# light pinkish in urine diapers- concerned about dr. visit/procedures on intact baby-update #6,7



## MG01 (Nov 17, 2008)

My intact 9.5 month DS is prone to yeast (on his bottom, not his genitals), lately his weight gain has slowed (although he is still gaining, he has dropped in percentile, another thread on that in BF challenges), but he is getting extremely mobile, developmentally advancing, and looks chunky to most who see him and is a happy guy.

We mainly use cloth diapers but have some of the whole foods 365 brand plain, chlorine-free sposies since the hourly daycare i use on rare occasions requires it, and i'd rather supply these than have them use scented, dyed ones they have on him.

So the issue-- I have noticed he has a couple urine diapers over past couple days (three I counted in past 72 hours, and my mom said she noticed one or two) (not all of them, but I was at a doula birth so didn't see them all either) with light yellow urine but also a small spot maybe 1-2 inches in diameter of very light salmon-pink-ish/slightly orangey, hardly noticeable, but definitely there, "stuff." Just color, couldn't separate it off the diaper or anything, like a thin layer of liquid that had absorbed and left a stain maybe? Could it be blood?? it's very very light colored pink/orangey..

i've been online; i have read everything from kidney infections to slight cut/scratch on the penis (he can have sharp nails even clipped, and he does grab his penis/foreskin rather hard when he is diaper-less) to infections to uric acid crystals/possible dehydration, to simple discoloration due to foods eaten by baby or mama (which is possible, lots of peaches, sweet potatoes, squash, banana, etc. eaten by DS lately)

I called and they want to see him tomorrow. I am concerned to take him in and have him retracted to "check things out," or that they will even suggest circ (as they always seem to find some reason to do from what i hear). I am hoping to get in with a wonderful new fp doc who is highly recommended by many in the NFL community where i live for proper care of intact penis' and extended nursing, among other things. But I am unsure she is available. His current doc- well, we have had problems as of late, and he apparently wants me to wean at right 12 months because DS dropped in _percentile_ on the weight chart last time (wtf) even though he is still gaining weight and meeting milestones and is happy and active.

Anyway-- His penis is not in pain and looks totally normal, no abrasions or redness or pink at the tip of the foreskin, no swelling. So I see it every day, I don't see how a nurse or dr. who has seen it twice in their life, or never, by just looking at it, will be able to tell me anything at all just looking- it looks like it always does- normal and natural. That is what worries me that they will likely want to retract.

Even if there were a slight scratch/cut underneath the underside of the foreskin or on the glans, it would heal, right? And wouldn't the injury caused by forced retraction be greater and cause more bleeding if that is indeed what it is? It doesn't make sense but I don't know a whole lot and need to get educated the best i can and quick. Or also- concern about other invasive procedures- how do they test for infection, or are there natural remedies I could try if they suspect such? I lean towards herbal/holistic healing traditions and try not to jump on the surgery/Rx/doctor bandwagon when not needed, but I need to be armed with knowledge and trust his care provider, but also trust myself first and foremost as his mom.

One more thought-- It has never happened in the cloth, only when my mother puts him in disposables lately (the slight pinkness on the diaper when I change it, I mean) so could it even possibly be a reaction to the chemicals in the disposables for absorbency (forgot the name, brain fart)?? or maybe i just can't see it in the cloth?? Should I be worried? Anyone ever have this experience? How can I best protect my son and not stress him or subject him to painful and unnecessary procedures?

Should I see a ND before an MD?? I don't know, this is new to me and I have always gone to MDs (although midwife for my pregnancy and well woman) and am unsure if insurance covers NDs, but i really distrust many MDs due to multiple experiences where I have basically had to diagnose myself (worst) to simpler things like not taking the time to see you as a whole human being and person.

Any specifics of penile exams, urology, this particular symptom I should be aware of, any leads to research before I have to take my babe in?

Thanks so much!!! Please keep my DS in your thoughts, i hope it's nothing, but even if it is nothing, I fear that it could become a something by the invasive way they try to do exams and tests...

peace and love. happy holidays.


