# Toddler Penis Pain



## ledzepplon (Jun 28, 2004)

My 20 month old ds started having pain in his penis yesterday, and it seems to be getting worse. He's intact, and the foreskin looks a little red toward to the tip. Any time I wipe him or touch the area, he cries, "Owww!"

I had him soak in an epsom salt bath, and I gave him some probiotics orally and put some probiotics on the tip of the foreskin (as much as he would let me, anyway).

Is this a UTI, diaper rash, or something else? Do I need to call the Dr? Any other treatment I should be doing? Thanks!

The only other thing I can think to add is that he usually wears cloth, but we were on a little vacation for 4 days and got back Sunday, and he was in sposies on the trip. But he's worn them before . . . not sure!


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## Betsyconnersmommy (Sep 19, 2007)

It could be a rash, specially since he experianced a sudden change in the diapers he wears. A UTI, he would probably be crying when he actually pees. UTI's are not often in little boys, due to the fact that boys and men, have long urithra's (sp) and it takes alot for the bacteria to get to the bladder and set up camp. redness around the tip of the penis could be anything from a rash to yeast infection.

I would keep doing what you are doing, if you dont' notice a change by tomorrow, or he gets worse, or complains about it hurting when he pees. i'd call the ped to be on the safe side.

Hope little one feels better


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## ledzepplon (Jun 28, 2004)

Thank you! I haven't noticed him crying when he urinates, so hopefully it's not a UTI.


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## Betsyconnersmommy (Sep 19, 2007)

NP. It most likely isn't a UTI. IT takes alot for boys and men to get them. Hope he feels better soon.

Also, i've personally know that this stuff called Boudreux's butt paste is wonderful stuff. It relieves any rash my son may have in mere hours.


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## ledzepplon (Jun 28, 2004)

Thanks for the tip!


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## MCatLvrMom2A&X (Nov 18, 2004)

You can also post this over in The Case Against Circ lots of knowledge there on the intact penis. It is very common for this to happen after a trip for some reason. We have had I dont know how many posts with this happening after a vactaion.

This might be of some help: http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=764732

Quote:

*Pain, Swelling & Redness*
Pain, swelling & redness can also go along with the ballooning or it can be seen without it. If either case 9 times out of 10 the pain and redness will resolve within 24-48 hours. If anything lasts longer than that the odds are higher that there is a infection present. Either yeast or bacterial generally. The treatment for these is not at all difficult. Depending which is present treatment will either be anti fungal, OTC yeast medications like Monistate 7 day treatment for yeast and for bacterial infections OTC Bacatracin (a safer less reactive cream than Neosporin) can be used. Sometimes a prescription of oral antibiotics is required as well. If you do go the antibiotic route make sure to finish the whole prescription even if you son's penis looks healed in just a few days. Neosporin is not recommended since some people react badly to it. It is important to figure out if you are dealing with yeast or bacterial since the treatment for bacterial infection can make yeast worse. What I did was try anti-fungal first and when I saw no improvement I knew it wasn't likely to be yeast so went with the treatment for bacterial.

If you do take your child to the Dr. make sure that his foreskin is not pushed back on at all. If there is infection present this will make it easier to spread and cause more pain and trauma. To check to see exactly what pathogen is present a swab culture should be done. This is done with the long q-tip and a gentle rub of the very tip of the foreskin will pick anything up that is present without pushing on the foreskin at all.

Some things you can do to help if your son is in pain is letting him urinate in a cup of water or the bath tub this will dilute the urine so that wont sting. If your son is old enough you can tell him to retract just enough that the urinary opening is exposed so the urine doesn't go back under the foreskin. Long soaks in the bath with baking soda or a very small amount of Tea Tree Oil can also help sooth the pain.

The things to watch for that would indicate more than separation injury is going on are: severe swelling that keeps getting worse, fever, discharge with a foul smell or dark green in color, redness accompanied by any of the things mentioned above. If your son is having trouble urinating he needs immediate medical help. The reason the foreskin reacts so strongly sometimes when separation is happening is because it is a very vascular organ and much like the lips even a small bump can cause swelling and pain.

You may also notice that when your son starts to retract that the inner foreskin and glans is a deep purple/red color, this is normal. Just like the inner vagina is red and very vascular the inner foreskin and glans are the same way. It can be shocking to see how red it can be to those of us who are used to seeing the keratinized and dried out glans of a circumcised man.


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## ledzepplon (Jun 28, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MCatLvrMom2A&X* 
You can also post this over in The Case Against Circ lots of knowledge there on the intact penis. It is very common for this to happen after a trip for some reason. We have had I dont know how many posts with this happening after a vactaion.

Thank you so much for posting this! I am suspecting it's just a diaper rash, since he's acting like he feels fine in all other respects and I don't see any obvious swelling. I'm keeping an eye on it for now.

Unfortunately, we had a bad experience in the ER when he was just a few months old. We went in because he was screaming inconsolably, and they retracted him without my permission. It happened so fast--once second they were saying they needed a urine sample, and the next they had inserted a catheter. It was really awful, and I still feel guilty for not being able to stop it. (We never found out why he was crying in the first place, either.







) So needless to say, I'm very reluctant to trust doctors with intact penis care.

If it's not better tomorrow, I'll x-post this in the Case Against Circ.


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## Gitti (Dec 20, 2003)

let him go without a diaper as much as you can. i think you are doing everything you could. i believe it is something that will correct itself. it does not sound like UTI to me. even if he did have it, most of the time it resolves itself if given a lot to drink for a day or so...

as for catheterizing an intact child - always insist on an external catheter.

if they need a sterile specimen, which is very rare, tell them they are not allowed to retract the foreskin. scarring it too often can bring on problems.

the way to do it is they must first flail the penis. this creates a reaction. the penis gets hard and will come out of the foreskin enough to insert a catheter.


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## ledzepplon (Jun 28, 2004)

He's all better now, thanks for the advice. I guess it must have been a little diaper rash!


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