Don't know whether to post here or in 'health' but do I try to potty train DS at 16 months? anyone got any ideas about recurrent balanitis?

[crimplene]

DS has recurrent balanitis (inflamed foreskin). He's now had four courses of antibiotica and is getting run down with the diarrhoea. Swab results negative, the docs have been saying we should have him circumcised but not keen on the idea and I don't know whether to belive tham as that's what they said on day 1. Unless we let the infection get very dangerous and painful they can't get a good enough sample to identify the bug and have suggested that it might not be a bug, even though the antibiotics get rid for a time. GP refuses to refer to a urologist and says that they'll only tell us to have him circumcised as well.

We were using cloth, but switched to Pampers in case that made any difference (they didn't, just allowed the diarrhoea to get out all over the place).

When DS doesn't have a nappy on, it seems to get better. DS is showing no interest in being potty trained and whilst I don't care about our floorcoverings and will happily replace the only carpet we have downstairs afterwards, I'm worried that we could be in for a very long time of poo and wee everywhere.

I'd love some ideas, either on trying to potty train when he's really too young for it or any other ideas about what we could do to trat the balanitis any other way.

Does he have excema? The reason I ask is that ds2 had recurrent balinitis and antibiotics too. He has excema and was seeing a dermatoligist and when I mentioned it to her she said there was excema on his penis (I had never noticed) and the breaks in the skin from the excema were letting bacteria in. As son as we started treating the excema (cream on his penis), he never got balinitis again.

No - thanks for the idea - he has some slightly bumpy little spots on his face that I'm not sure about but they don't look serious and I'm sure it's not eczema, it seemed to start the first time as a fungal infection but since then no signs of the fungal infection again

yes, what IlanaK says happened (kind of) to ds - he had recurrent balanitis after loads of antibios for another problem and an excellent doctor eventually said it was a fungal infection as reaction of antibios (that he kept being prescribed for balanitis and other prob)

I also went to a homeopath alongside treatment for fungal infection, he's been clear for ages now (touch wood)

hope your ds better soon - it's so awful for them, isn't it?

Homeopathy was one of the next things I was thinking of trying - will give them a ring on Monday if you think it helped dinny

Oh, poor ds and poor you. No advice as haven't been there but I do sympathise.

As two of you have suggested it, have just asked DP if there's and eczema in his family (I'd just assumed not, dunno why) and he says his Mum used to have it. Add that to the allergies and asthma in my family and it sounds more likely. Do I just go and get some E45 or something and see if that helps?-

Sorry, had to go and clean DS up as he'd just poo'd on the (wooden, phew!) floor again. Thanks for the support, I think we've seen a different doctor every day this week so feeling pretty demoralised about it, but we decided we'd prefer ruined carpets to surgery (hey they were runied years ago anyway!). We've still got about a week of diarrhoea from the latest lot of antibiotics to cope with and keeping the nappy on all the time isn't an option - but it has to get less vile after that.

No idea about balanitis but I can give a few idea about avoiding wee/poo everywhere

This is a basic guide to ECing...Here

In particular I would try and introduce a sign/sound to your son when he goes and hopefully you can use a cue sign to encourage using the potty or toilet.

It might be worth using timing, ie. sit him on the toilet at likely wee times...after naps/meals/bath...

If you take him when you go to the toilet, and sit him on a potty. The sound of your wee will trigger him to go (if he needed too)

This is a good Yahoo group on late ECing for 6 months upwards which sounds like it would really help you and your DS....
ECing Late Starters Group

Thanks BabiesEverywhere, I like the idea of using sound cues and will give it a try. Cheers!