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## homeschoolingmama (Jun 15, 2007)

I believe there is a list of docs somewhere here who are intact friendly.
My sons had a bit of pinkish/orangish in their diapers from dehydration.
If/when you bring your son in it is VERY IMPORTANT that you stress that the doc NOT RETRACT. He may tell you that he needs to but HE DOESN'T. Sometimes it is hard to go against a doctor but you may have to to protect your son. He does not have any pain so he should leave it alone. The doctor may be quick so make it WELL KNOWN beforehand that he is in no way to retract even a tiny bit. If it tears there are so many medical problems that could arise from pain to infection. I wouldn't even consider the idea of circ either if that is what the doc suggests. That would just mean he is uninformed.
Be a mama bear! I am not saying all doctors do this but some do and it is at a high cost to those young boys.
I hope some other mamas can help you in time


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## noobmom (Jan 19, 2008)

The doctors will probably want to check for a UTI (which I think is a good idea). I agreed to let my DS be cathetered for that and I regret it. Although the ped was good and didn't retract DS, it was traumatic AND they didn't manage to get any urine anyway. So, my suggestion is if the doctors want a urine sample, skip the catheter and ask for the collection bag they can stick over your DS's genitals and then just waiting for him to pee.

Since you only see it in disposables, I'm tempted to think that is it some sort of funny chemical reaction, but it wouldn't hurt to get DS checked out with some non-invasive techniques.


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## eepster (Sep 20, 2006)

It might just be a bit of smegma.


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## l_olive (Jan 18, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *eepster* 
It might just be a bit of smegma.

Smegma is exactly what my first thought was, too.

When my son's foreskin first started to separate (although it's still not retractable), small pockets of pinkish/tan smegma would sometimes form and wash out when he peed. Granted he was about 3 when this happened, but all boys are different.

If he's not showing any other symptoms, I wouldn't worry, but of course a urine dip wouldn't hurt as long as the doc agrees before the diaper comes off not to retract at all -- not even a little. If there is any infection, retraction will just cause tearing which can lead to more infection and much bigger problems.


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## MG01 (Nov 17, 2008)

well, we went in today- doc did not lay a finger on ds' foreskin, had me move his penis a bit so he could get a visual exam without any retraction, and then examined his anus and found no scratch/tear there.

he said, if it is blood, we want to see where it is coming from.. that sometimes it is a scratch or abrasion.. i mentioned ds sometimes yanks at his genitals pretty hard when diaperless and also that his nails could have scratched somewhere, but that i am not going to manipulate the foreskin just to see that- i thought it was funny b/c the dr.said, sometimes if they (baby) pull on it, the natural adhesions can tear and cause a little trauma and bleeding, or can accidentally scratch themselves. and i said, so if that _is_ the case here, retracting to view it will expose it to infection and cause multiple additional adhesions to tear in the process, no? uhhh yep exactly lol. out of the kettle and into the fire or whatever they say. and just -looking- at it won't make it heal any faster if there is a small tear there and it is a bit of blood (if it is blood, it is insanely diluted and minimal).. i'd rather just test the urine and go from there.

i was i guess sorta annoyed that both the nurse i called after hours last night, and the dr. both kept referring as "blood in the urine." it may well be, but uh until we do the urinalysis we don't know that, right? my readings online and you all have told me it can be many things- concentrated urine/crystallized uric acid from slight dehydration (quite possible- was at a long doula birth and studying for finals, and when my extended family watches ds he drinks much less pumped milk than he would be getting if nursing at breast for sure- he takes 1-2 oz. at a time, which is like half to even a third of what he would/should likely be taking, i think, so it could very well be dehydration but this was an unusual couple days and it seems to be improving anyways, since now we are back to routine and i am with him most of all night and all day..

also, smegma is a definite possibility, it does seem to be starting to separate a little at the tip and become more movable when i see him grab/move it, although i don't really maneuver it or do anything special to it since obviously the "special care" required of the intact penis is... to let it be. lol.

