How Should Redness And Inflammation Around The Scrotum Of A Child Be Diagnosed And Treated?

Posted on Mon, 25 Jul 2022

Question: My son is 8 1/2 years old. For as long as I can remember, he keeps getting what looks like a really bad diaper rash. His behind and around his scrotum will get very red, inflamed, and sometimes develop open sores. He’ll be at his dad’s house for 3-4 days and come back to me with it really bad. I’ll put desitin on it at night after a shower, and over the course of the 3-4 days he’s with me, it gets better. He said he uses wipes at his dad’s when he goes potty, which right now is the only real difference I see between the 2 houses that would only affect him down there. Well, my ex’s mother also lets him eat what I consider to be an excessive amount of fruit too - not sure if that could be causing the irritation as well or not. He said it’s very painful, and sometimes causes him to walk funny. I think he’s really sensitive down there - even as a baby he’d get really bad diaper rash, no matter how quickly we changed him.

Answered by Dr. Deepak Kishore Kaltari (29 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Likely to be Candidiasis

Detailed Answer:

Hi,

Being a parent myself I understand the concern. As the diaper rash is recurring so often following causes needs to be considered and ruled out

1. Candidial (fungal diaper dermatitis): Underlying infection in form of fungus could lead to recurrence , as the primary cause is not treated

2. Contact Dermatitis: Allergy to fabric of Underwear or the detergent used could be the cause

I would possibly strongly consider the first cause as most likely cause of recurrence. Exact diagnosis of any skin lesion will depend on good clinical examination. Providing clinical photograph would be really helpful.

Local Application of Clotrimazole Ointment ( anti fungal ) would be helpful, if the lesion is severe : mild local steroid ointment needs to be applied.

It would be quite helpful if you could get back to me with clinical photograph.

Awaiting your response. Have a wonderful day
Regards,
Dr. Deepak Kaltari

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Yogesh D