Hyperemia of the foreskin in a child. Balanitis in children: causes. Treatment of balanitis in children at home

When married couple When her son is born, she is forced to deal with many specific diseases. One of them is balanitis in a child. In most cases, the pathology is fungal in nature. Its main symptom is inflammation of the skin on the head of the penis. Such an unpleasant problem requires a serious approach to therapy and cannot be avoided without the use of special drugs. Today’s article will discuss how to treat balanitis in children.

Features of the disease

Balanitis belongs to the category of inflammatory diseases. Its development is always accompanied by itching, discomfort and pain in the area of ​​the head of the penis. The pathological process is based on the action of foreign organisms; much less often it is a consequence of mechanical damage.

Balanitis can occur in a child of any age. In infants, its appearance is caused by prolonged wearing of diapers. First, this causes diaper rash, and then an inflammatory process.

There are several forms of the disease: simple, candidal, obliterating, erosive. Each of them has characteristic symptoms and requires a specific treatment option. For example, with candidal balanitis, a small rash appears on the skin, and in the case of erosive balanitis, multiple ulcers appear. The obliterating form is accompanied by atrophy of individual areas of the dermis.

Any of the presented forms of the disease can worsen. In this case, the child’s condition deteriorates sharply, he becomes whiny and irritable. Therefore, if you suspect balanitis, the symptoms of which will be described below, you should immediately seek medical help. The sooner the doctor prescribes treatment, the faster the recovery will come.

Why does the disease occur?

The main reason for the development of balanitis is considered to be infection. It penetrates between the head of the genital organ and the foreskin. Usually it is played by a fungus of the genus Candidae or other pathogenic flora. The following factors may contribute to their appearance:

1. Physiological phimosis. This is a fairly common disorder in which the head cannot be completely exposed. The result is a closed space that is inaccessible for high-quality hygiene procedures. Between the foreskin and the head a favorable environment is created for the life of pathogenic microbes. With age physiological phimosis goes away on its own. That is why children under 5 years of age are more susceptible to balanitis.
2. Failure to comply with basic rules of personal hygiene. Many kids simply do not know and do not know how to properly care for their body. In the absence of regular water procedures, inflammation of the glans penis in a child occurs.

Sometimes the development of the pathological process is accompanied by serious health problems. In this case, balanitis is secondary. The risk group includes children with diabetes mellitus, helminthic infestations and venereal diseases.

The first manifestations of balanitis

Often the development of the disease is preceded by the child’s excellent health. He may complain of itching and redness in the area of ​​the head of the genital organ. His parents themselves begin to notice his restless state. Among the main symptoms indicating the active proliferation of pathogenic microflora, the following should be highlighted:

• slight swelling of the skin in the area of ​​infection;
• reddish rash;
• the appearance of scales on the genitals;
• discharge of purulent secretion from under foreskin with an unpleasant odor.

Young children cannot clearly talk about their problem. They begin to act up the next time they try to examine the genital organ. In the acute stage, children deliberately restrain the urge to urinate, which ends in enuresis at night.

Candidal balanitis in a child, in addition to the symptoms listed above, is accompanied by an increase in temperature. Sometimes the lymph nodes in the groin area become enlarged. Children with this disorder appear lethargic and constantly sleepy.

Medical examination

For successful treatment it is necessary to determine the form of the disease. First, the doctor must examine the small patient, analyze the complaints and study his medical history. After this, studies are prescribed to determine the causative agent of the disease. For this purpose, a smear is taken from the urethra.

In case of a complicated course of the pathological process or its chronicity, additional diagnostics are carried out. The little patient is prescribed a comprehensive examination:

1. Blood sugar test.
2. Tests for STIs (taken only from teenagers).
3. PCR.

If it is possible to identify balanitis in children in time, treatment can cope with its manifestations within 3-4 days. During this period, inflammation can usually be stopped.

How to help your child at home?

Sometimes you can overcome balanitis in children at home. Treatment will be effective only at the initial stage of the disease. However, before this, consultation with a pediatrician is required.

The basis of home therapy is baths with medicinal herbs. For this purpose, you can use St. John's wort, chamomile and calendula flowers. After the procedure, inflamed skin should be gently wiped using a soft towel. Traditional healers also recommend using these herbs to make lotions and infusions.

To reduce itching in the genital area, you can wipe it with a slightly salted aqueous solution. To prepare it, you will need to mix a teaspoon of salt with 500 ml of warm water and stir well. Use a cotton swab soaked in the solution to wipe the surface of the genitals.

After a course of therapy at home, you need to see a pediatrician. If the results are unsatisfactory, the doctor will prescribe medications.

Drug treatment

Depending on the cause of the disease, your pediatrician may prescribe an antifungal cream, an antibacterial agent, or a steroid ointment to treat it. Let's consider each of the options in more detail.

