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Nasty infection. I know where this is headed.

4K views 15 replies 5 participants last post by  Claudia Chapman 
#1 ·
2yo DS has been sick. It included aweful diarrhea. There was some diaper rash and slight irritation at the tip of his foreskin. We were doing fine and both were improving until lo did something to open the skin. He says he ran into the wall... not helpful. Dr thinks he was probably messing with it because of discomfort and caused some kind of scratch. Whatever it is, it's right at the tip of his foreskin and has split open some because of the swelling the infection caused and scabbed over. It's became much more infected and painful. Went into the ER when we noticed this morning (smallish town, so we were the only patients). Dr needed a little education about foreskins, but it was because of lack of experience/knowledge. He clearly considered circ to be a last case scenario, and wanted to be as noninvasive as possible. Went home with topical antibiotic prescription, instructions to see our primary if it wasn't improving by Monday, and number for a urologist to make an emergency appointment with if it swelled to where he couldn't pee. We cloth diaper. Switched to an organic unscented disposable to help keep the moisture down, and are doing frequent changes. It's only been 12 hours since we started the topical antibiotic. There's no improvement. If anything, dh and I both think it's getting worse. It hasn't swollen to the point he can't pee yet. So, we're staying the course....But I'm terrified of the possibility that it will get to that point soon. Additionally, the fever from his illness is getting worse even though his other symptoms are improving. Over the counter meds are good enough for now but if it's related to the infection instead of virus that won't last. :/

Experiences? If it doesn't improve, what am I looking at? What's likely to be suggested as treatment? What's likely to be overlooked because circ would just be "easier"? Dh is super anti circ and will follow my lead on this vahemently. And I'm not the slightest bit intimidated by Drs. I get on great with the ones that want to collaborate on care, but when they try to steamroll me, they find out I'm the biggest steamroller in the room. I just need to know the facts and possibilities in advance.

And I know our primary will just refer us to the urologist anyway. One of the things that's great about him is that anything he's iffy on for any reason he will refer to a specialist. No ego on him. He's great.

Sorry that's long and rambling and full of spelling and grammar errors.
 
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#2 · (Edited)
Ask for a swab to be taken so they know the correct antibiotic to prescribe, they probably gave a broad spectrum and it may not be what he needs. An infection will clear up with the right antibiotic.

Second at home give him baths of plain water and bicarb/baking powder. Half a cup to half a bath. After the bath apply some good cold pressed virgin coconut oil. These are both soothing and the oil has antibacterial properties.

If will pee into a jar of warm water or the bath that will make peeing easier. In fact push the fluids because if he is holding it that could lead to a UTI as well.
 
#4 ·
I agree

You might need a much stronger cream. And he's got to not touch it or pick at it. I wonder if epsom salts would help? Does he drink a lot of juice/sugary drinks? Some juices can be very acidic. Also a lot of sugar in your system can make it harder to fight off infection.
 
#5 ·
He's starting to look better! We've been applying ALL the advice we've been given, and it's working. We'll continue on this course of action, and update as we go.

The Dr also suggested Epsom salt. I forget to mention that.

That's a good point about the sugars. We've been making a continuous effort to avoid them since this all started because of the diarrhea. We'll continue to do so until the infection is gone. He doesn't have much of a sweet tooth, actually. The only juice he'll drink more than a couple sips of are cranberry and grapefruit. We rarely drink anything but water or herbal tea in our household, though. And he drinks as much goat milk as we'll let him. (He used to have serious issues with dairy. He's outgrown them, but has developed a taste for goat dairy instead of cow).
 
#6 · (Edited)
I highly doubt that his foreskin could swell to the point of impeding his ability to pee, and I think the advice to push non acidic fluids is a good one.

Sadly, many North American doctors will jump to circumcision to resolve an infection, but that makes no sense - there is no other body part that is amputated for infection, unless it is severely gangrenous. My DS got a foreskin infection at age 11. It was not the same as what you are dealing with in that there was no swelling, but it stung big time when he peed. He was prescribed an oral antibiotic, which cleared it up in a day or so.

I hope things improve before you get to the urologist. Good luck and keep us posted.
 
#7 ·
That's good to know. The Drs main concern was that it might swell to the point DS couldn't pee. Like I said, he was well intended, but inexperienced.

We didn't run into anything like this with my oldest. He's 18 now and apparently the only adult with a foreskin we have access to...We have been kind of passing everything by him as our "expert advisor" but the only time he ever had an issue that soap and water wouldn't fix was because of a Dr forcibly retracting so aggressively she tore his frenulum. (Obviously a long story. In the end, he healed fine but no form of authority saw anything wrong with what the Dr had done).
 
#9 ·
the only time he ever had an issue that soap and water wouldn't fix was because of a Dr forcibly retracting so aggressively she tore his frenulum. (Obviously a long story. In the end said:
That IS horrible, and that no one saw anything wrong with damaging him like that is the height of ignorance and arrogance. If you have time to post the circumstances on another thread sometime, it would probably serve as a good warning for other parents of intact boys when dealing with doctors.

How is your younger DS doing now?
 
#10 ·
Little one is doing great. The swelling is gone and everything is starting to look much more normal! When I was putting the medication on this morning, a huge scab peeled off. It was understandably raw under and a much smaller scab has formed. He doesn't say it hurts anymore, just that it tickles when I put the ointment on. He's also started asking to go in the toilet some again - and using it successfully. I was afraid this might mess with his progress but it seems he just took a break. He wants to wear a diaper at all times, though, which is the exact opposite of normal....So I'd guess he still has some discomfort and wants things protected.

Oh! I think I figured out how he got the weird scrape on the foreskin in the first place! He wants to be naked all the time. He also has a balance bike he can't ride outside right now because the ski attachment is on backorder EVERYWHERE. We let him ride in the house. I was watching him last night and I think he ran into the wall in the hallway while riding naked. The motion would be just right to get his penis caught under him and it had an almost rug burn look that matches perfectly. It also explains him saying he hurt himself by running into the wall. New house rule! No naked bike riding!

As for oldest DS, I discussed it on this board in detail when it happened. He became a bit of a little intactivist because of the incident. He was 8. He wrote a blog for a little while called 8 and Angry. He received a lot of support and encouragement. I don't have an address for it anymore though. It's been abandoned since he was 12-13 or so...
 
#14 ·
Thank you all so much for your advice and support. You turned what could have been a mountain into a molehill. :) Lo is basically back to normal, though he's still a little wary of being naked much. Poor guy.

I'm officially resigning myself from this thread because it's my turn to have the

***TMI***
Horrible, projecting-fluids-from-every-orriface
***TMI***

Illness that lo started all this with. I don't think I'll be online much for a bit.
 
#16 ·
Sounds like everything was handled well. Glad to hear he's on the mend.

This is just an FYI. A great alternative to the emergency room can be the "minute clinic" at some CVS pharmacies. This is exactly the sort of thing they handle. We have one down the road from us. It's staffed by Nurse Practitioners. They can diagnose and prescribe. We've used the CVS clinic for everything from bronchiol infections where an antibiotic and bronchodilator was necessary to "the worst fungal infection the nurse had ever seen." They accept insurance and even if you're uninsured the price of the visit is extremely reasonable - much less than the emergency room.
 
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