Your little one has been crying for a while and you don't know how to calm him down. He seems restless, and often takes his hands to the diaper area. If it is something older, I may tell you that it hurts, itches or stings your penis. You take off the underwear, thinking that you find the area somewhat reddened or with the classic diaper rash, but you discover with horror that the tip of his penis is very inflamed, red, and even a purulent secretion can be seen.
It is a balanitis, an inflammation of the glans that is accompanied by a lot of pain, discomfort when urinating, reddening of the penis and sometimes also of infection. The causes of balanitis are diverse, and the pediatrician will determine the treatment. We tell you how balanitis occurs and what to do in these cases.
Causes of balanitis in children
According to the Spanish Association of Pediatrics, between two and four percent of children suffer at some point an episode of balanitis, being ** more frequent between two and five years ******.
The main cause of balanitis is the superinfection of secretions accumulated under the foreskin When there is phimosis. That is, since the foreskin cannot be retracted, proper hygiene is hindered and this causes urine droplets to accumulate between the glans and the foreskin. Sometimes it does not become phimosis, but prepucicial adhesions are the causes of superinfection and inflammation.
In Babies and more A warning: do not let pediatricians or nurses lower the skin of the penis to the baby to cure his phimosisOn other occasions, balanitis is caused by the use of certain irritant soaps, foam baths or disinfectants not suitable for babies and young children.
In diabetic children, with alterations of the immune system or taking antibiotics, the most common cause of balanitis is candida fungus infection.
How balanitis is treated
It is more than likely that the appearance that our little one's penis acquires in a balanitis process scares us a lot, but it is convenient to know that in almost all cases the improvement is rapid with outpatient treatment.
Since one of the main reasons for balanitis is the lack of hygiene, it is important to take great care of this issue while the process lasts, and logically also afterwards, to prevent the episode from reoccurring.As we have said, balanitis is very painful for the child, so we must be extremely delicate with the care it requires:
First, we must deep clean the area with physiological serum applied with a jerinja, which we will introduce in the balanoprepucial space. This will ensure that we eliminate all purulent secretions.
If the balanitis is not infectious, it is likely that the pediatrician recommends applying a cortisone ointment, but if there is infection, the topical treatment will be an antibacterial ointment and in some cases antibiotic.
If there is a lot of pain, the doctor may also indicate taking painkillers.
If the child no longer uses a diaper, we must teach retract, himself, the skin of the glans when he goes to the bathroom to pee, in order to prevent urine droplets from being retained in the area again. It is not necessary to dry the penis with toilet paper, but if it is done, it is important to ensure that there is no remainder that can cause an infection.
And at bath time, it is also enough that the child himself the skin is very gently separated to clean the area with water. In no case should we lower the skin abruptly or do so if this causes pain or discomfort.
Even so, there are children who have the foreskin so closed by phimosis or adhesions, that the only possible solution would be surgery; especially if episodes of balanitis recur frequently.
In Babies and more The phimosis operation: when it is recommended and what it consists ofCan it be prevented?
When reading this information and seeing that phimosis and prepucial adhesions are behind most balanitis, many parents may think that to avoid this problem, it is best to lower the skin of their baby's penis. But This practice is totally discouraged., since children under 12 months have the foreskin and glans attached from birth
In Babies and more, do we have to lower the skin of the foreskin so that they don't have phimosis?According to the article "Conservative management of the foreskin" by JM Garat, the percentage of children whose foreskin can be retracted is 4%. At one year of life, 50% of children. At 2 years, 75%. At 3 years, 90%. At 4 years, 91% and at 5 years 92%.
That is, in most cases, phimosis resolves spontaneously as the child grows, especially when he leaves the diaper behind and he begins to touch, stretch or retract the skin.
But if the adhesions do not disappear with the passage of time, or the child frequently suffers episodes of balanitis, discomfort when urinating or urinary infections, as we have said, surgery may be necessary.
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