Antifungal drugs are prescribed for candidal balanitis. Clotrimazole is considered the most effective. The instructions for use recommend using the ointment twice a day until symptoms disappear completely. The course of treatment lasts no more than a week.

In case of ulcerative balanitis caused by pathogenic flora, an antibiotic cream helps. Chloramphenicol is most often prescribed to children. Some doctors prescribe antibiotic tablets, for example, Erythromycin. The dosage of the drug is selected individually and depends on the age of the small patient.

A mild steroid cream is recommended to reduce inflammatory process. The choice of a specific remedy remains with the attending physician. Most often they resort to the help of “Hydrocortisone”. Like Clotrimazole, the instructions for use recommend using the ointment twice a day. In this case, you should avoid taking warm baths.

Manifestations of the disease usually go away within 3-5 days after the start of therapy. If balanitis does not respond to treatment and symptoms continue to appear, it is advisable to discuss other treatment options with your doctor.

The need for surgery

How to treat balanitis if it has become chronic and does not respond to drug therapy? In this case, doctors most often decide to perform surgery. It involves excision of the foreskin. This is a rather radical, but at the same time effective method of combating the inflammatory process.

Prevention methods

Many parents have had to deal with such a pathology as balanitis in a child. This is a serious disease, the treatment of which should not be neglected. Otherwise, the disease may become chronic. Its therapy is no longer limited to taking medications.

Is it possible to prevent balanitis in a child? The main precaution is high-quality and timely hygiene of the genital organs. She needs to be supervised by her parents first, and then they can teach her the basics of a baby. You need to change your underwear daily and try to choose your diapers wisely.

Another preventative measure is to increase immunity. For this purpose, the child must be provided good nutrition, walks in the open air. Any colds should be treated promptly. And at the slightest suspicion of balanitis, you should immediately seek medical help.

Sensitive parents always know how to help their child in a given situation. However, a child’s complaints about inflammation of the head of the genital organ require a qualified approach, which means that medical help cannot be avoided. Quite often, such symptoms indicate the development of a disease called balanoposthitis. When faced with this problem for the first time, parents bombard the doctor with questions, trying to find out for sure why the disease develops, how it threatens the baby, and how to treat balanoposthitis in a child. Let's fill the gap in knowledge by talking about this problem in detail.

Characteristics of the disease

To understand the issue, let’s say that balanoposthitis represents two pathological conditions:

• balanitis is a condition in which the head of the penis becomes infected;
• Posthitis is a pathology characterized by inflammation of the foreskin.

When the process covers both surfaces, the doctor diagnoses balanoposthitis.

A child with this disease suffers from an inflammatory process that covers the foreskin and head, and experiences excruciating pain when urinating. If you do not respond to the baby’s complaints and do not begin to fight balanoposthitis, the infection will penetrate deeper, covering other organs of the genitourinary system.

Causes of the disease

The cause of the development of such a disease in a child is pathogenic microbes, from staphylococci to E. coli. It happens that inflammation is provoked by fungi of the genus Candida or. However, certain conditions are necessary for the development of the disease, namely:

• infrequent washing and rare diaper changes;
• use of inappropriate powders and hygiene products;
• forced exposure of the head.

However, most often the cause of the development of this disease is the so-called phimosis, i.e. difficulty opening the baby's head. Until the age of 7, not all boys become exposed, but this cannot be considered a disease if there is no inflammation and nothing bothers the child. This condition is considered normal. However, the head should open slightly, because smegma accumulates under the foreskin - lubricating the head with urine particles. This is the ideal environment for infection to occur. Parents should wash out the smegma while the child is taking a bath, otherwise the risk of developing balanoposthitis increases many times over.

Symptoms of the disease

Fathers and mothers should pay attention to a baby who sleeps restlessly, is often capricious, constantly reaches his hands to the genitals, or complains of itching and pain in the head area. Parents themselves may notice swelling, ulcers, and sometimes purulent discharge from under the foreskin. Common symptoms may include enlarged lymph nodes and a rise in temperature up to 39ºC.

Treatment of the disease

If you suspect balanoposthitis, the baby should be shown to a doctor. Self-treatment of such a disease can lead to complications and deterioration of the baby’s condition.

First of all, a child with balanoposthitis needs careful intimate hygiene. In this regard, you need to wash your baby in the morning and evening, as well as after visiting the toilet. And when putting on a diaper, you should not forget about treating the skin with moisturizers and anti-inflammatory agents.

The basis of treatment for this disease is drugs that reduce inflammation. This can be an infusion of chamomile, a solution of Furacilin, potassium permanganate or hydrogen peroxide. During the procedures, you should not expose the head; the products themselves will penetrate into the infected area. After such procedures, which can be carried out 5-6 times a day, it is necessary to apply an antimicrobial ointment to the foreskin and glans, for example