Also, I read it could be related to food I am eating/in my milk or food/solids ds is eating himself- he has eaten way more solids and way less breastmilk in the past few days (because family has been watching him/feeding him for the birth and studying for finals) it's been noticed on occasion according to some reports I found searching online for more info on this issue, and the solids ds has been having the past few days are all orange-ish/pinkish!! Peaches are his fave, plus he's been eating bananas, mango, yam, and squash..

their and my other possible concern was UTI/infection of some sort, so they gave me a weird thing to stick on over his penis and scrotum with a baggie attached and we finally got a urine sample tonight (in fridge to bring in tomorrow a.m.) i tried EC there in the office first (for 5ish mos we caught 99% poos, and 1/3-2/3 pees depending on day/circumstance, now he absolutely will. not. go. except in a diaper!? another thread another day, i guess.. may have to post on that over in EC forum, or pm me- i want to get back on track.. /tangent)

but good news is, finally got the sample w/ the collection bag, not as easy as EC would have been, but much better than a cath. they'll spin and culture and check for a uti- even if he has one, i am not too worried, they said a simple abx and didn't seem to think there was any issue worth even discussing a need to circ.. and we avoided any sort of retraction or injury!!

The dr. did initially state he wanted/preferred/needed/whatever to retract "just a bit," but i said i am not comfortable with that, and said several times "I do not consent to any retraction or manipulation of my son's foreskin" so that he knew- not an an aggressive/liability way, necessarily, just so he knew i knew my rights and was very clear as to what i was consenting and not consenting to.. and so then he said, why don't you do what you are comfortable with while i take a look (and he had a bright lamp overhead), so i simply lifted to see the underside of his penis and scrotum, and then held the foreskin in position so he could see the opening to the urinary meatus (right word? entrance to urethra? that is what i mean anyway) but not at all exposing the glans or forcing any natural adhesions to break or anything, just moving the loose skin at the tip around a bit so the dr. had a better view) The urinary opening is not very far back at all from the tip of the foreskin on my ds, doesn't really require any retracting as it is right there, just some maneuvering of position, but i did not trust the dr. (esp. since he initially maintained some retraction would be necessary) to do that without retracting, not even necessarily maliciously, just that he doesn't know how far my son's penis retracts if at all and has not done months of e/c, diaper changes, seeing him pull it, etc., he has met my ds once before, i am with him every day, and since there is a lot of ignorance surrounding this issue i felt it was important that i protect him in this way.

So, I am hoping it is nothing (also, if they say he needs abx for a uti, probiotics? he is super prone to yeast so i take them anyway and sometimes give right to him when i remember and have time/patience to lol.. i either take a whole cap myself (and assume it gets thru my milk) or take half and give him half contents of the capsule) Are there other ideas or alternatives with UTIs in intact boys, and antibiotics?

i hope they won't (and doubt they would) suggest circ if it is a uti, but i know some doctors have said that, but obviously i i am reasonably educated about the issue and would never consent surgical removal of a normal body part for a simple uti. i mean, i myself (as a woman but still) have had several, one even spread to my kidney, most painful thing in my life actually i think, and i wouldn't remove part of my genitals because of that!! geez.

But please share any more thoughts if you have them, and keep us in your thoughts/prayers that they don't want or need to do any invasive or painful testing and that it is nothing serious- no one really seemed worried, I am not really that too worried, but anything that could mean your babe is sick or in pain (though he's sure not acting like it! he's been a happy camper but a bit clingy to me the past few mos, which i think is a normal phase with mobility and all the other changes) is scary so it's not the best feeling.. but I think it's all good..

Of course it is _possible_ he also has a little cut or scratch bleeding a bit under his foreskin, but doesn't seem too likely, i don't think he could even get his finger in/under there, lol, and even if it is from an adhesion slightly tearing apart by pulling it, i don't think he would do too much damage to himself without the self-awareness that, hey, this hurts, i should stop, ya know? But if it is something like that, I trust the body to heal those things when we don't interfere.. and if it turns out ds has a UTI, we'll simply treat that too, no biggie..

Thanks again all, I'll let you know what happens. Any other input or ideas to research are welcome, thanks again!! Glad to know that others have been there done that and it can be normal/not a big deal.

peace.


