :-) I will add it to the "arsenal", couldn't hurt!

[EchoSoul]

:) Glad I could help

[argot]

All of these separate infections could be yeast: ear infection, diarrhea, and swollen foreskin. It wasn't the original problem obviously, but antibiotics often add to fungal problems by killing all the healthy bacteria, which clears the field for yeast/fungus to flourish. If problems with yeast are ever severe, doctors have very powerful oral antifungal drugs (azole drugs), but they seem reluctant to use them maybe because they're sometimes immunosensitizing (so there's some risk of developing an allergy to them). 

I can offer some really simple advice for yeast. Probably everyone knows this, but it's worth repeating, for any sort of infection (or even any suspicion of infection), avoid dairy and sweets at least for the duration of any symptoms. It might even help to reduce starches and fruit sugar. Anything that increases mucus production makes it more difficult for the immune system to overcome the infection. And vitamin D (in fortified dairy) is also a fungal growth stimulant, so there's even more reason to avoid fortified dairy in particular if it could be fungal infection. (Though I should say, calcium and vitamin D are both extremely important parts of stimulating normal, healthy immune responses, so I wouldn't forsake dairy, just get those nutrients elsewhere during infection.)

This is probably even more obvious, but for fungus specifically, you might try to keep your house dryer (though obviously not so dry as to cause any problems from dryness). Going to sleep with damp ears can be a recipe for ear infection for people prone to them. And it's weird how effective this can be sometimes, but if your basement is even slightly damp on occasion, it might really help with any sort of problem like this to use a dehumidifier there to prevent dampness. Even though the baby's never down there, spores from mildew there can easily come into your living space.

I think the most effective and helpful thing is also really easy, natural, and generally healthy. Cranberry has anti-yeast properties in addition to its general mild antimicrobial effects and blood cleansing, diuretic effect. It should probably be unsweetened for the most effect. Undiluted unsweetened cranberry juice would obviously be much too strong for a baby to tolerate (it's too strong for me!), but diluted many times (5-20 times) or used in food combined with other fruit maybe, it's pretty palatable. You wouldn't want to overdo it, especially because cranberry is diuretic. And it's not like cranberry is the only useful food for yeast/fungus. There are many other antifungal foods. Cilantro is a more palatable one that comes to mind. It seems that many plants that resist fungus well themselves are antifungal foods. I mean to learn more about them. Maybe someone else here knows more?

Oh, and the probiotics are a great idea, because they minimize yeast in the gut. An overgrowth of yeast in the gut might likely have been the stimulus that lead to the other yeast problems (if they were yeast).

Edited by argot - 3/1/13 at 3:39pm