Question for those w/ boys

[pbear13]

My ds is 28 months old. About a month ago, he kept saying his pee was owey(sp). I took him to the dr. for something else but mentioned it. They put a bag on him to get a urine sample, it came back neg. Lately, he is saying it again, not when he pees though, just when you touch it.
For ex: if I have to move it when I am changing him.

Any thoughts?? I thought bladder infection but it came back neg, so now I don't know. Thanks for any help!!

[KerryS]

Has he been playing with it too vigorously?

[pbear13]

No, he doesn't touch it all.

[KerryS]

How do you know that? I've yet to meet a male child who never ever touched his penis.

[jralex]

thats about the age that my nephew complained about his "pickle" my sister found that he was getting erections i thinks it's quite normal...
'

[tiffybear01]

hes' probably getting erections. My oldest ds would get them all the time when he was around 2 and they hurt him a lot.

[blessedbythree]

Is it red/sore looking (perhaps on the underside wear the penis lays against his scrotum? It could be that he has a rash or yeast infection in the area. If he is not circumcised he could have a yeast infection under the foreskin as well.

[tifttu]

I used to baby sit a boy who would say his penis "hurt" whenever he would get an errection. He just didn't have a word to explain what it felt like. DS's was sore for a bit, but he had gotten like a little diaper rash type thing where it was laying on the scrotum. A little desitin and he was fine.

[pbear13]

it is kinda hard for him to play with it when he has a diaper on, that is how I know. He is circumcised and it isn't red. Thanks though

[The_Market]

All 3 of mine found their penis to be their favorite bath toy at that age...and every age, really.

Does he have any foreskin left from the circ? My oldest is circed, but has some foreskin left and sometimes he gets adhesions that make it hurt when he gets an erection.

[NazirsMom]

an erection at 2? wow...why does that happen? you ladies say its normal? I will keep this in my for the future with ds...

[jralex]

erections are normal.. think of morning wood (pardon the expression) but men starting at a very very young age get them... with erections in babies like 2 year olds... they don't have to play with it to get an erection... sometimes it just happens.. either they have to pee or it just happens.. they really don't know what's going on.. when my sister noticed it with my nephew she was just in the beginning stages of potty training.. and he was still wearing diapers.. noticed they hurt him more when he wore diapers.. they only way i would be REALLY concerned is if he starts complaining it hurts WHEN he's peeing cuz that could be a sign of an urinary infection.. take note of when they're happening.. maybe it's right before he pees..

good luck

[pbear13]

When he does have an erection, he won't let you get anywhere close to to it. He doesn't say it hurts unless I move it (erection or not) to get him clean. I am just going to keep an eye on it. If it doesn't get better, I will take him in. I just wanted to get someone's elses opinion on it. See if there wasn't something else I should mention to the Dr. since last time all they did was a urine test, didn't really examin it.
Thanks Ladies

[NazirsMom]

I mean I know erections are normal....I just never knew they started that young....

thanks

[_Gypsy_]

A lot of boys start getting erections shortly after birth.

You just never notice until they aren't in diapers anymore...

[JennMomof3]

Even with the diaper on, they can get an erection. Thats probably whats wrong. My son is 3 and when he gets one he says the same thing it. And when you pull up his underwear he is very sensitive about not touching his wee wee.

[pumpkinhead7]

I mean I know erections are normal....I just never knew they started that young....

thanks


Baby boys can get erections in utero. It's not a sexual response at all, just a response to temperature changes and non-sexual stimulation (full bladder, etc).

Unless the foreskin is retractile, it would be unusual for a child to get a yeast infection under the foreskin if uncircumcised.

OP, is your ds circ'd? If not, this may be associated with separation trauma. When the foreskin starts separating from the glans, it can sometimes become itchy and/or sore. This is all very normal.

[Peanut1207]

Oooooooh, youch! My 10 month old has had an adhesion too and from the way his circ looks I"m guessing it'll be that way for awhile. Is there anything we can do to avoid it? I pull back whats there all the time to clean it out but it still seems like one side is more attached. The circ. issue is an issue in our house. DH supports, I'm on the fence. Although my mom just started working in a urology clinic as a nurse and the doc she works with says the rates for penile cancer are much higher in uncirc'd males...they aren't sure why though. Poor baby boys!

