Fucking fungal infections!!

[Indecisivelurcher]

Aibu to ask how to actually get rid for once and for all?! I've had athletes foot which has left me with an itchy sole for 6 months now. But worse, my poor 4yo Ds had balanitis (a bit like foreskin thrush) for 4 months now, it's the second time this year, it looks like it's clear but the irritation persists and makes him think he needs to urinate every hour day and night. From 2am last night he was up every 1hr or even 30 mins. He doesn't actually go, because his bladder is empty. We've tried 3 different creams. The only thing that helps is using hydrocortisone cream for 2 weeks, but a few days after stopping that the irritation is back. The doctors haven't actually seen him, offered an appointment in 4wks time. So an turning to mumsnet. How do you actually make these really persistent fucking fungal infections go?!

Could you take him to the pharmacy and ask the pharmacists advice? Ours has a private room where you can show them rashes/discuss things in private. I appreciate it’s in a delicate area, the pharmacists may prefer to advise & not actually look, but they do have a lot of training & are perfect to advise on treatment.

Many pharmacists do this, not just Boots

www.boots.com/prescription-support/minorailments

Stop eating sugar and flour for a couple of weeks.

@HazelandChacha

Could you take him to the pharmacy and ask the pharmacists advice? Ours has a private room where you can show them rashes/discuss things in private. I appreciate it’s in a delicate area, the pharmacists may prefer to advise & not actually look, but they do have a lot of training & are perfect to advise on treatment.

There is actually nothing to show! There are no visible signs. The pharmacist just says to speak to the GP. The GP just says try a different cream.

Stop eating sugar. Eat lots of live unsweetened yoghurt. (Both anecdotal but worth a go). Boil wash all pants, socks, PJ'S, replace slippers (it can survive a low temp wash so you are probably reinfecting yourself). Possibly also worth boil washing sheets and towels and bleaching bathroom floor. Drink plenty of water, especially your son. Hth!

Are you boil washing towels, socks and underwear? You might be reinfecting yourselves. Or it could be there's a bacterial element as well as a fungal infection. Vitamin C and Zinc capsules might help your body heal itself too. Are you using the cream until well after the infection has cleared? It says on my tube of athletes foot cream to continue to use it for 10 days after symptoms stop to prevent recurrence.

Lots of little things can help; diet for sure.
Air! Undie less in breezy joggers and sockless shoeless for you.
Cooler non sweaty temps
Clean dry cotton
Disinfectant. Detol/pinesol/bleach

So DH suffered for years with a particular form of athletes foot called "mosaic athletes foot". Solved....washes feet every day with Australian body care tea tree skin wash. Are you using the anti fungal cream in the balinitis? I'd use the skin wash and the cream and then the skin wash to maintain.

For the athletes foot I used lamisil once then wash my feet every few days with nizoral shampoo which has worked
Not sure about the balanitis, maybe your ds needs a swab so that the cause canbe ascertained

Yes to consistent use of cream for months at a time (caneston, daktarin, different sprays), threw out shoes / pants, air helped reduce symptoms over the summer but more clothes are required now and both seem to be worse. Ds has always been a drinker, downs beakers. I'll look into diet and vitamins suggested. Not sure how I'd manage to get a 4yo to cut out sugar and flour, he's a right bread addict! But I do home bake it so it's lower sugar already.

Will also look up the shampoo, thanks.

I think at this stage this is more serious than being fixed with creams or diet though... The doctor has mentioned circumcision as a possible but obviously we don't want it to come to that.

Interested to hear off anyone who has had an oral anti fungal, or a swab to identify the strain.

