My 2-year old son has been trying out the potty. Usually he sits on it every night before bed (in addition to other times). The last few nights, he has peed while on the potty and some of his urine has ended up on the toilet seat (one that sits on top of the regular toilet seat). Within seconds he starts crying and scratching at his butt and genitals. I can tell it is irritating his skin and it makes him clench up his muscles and collapse. Tonight, he scratched so hard it made him bleed. We have given him Benadryl and put hydrocortisone on his skin, but wonder what the cause of this could be. Is he allergic to something in his urine? He doesn't seem to have any irritation when he has a wet diaper, just when the urine gets on his skin while he's on the potty. Will call the doctor tomorrow, but wondering if anyone knows anything about this.
So the first change we made is altering his potty seat so that his pee doesn't splash onto his skin . . . that solved the problem initially. His urine was causing him to itch and then once he scratched, the urine would irritate him more. We're also trying to have him drink more water and I'm giving him a daily dose of acidophilus. This is all helping (we think), although now it seems that his poo might also be irritating his skin in a similar way (not diaper rash, but itching).
I wonder if there is something on the seat that gets wet and then irritates him? You could try washing the seat carefully to see if that helps.
Otherwise, perhaps you can show him how to clean himself up with a wet baby washcloth to get it all off. If you get him to start cleaning up quickly enough that might help.
Is he still wearing diaper/pull-ups? Having diaper free time on the potty could simply be a new/unusual sensation for him... plus, I think after sitting in a relatively tight diaper for a while skin just tends to itch when you take it off. My daughter does that same thing and from my own experience, when I have been wearing something tight for a few hours and take it off, the skin underneath just itches (for example under the bra...).
You could teach him to pee standing up ... see if that helps...
Could it be the cleaner you are using on the potty? Or do you have something in the bowl??? I would also use caution when giving a 2 yr old benadryl. I would call my md before giving even when the box says a certain age. Hope you find relief
Kudos to you for starting now. My son is almost 2 yrs and not nearly ready for potty training
Good luck
L
Hi A.,'
Lots of good ideas here, let me throw one into the ring:
your detergent may be the cause. Years ago, I had a bad rash 'down there' and my (very bad) doc suggested I might have some contracted some nasty social disease. Sooo unlikely. Well, I switched laundry detergents and Voila!, rash and irritation gone. (this has since happened to a few friends, so it's more common than it seems).
Aside from switching detergent and running things on an extra rinse,you could check to see if there's something (stitching, fabric) in his underpants that could be lightly abrading the skin. This will also cause stinging.
And you can rinse diapers wipes out completely in a couple sinks full of water and use them this way to wipe your son. The fibrous toilet paper rubbing on the area may be exacerbating things.
Hope your son finds some relief. What a frustrating way to use the toilet!
Maybe he's allergic to some aspect of the potty seat -- more likely than urine since he did not react before.
When you see the doctor be sure to ask about possible metabolic disorders. Unless he is dehydrated or on a diet rich in very high acid foods (cranberries, etc.) there is really no reason for his urine to cause such a strong reaction. Please keep us updated, I really want to know what you find. Here is a link I came across that might help.
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Urology/Burns-on-baby-from-u...
I second the citrus--although we saw diaper rash, it also burned later when the kids were potty trained. And it was INSTANT diaper rash: no diaper rash, happy skin, but then they peed, started screaming, I ran them to the hall to change their diaper, and red horribleness was everywhere under the wet part of the diaper ... . We call it "owie pee." Now they are old enough that I do sometimes buy citrus and remind them that they will have "owie pees" if they choose to eat it.
One thing to try is regular grownup moisturizer ... this time of year skin is more likely to be dry, and dry skin reacts more badly to topical irritants. I get dry hands like crazy (because I've had to wash them so often with so many kids in diapers for so many years), and when a kid gets any kind of irritation (besides hives) I use my hand creme (currently an organic-type one). Having your butt smell like pumpkin pie spices is a bit silly, but overall there is less pain ;).
What do you use to clean the potty seat? Traces of it might be reacting with your son's skin when it gets wet. Strong cleaners or disinfectant sprays are not "necessary," though manufacturers would like us to believe they are. Many contain toxic and irritating substances that can actually harm children.
If you use these, try wiping the seat well afterward with clean water on a clean cloth.
For general cleaning, a weak solution of baking soda in water works well.
I'm glad you're looking for solutions early, before your sweet boy gets a negative association with the potty.
This is very common for toddlers who have an higher acidity level in their bodies and their urine feels like it is "burning" them. Two different things to do.... make sure they drink alot of water during the day - if they get dehydrated the urine will become more concentrate. The second is to go to a health food store and get some "Probiotics" - I have my kids take the Probiotic Pearls because they don't have to be refrigerated. It is a high dose of acidopholus (sp) and other good bacteria and it will help balance out the pH in the body and will help it become less acidic - NEUTRAL is the best for all body functions. Good Luck!
T.
Is it possible that he didn't like the way the wet felt and then his scratching caused the irritation? A wet plastic seat feels much different than a wet diaper. Has he over reacted to other unusual stimuli?
Another idea is that the combination of urine and whatever you've washed it with and that didn't get completely rinsed off caused the development of something irritating. Or perhaps something has fallen onto the seat such as a bowl cleaner.
His urine is probably too concentrated. Have him drink more water during the day.
Could it be the toliet cleaner you are using?
Ok, these happen to my brother. He is older then me, so going on what my mom said she did. He was allergic to his urine. She found out wehn she used cloth dipers.(when he was a new bron) She had to start useing huggys. So when she started potty training. She always gave him a rub down with a wet cloth, or a bath if need be. She always watched to make sure none stayed on the skin for no more then a sec. When he got older it quit. Hope this helps C.
Hello:) my daughter has been having this exact thing happen to her! It's like she's allergic to her own urine! She is still in diapers and every time she pees she immediately starts scratching and whimpering so I take her diaper off right away and her down stairs area is all red and she tries to just sit and scratch at it. I've tried everything! I tried asking the dr and didn't really get a response. She had her urine checked and no yeast...so the only thing I can think of is that her urine is irritating her skin.
I really doubt it's the urine. I would suspect that it's the feeling of the wet seat. Try a different seat maybe. We also have our daughter just sit directly on the big seat and hold her hands so she doesn't fall in. :)
my friends daughter had big problems with citrus, tho she never investigated if it's an 'allergy' or not. she just couldn't drink it. even after she was potty-trained, she would get a painful rash. i'm pretty sure she had a rash after drinking citrus while in diapers too tho, so that probably doesn't solve your diaper vs. toilet mystery.
good luck!