[alejorge]

My DS#2 was about 7 months old when he got his first little erection. My DS#1 gets erections all the time and he is 3yrs old he has been getting them for quite some time now. It is also his favorite little toy.

[pumpkinhead7]

Oooooooh, youch! My 10 month old has had an adhesion too and from the way his circ looks I"m guessing it'll be that way for awhile. Is there anything we can do to avoid it? I pull back whats there all the time to clean it out but it still seems like one side is more attached. The circ. issue is an issue in our house. DH supports, I'm on the fence. Although my mom just started working in a urology clinic as a nurse and the doc she works with says the rates for penile cancer are much higher in uncirc'd males...they aren't sure why though. Poor baby boys!


The penile cancer thing is a myth.
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/312/7033/779/c

The rate of penile cancer in the general population is something like 0.001. When the initial data was collected to support this claim of increased risk of penile cancer, the rate of neonatal circumcisions was something like 20%. So, essentially, those who comprised the statistics were mostly uncircumcised. As the rate of neonatal circumcision has risen, so too have the number of circumcised males who have developed penile cancer. If another study was done now, the rates would probably not be different.

If your circ'd child has adhesions, they should not be disturbed. This can cause the formation of scar tissue that can interfere with the function of the penis later in life. They will loosen up during or before puberty in the same way the foreskin would loosen on it's own and become retractable at that time. So, basically, if it doesn't seem to be causing him pain and isn't obviously infected, just leave it alone :). Clean it as you would your finger nails.

[Bama_5]

When he does have an erection, he won't let you get anywhere close to to it. He doesn't say it hurts unless I move it (erection or not) to get him clean. I am just going to keep an eye on it. If it doesn't get better, I will take him in. I just wanted to get someone's elses opinion on it. See if there wasn't something else I should mention to the Dr. since last time all they did was a urine test, didn't really examin it.
Thanks Ladies


I replied by PM because for whatever reason, the boards would not allow me to sign in and post in the forums (even though I could sign in on my account and send PM's). Since you replied to my PM, no need to re-reply here (unless you want to do so, of course).

Since I am finally able to sign in and post/reply in the forums, I decided to post a shorter version of my PM in case a reader might benefit from what I said. If you need the longer version, feel free to PM me.


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Basically, ITA with Tifttu and blessedbythree. While erections can be painful and are common, your OP does not sound like that is the problem and if it was, I'd suspect you'd have figured that out by now.

For Tifttu, the desitin worked. For my ds, I had to go stronger, using Lotrimin or clotrimazole cream (an antifungal) and stay faithful to the recommendation to apply for two weeks even if the skin seemed to be improved. I did have to do this several times before it seemed to finally leave us alone. If, after two weeks, you have a period of relief and then he starts to fuss again, I'd apply the creme for another two weeks immediately and not wait on "signs" of redness. This is what I did and it has worked well for us.

At this point, if he fusses, I simply use powder for a few diaper changes (that has zinc oxide) and that is usually enough. However, if the powder did not stop the fussing or fussing seemed worse, I'd go back to the lotrimin (generic is fine) for a period.

Other things that seemed to help:

Cool bath water

Rinsing wipes with cool water (instead of warm and rinsing well enough to rid of the chemicals on the wipes) or using homemade ones with only cool water

Lotrimin or clotrimazole cream (an antifungal) can be found in the adult section of the pharmacy and is often labeled "for jock itch". The brand I bought had two options, one was regular strength and the other was twice as strong (double the active ingredient). I decided that I'd try the regular first since it was on a toddler and not adult. The regular strength did the trick for us.

Bama

[pbear13]

Once again Thank You Bama!! Your experience, insight and suggestions were helpful and very much appreciated!!

We have used lotrimin before (he got yeast infection after taking an antibotic) and am running to town today to get some more.
As for wipes, I have also used the senstive ones, (he has excema) except when he was broke out. I am going to skip using them while using the cream to see how the works for him.

Thanks for all the replies ladies!!