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## MG01 (Nov 17, 2008)

well we got the urine results- totally normal! they aren't worried, not blood, not infection. so, i am not worried. so my intuition and you all were right, likely a combo of smegma and some uric acid/dehydration.

ds' been having more wet diapers last night and today and have not observed any of that orangey/pink tint to them at all the past 36 or so hours.

so all is well, and mission accomplished without need for retraction (despite the doctor saying he felt he needed/wanted to







)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *homeschoolingmama* 
My sons had a bit of pinkish/orangish in their diapers from dehydration.
If/when you bring your son in it is VERY IMPORTANT that you stress that the doc NOT RETRACT. He may tell you that he needs to but HE DOESN'T. Sometimes it is hard to go against a doctor but you may have to to protect your son. He does not have any pain so he should leave it alone. The doctor may be quick so make it WELL KNOWN beforehand that he is in no way to retract even a tiny bit. If it tears there are so many medical problems that could arise from pain to infection.

Yep-- he said he needed to but he sure didn't, and we were easily able to handle it without retraction, but I did have to stress it in no uncertain terms and actually the doc didn't even wind up handling my son's genitals, he had me do it, so there is an idea if they want a visual exam, you can do anything they can do obviously, and you KNOW that you won't retract, while some docs think "a little" is ok or like you said it can happen quick I imagine. It did turn out to be likely dehydration/smegma- NOT blood or UTI, as posted, so probably similar to what you experienced. Thanks for replying.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *noobmom* 
The doctors will probably want to check for a UTI (which I think is a good idea). I agreed to let my DS be cathetered for that and I regret it. Although the ped was good and didn't retract DS, it was traumatic AND they didn't manage to get any urine anyway. So, my suggestion is if the doctors want a urine sample, skip the catheter and ask for the collection bag they can stick over your DS's genitals and then just waiting for him to pee.

Since you only see it in disposables, I'm tempted to think that is it some sort of funny chemical reaction, but it wouldn't hurt to get DS checked out with some non-invasive techniques.

Thanks for the input- I knew they could cath w/o retracting but wouldn't want them to wind up doing it or hurt ds, so i did ask for a couple of those bags you mentioned. The first completely "unstuck" when he pooped lol, it was gross and got nothing, but the second worked fine. Thanks for letting me know about this alternative. They also said they wouldn't want to cath him before at least trying the E/C and the collection bag, so they seemed pretty progressive in that way at least.

I was thinking that too about the sposies/chems.. but then overnight two nights ago, I had him in a BumGenius and it showed up on there too (although could have been an ongoing chem reaction- because now that the doula birth is over etc. and routine is back to normal, we have gone back to cloth (my extended family often uses the sposies (even when I have the cloth AIOs washed and sitting out, I don't get it :eyeroll and the hourly daycare requires them too- so it is still possible that contributed because the symptoms are abating with more hydration and use of cloth again.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *eepster* 
It might just be a bit of smegma.

Yep, it does appear his foreskin is becoming a bit more loose, I obviously don't retract so I am not sure, but it seemed to be just a bit of discharge of some type, because it wasn't like only where the urine was if that makes sense- like, there could be yellow urine elsewhere on the dipe, but only a smaller spot of the light pink/orange on the urine dipe, so it wasn't mixed into the urine, like i would expect blood to be.. makes me lean more towards some sort of skin shedding and/or smegma.. although w/ dehydration it could also just mean the beginning or end of the stream was more concentrated and caused the staining that way too..

Quote:


Originally Posted by *l_olive* 
When my son's foreskin first started to separate (although it's still not retractable), small pockets of pinkish/tan smegma would sometimes form and wash out when he peed. Granted he was about 3 when this happened, but all boys are different.

If he's not showing any other symptoms, I wouldn't worry, but of course a urine dip wouldn't hurt as long as the doc agrees before the diaper comes off not to retract at all -- not even a little. If there is any infection, retraction will just cause tearing which can lead to more infection and much bigger problems.

Thanks. Yep, we thought better safe than sorry as long as we can do a non-invasive urine testing and ensure no retracting occurs, so it's good to know now that all's well and in the future that I know what that looks like and means, and can hopefully differentiate between something like blood/UTI/obvious pain (which-the latter, signs of being in pain- he clearly had none of) although hopefully that never becomes an issue for us, and good to know that other mamas have observed this.

So, yep, all is well, thanks for the feedback and suggestions before we went in, very useful since docs always seem to want to retract..









thanks again


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## MG01 (Nov 17, 2008)

oops/delete


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## Night_Nurse (Nov 23, 2007)

I'm so glad your son is doing better now!


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## l_olive (Jan 18, 2005)

Thanks for the update!


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