How to Care for Your Child with Balanitis

This leaflet will provide you with information about Balanitis causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and home care advice.

What is a Balanitis?

Balanitis is when the tip of the penis becomes swollen, red, and painful.

Common causes of Balanitis in children are:

Poor hygiene
Infections (bacterial or fungal)
Irritants from soaps or lotions
Some conditions like tight foreskin (phimosis)
Injuries like repeated rubbing of head of penis against clothes or being caught in a zipper

Symptoms of Balanitis include:

Your child’s doctor will check your child and ask about their health.
Your doctor will decide if further investigation or blood tests are required. In some cases, a swab of the area may be taken to identify an infection.

Treatment depends on the cause. Treatments may include:

Medications:

Your child’s doctor may prescribe creams to fight off infections or reduce swelling, especially if the balanitis is caused by an infection, allergy or irritation.
For prescribed medicines/treatments, make sure to follow the doctor's instructions.
Ensure your child finishes the full course of any prescribed medicine, even if the symptoms improve.
If the doctor advises you to give your child over-the-counter pain medicines, you can give him paracetamol (any brand) or ibuprofen (any brand).
For over-the-counter pain medicines, follow the instructions on the medicine package for the correct dose for your child. Do not give your child Aspirin as this can cause serious complications.

Maintaining hygiene:

Gently clean your child's penis with warm water daily.
Teach your child the importance of gentle hygiene to prevent problems. For older kids, explain how to clean their penis properly to avoid irritations and infections.
Avoid using harsh soaps or bubble baths.
If your child is not circumcised, carefully pull back the foreskin to clean underneath, but only if it moves easily and your child is old enough. Do not force the foreskin back.

Avoiding irritants:

Use gentle, unscented (fragrance-free) soaps and lotions, and stay away from products that can irritate the skin.
Ensure your child wears loose-fitting, breathable cotton underwear to reduce irritation.

Comfort measures:

Encourage your child to drink lots of fluids to avoid concentrated urine, which can cause irritation.
Help your child take a shallow, bath with warm water 2-3 times a day to soothe the area.

See a doctor if your child:

Has diabetes or another condition that could make balanitis worse
Develops open sores or ulcers on the penis
Has trouble urinating (pain, weak stream, or dribbling)
Shows signs of spreading infection, such as redness or swelling extending to other areas
Has persistent symptoms of Balanitis that do not get better after a few days of home care
Experiences recurrent episodes of Balanitis

Take your child to the nearest Emergency Department (ED) if he:

Has severe pain that isn’t relieved by over-the-counter pain medicines
Has signs of infection, including high fever or smelly discharge
Can’t urinate or has severe pain when trying to urinate
Has severe symptoms like bad pain or symptoms that are getting worse quickly, like spreading redness or swelling