why does my son keep getting a fungal infection?

Question

so i've got a 16 month old boy and he has this fungal rash on and around his penis, even on his bum (and no it is not diaper rash. i checked with his doctor) now, he has prescribed nystatin, and ketoconazole cream to treat it and it still hasn't gotten better, in fact its gotten worse..

dont tell me to go to the doctor, i already have an appointment but its not for a month..

what causes fungal infections? and how come he's never had it before he was a year? and why is nothing helping?

i've tried, every type of diaper cream, every type of baby powder, yogurt, baking soda, and different diapers..

apart from sleeping, he has been running around diaperless for 3 days straight...

any suggestions?

and dont tell me to get another doctor. he is a very very good doctor, just busy.

um yea i use baby wipes not tissue.. u obviously dont have kids..

its not the diapers. i've tried every kind there is.

i think its funny that people dont read exactly what i wrote.. someone actually said "let him run around diaperless"

um, yes. i've done that for 3 days....

his doctor assumed it was fungal, he didnt test it or anything.

dont tell me that i'm not cleaning him properly, i always disinfect my bathtub and bathroom and everywhere else before i let him play in anything.

you can get infections that have nothing to do with cleaniness.

Answer 1

Is your doctor SURE it's fungal (has he taken a culture of it and tested it?) or is he just ASSUMING it is because of the way it looks? My older son went through something similar when he was about a year old. We tried everything we knew to do, and quite frankly, I was getting sick of taking him to the doctor. The different medicines we tried did nothing...it wasn't fungal, it wasn't bacterial, it wasn't this it wasn't that. Finally, we took him to a pediatric dermatologist, and it turns out it was a reaction to an antibiotic he had taken about a month before for an ear infection, and he said it would clear up on its own (which it did, two weeks later).

I'm not going to tell you to find another doctor, especially if you like the one your son currently sees, but if you can, I strongly suggest you call back and try to get on a waiting list or cancellation list so you can get your boy in sooner. Can you imagine (if this is a fungal infection) having one for over a month? That would be like having a yeast infection for a month.

Answer 2

If your son has been on an antibiotic, it is probably a yeast fungal infection. It has nothing to do with cleanliness. Try mixing lotrimin af with some hydrocortisone cream. This is what my Dr. recomended. It works great!!! Keep area dry and make sure area is dry before treating. Hope this helps

Answer 3

I always used cornstarch on my kids when they would get yeast infections. My daughter had them alot up until the age 3, my son only had a couple times. But cornstarch used as a baby powder put into their diapers or undies always worked for me. Jenny12986 mentioned Monistat. I forgot about that, that does work pretty well. Just buy the cream and apply to the areas

Answer 4

You said don't tell you about trying creams or whatever, but seriously, my daughter had a yeast infection when she was a baby and nothing would cure it, nothing!!!! I used miconazole, nystatin, micostatin, silvadene, EVERYTHING! Finally I found Boudreaux's Butt Paste, and I swear to God her infection was 50 % better the next day, on day two 75% better and by day three you wouldn't have known she had one at all. I made sure to change her often, keep her clean and dry and religiously put that cream on her, poof! Try it.

Answer 5

Can it be possible it is from the diapers themselves. The baby may have developed an allergy to them or something in them. My nephew was like that and my sister changed him to a different brand and he is now doing better. It could also be from something that he is eating or a new bath soap any of these can be an irritant to baby skin. It could be a reacurring yeast infection if the doc prescribed nystatin creme.

Answer 6

It's a yeast infection. My son had the same problem. what worked best for me was that i mixed the diaper rash cream with monistat. After just one day it went away. after it's gone make sure you put diaper rash ointment before he goes to be. if they go all night without getting a diaper change they get irritated. the ointment helps them keep their skin safe from any infection. i use the aveno with the monistat. hope this helps

Answer 7

It could be that it's an environmental cause.

8 years ago I have a fungal abcess that was caused by spores getting into an open cut and working their way up to my brain. If you have some sort of mold problem inside the walls, or if you allow him to play near turned earth (the cause of my abcess) he could get spore transfer through the air.

Answer 8

My son had nystatin and it really helped alot. In fact, I only had to use it on him 3 times and the rash was gone. try some A&D ointment, other than that I can't be of much help. Sorry.

Answer 9

Make sure you wash your hands before you change him (and after too) and have him checked for thrush. I found nystatin worked well and then I coated with baby powder with zinc. The zinc creams are too thick and they just make it worse.

Let him go without a diaper for a while during the day. (Like running around outside)

Answer 10

Try corn starch it will completely dry it up and after that try Dr Smiths diaper ointment. You can get it at wal-mart or Walgreen's. If that still doesn't work I really don't know what else to use. I'm sure your doctor will give you something good to use(even if it does take a month to see him).