My 3yo boy has had balanitis and also had phimosis (v tight foreskin) we were told to use the steroid cream for a few months - the point of it was to use the skin thinning side effect of the steroid to help make the foreskin a bit stretchier and easier to keep clean. We had to go to out of hours as he was in such pain. Dr there said previously it would have been circumcision but the steroid cream is the “new” treatment.
We have actually had quite good results and gp said to stop using steroid now - though no dr has actually laid eyes on him/his bits since the out of hours in July 🙄

@nervousseacreature thank you for replying!!! That's really interesting. I was told by the doctor to use the steroid cream for 7 days only, and told quite strictly. But because it was the only thing that helped, a month or so later when we were at our wits end with night wakings every 30mins I decided to use it for 2 weeks. It really helped. Ds started to sleep through. Stopped using it last Saturday and already by last night and today just awful.

Has he been checked for a UTI if he feels he needs to pee all the time?

@dementedpixie

Has he been checked for a UTI if he feels he needs to pee all the time?

Yes multiple times and always clear.

Ask the doctor to do a swab and get the lab to do sensitivities on any yeast grown. It's not routinely done because most fungal infections are cleared by over the counter medication but sometimes if it's a more resistant or unusual strain then you might need a prescription.

I actually thought the out of hours dr said the same thing so used steroid for a week (as normal) and then stopped. Straight back to balanitis symptoms.
Got a phone appt with gp who said no, use it for 2 months and then call back. It definitely seems to have stretched things and his foreskin doesn’t balloon when he pees like it did before. I do wish someone would have had a look though, it stresses me that they are relying on my word about and I’m really not a foreskin expert 😂
I would def try to get gp appt (even just by phone?)
This nhs page does mention use of steroids
www.nhs.uk/conditions/phimosis/

Also I don’t use anything in the bath. Now, just plain water. If I’m washing his hair I shower him to avoid soap irritating him.

Good luck, it is so uncomfortable for them. My wee boy just cried constantly for hours in the first attack of it, he was miserable. You can’t go on like that, it’s not fair on him

Meaning the gp can’t let him go on like this, not “you” you!

Cheers @nervousseacreature. I've had several phone appointments with GP, I had arranged a nurse appt previously because I just wanted someone to actually look and check it was all anatomically correct, as you said, I'm not a foreskin expert! On the day of the appt the nurse rang me to say they don't do that sort of thing as it is classed as a hygiene issue, she suggested I Google it instead. Just crap imo.

That is really rubbish service IMO! I would maybe speak to a pharmacist re longer term use of cream (as you already have it). We only used a teeny bit morning and night but I was v nervous of using a steroid cream long term. Gp also suggested gently stretching it in bath (I guess meaning trying v gently to move it back, no force at all though. My ds does do this ok himself and things definitely look stretchier than they did before).

I know the gps/nhs is very stretched but it’s not fair to leave a little boy in pain and discomfort and fob you off with the hygiene excuse. If he’s v distressed maybe you could try out of hours (if there’s one in your area?) we couldn’t get anyone at our gp to look at him. Practice nurse prescribed anti fungal cream but ooh dr said no to that and gave steroid

I had a toenail fungal infection and used Gehwol spray, worked very well for me, so you might get good results with same company for athletes foot treatment. But I also wore open toed footwear as much as possible. Nothing but cotton socks, no tights, no plastic shoes or sandals. Also avoid fluffy slippers , same reason, reinfection, they provide the ideal warm moist environment for fungus to thrive. Shower daily. Be careful about reinfecting yourself, even using the same foot file for example. I now use cardboard nail files for heels and hard skin, easier to dispose of. Cut down on sugar or carb dense foods. As for your son encourage him to drink water water water. Although it seems like drinking water makes him pee more it will help with his irritated bladder/urethra. Same rules with personal washing, no soaps on his nether regions. Cotton underwear changed daily and if sweaty with running around, shower as soon as possible. Pyjamas must not be nylon. And dont share towels.

As an aside dont ask to see the gp tell them you want to be seen. Tell them it's disgusting they're neglecting your son and if necessary write to complain, via email, so its dated.

Just a thought but if your son is drinking loads could he be diabetic? Has your dr checked for this? Diabetes can cause recurring fungal infections.