Foreskin Support

Kristi,

As a mom to an intact boy, I need your opinion. Harris was running a fever last week, pretty high but at the Drs there was no sign of ear or throat infection. He was also irritable, not sleeping well, runny nose (clear fluid) and not eating well. So Dr says lets check for UTI, and the thought had crossed my mind. She put a bag on him and it was full by the time we got home and I put the urine in a sterile jar and returned it to Dr immediately. It looked very light and clear to me, not at all cloudy. Immediate dip test was negative but got a call today saying culture test came back positive. Dr wants him to see a pedi urologist for more tests.

Harris only ran fever for 2 days and is back to normal , except for the runny nose. After doing a little research, its my understanding that intact boys should be cathed for a clean sample, NOT bagged. I think he had the flu and the positive culture was from bacteria that is normally present on or under the foreskin.

So me and DH are thinking of skipping the specialist. What do you think?

-Darri 40, DH 35, DD 20, DD 9.5, DD 8, and DS born 03/29/08

Here's my question - why does a specialist need to be involved for a suspected UTI?  Give me a break, lol.

My daughter had a UTI under the age of one, and no specialist was needed - just an antibiotic.

I can't give you medical advice, so you'll have to decide what you think is best.  If it were my son, and his fever was gone, and all other symptoms (not acting 'weird,' tired, etc), I'd not worry about it and move on.  The bag method is notorious for having problems.  At the same time, I'd be hesitant to allow my son (or daughter) to be cathed without present symptoms. 

If my son ever had a UTI, and my doctor immediatley suggested a urologist, I'd wonder if she was so terrified of a foreskin and immediately blamed a UTI on it's presence (which is 100% false) - I'd want to have a frank conversation with her.  But that's me :)  Can make things uncomfortable.

I hope your son continues to be well.  If you do see a specialist or go back to the doctor, make sure they DO NOT retract his foreskin, and if they insist on cathing him, don't let them retract the foreskin, or at least just move the opening to the meatus to avoid damage.  Good luck.

Good, you're thinking what I'm thinking. A specialist seems a little drastic and the weirdest thing is I choose this Dr because her boys are intact! So she should know the bag method is faulty for intact boys and she should've called and asked if Harris was still presenting any symptoms. If he had a UTI his fever wouldn't magically resolve itself.

I'm wondering if I should call the Dr and tell her that Harris is fine and we will be skipping the urologist. The call I got today was from a nurse. What I won't do is have him put through a cath. without any symptoms.

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. I needed confirmation from a rational person that my thinking was on the right track. :)

-Darri 40, DH 35, DD 20, DD 9.5, DD 8, and DS born 03/29/08

My thought on the bag method is that it's not a bad way but not the best way. I think using the bag method is more prone to false positives so if it comes back false, I would be inclined to believe it. If it came back positive I would investigate further. Cultures as you described are often performed but perhaps a second to confirm would be useful.

If it were me and his fever was gone and there were no other signs of problems I would also be inclined to not pursue it much.