staph infection Q's (already read sticky)

[mamato2boys]

My 3yo was into see the doctor a few weeks ago b/c his penis was red,swollen and he was complaining of pain when peeing. The doctor did swab his penis and we were prescribed a pathogen specific antibiotic. He's been done with the antibtiotic for about a week or so and started complaining about pain again yesterday. His penis is red and swollen again and now there is pus coming from the tip.

We have an appt. this moring to see the doctor again. We aren't able to see his regular doctor today though. She is anti-circ and very well versed on the care of intact boys ( no retraction etc.) and I always worry a bit when I have to see someone less knowledgable about intact boys.

If anyone can give me some info on what I could expect from this appt. and anything I should look out for I would appreciate it!

Also, the sticky about red,swollen penises stated that the cases of staph infection were due to a doctor forcing retraction. I know this wasn't that case for my son--how else could he have gotten this? he hasn't has any contact with anyone other than my husband and myself and neither one of us manipulate his penis at all.


Thanks for your help!

[LeosMama]

Not an expert here, but does he manipulate his own penis?
This was the big 'joke' with our first ped, when teaching us about retraction, that it's unnecessary for anyone else to retract the foreskin as boys do it themselves by about three.
I also had a friend whose cut boy got a nasty infection on his penis b/c another boy at daycare kept sticking his hands down his pants and grabbing his penis. Could it be another child just being rude like this? Or Riley (the 3yo?) is just messing with it himself?

Or maybe it's just an infection, they happen. Maybe you could do the abx for longer this time? I'd be getting worried about abx resistant bacteria if you don't get something strong to knock this out completely and quickly.

Maybe also try some probiotics in his diet and on his penis. Yogurt helped me with my recurrent bacterial vaginosis (TMI?) by helping to balance out the flora.

Hope someone more knowledgeable than me comes along soon to help.

[Quirky]

That all sounds right to me - as with my son's ear infections, sometimes an infection won't respond the first time around and you need a stronger antibiotic. Doctors often start with less powerful antibiotics and work their way up as needed.

I also agree that the infection could be from anything - I've had bacterial vaginal infections before that I have no idea what caused them.

As long as the doctor doesn't retract and doesn't recommend circ, sounds like you're on the right track! I hope your ds is better soon.

[mamato2boys]

Thanks for the replys. The doctor visit went fine; we saw a good gentle doc. No UTI, the doc thinks the pus is just his body working out any remaining infection from before. Unless it gets worse we're just going to keep it clean and dry and not give any meds.

Thanks

[Frankly Speaking]

Originally Posted by mamato2boys

My 3yo was into see the doctor a few weeks ago b/c his penis was red,swollen and he was complaining of pain when peeing. The doctor did swab his penis and we were prescribed a pathogen specific antibiotic. He's been done with the antibtiotic for about a week or so and started complaining about pain again yesterday. His penis is red and swollen again and now there is pus coming from the tip.

Hi Nicole! There are several possibilities as to what is happening. As has already been mentioned, not all infections respond to every medication and staph is one of them. And staph in particular has been building resistance to many medications. It used to be that these were only found in medical facilities but now they are in the environment and can be found in many places. Staph bacteria is ever present in our environment and is usually a common resident on our bodies. It is an opportunistic bacteria, constantly looking for an entry point and that entry point can be anywhere. A friend of mine got a bug bite or sting on her butt and is now battling a staph infection from it.

Fortunately, it usually takes a fairly massive dose of the bacteria to overwhelm the body's defenses and part of the cure is to eliminate the source. It would appear that the med you got for your son nearly killed the bacteria but not completely or just beat back the symptoms. I recommend that you go back to the doctor for a change of prescriptions. Maybe both a topical and an oral version.

The next step is to remove it from the environment. Make sure he gets freshly laundered clothes every day during the treatment period. Also freshly laundered bed linnens. Mix a spray of bleach and water and clean all of his toys and anything else that is safe to use bleach on. Finally, if you have pets, isolate them from your son as they may be carriers of the staph infection.



Frank