TMI but need help- (genital issue)

ButterflyWings

Tuesday afternoon In our 1x daily standoff over changing his wet depends, I noticed a difference in DH’s most sensitive body part. The skin was almost covering the tip, looking almost uncircumcised, but he IS circumcised.

There was some swelling and he said it didn’t hurt, but then that it did. He eventually let me rinse it off and I called the Dr & nurse practitioner had me get an antifungal yeast infection cream to try.  It is not better today. We spent much of the afternoon + evening thx day “airing things out” as I decided I’d rather clean up pee for a couple of days if that allows whatever is happening to subside. The nurse said to “watch it” & if not better, take him to urgent care or the ER. I think that’s where we are headed but I’m more scared than he is. What’s going on? What will they do?

I’ve been wracking my brain trying to find causes & so has his nurse...

- maybe full Depends caused pressure, constriction plus moisture

- he’s gaining weight so the sm-med size is getting snug but it stretches so I wasn’t thinking it was causing him pressure

- he sits all day, nurse asks it could have been in a bad position & caused this. May go away.

- is it an allergic reaction or med interaction? We recently increased seroquel to the 100mg tab 2x daily, also finished a protocol of Cephalexin antibiotic for suspected UTI

- this pkg of Depends is slightly different, with more ribbed, kind of scratchy elasticize section and the absorbent padded part stops well below the waistline in front vs our regular Depends—-maybe his penis got irritated by the texture + pressure of full depends by a he afternoon hours every day+ moisture? (someone recommended a North something incontinence brand a whil back... expensive but good and we liked them - I just didn’t need to switch for good at the time- I think we do now)

Meanwhile, he says it doesn’t hurt, then said it did. And it hurts me to even look at I this way! No discharge or discoloration, no scratches or injury.  He can still urinate. But I’ve never seen this in our 20 years of marriage. It happened suddenly with no obvious trigger & seems serious now.

Anyone have a clue?

Ed1937

I have never heard of this. But if it were me, I'd take him to the ER. I don't think this is something you want to take the time to "try" things on. If I had to guess, I'd think it might be due to the different structure of the depends, but that's just a guess. I have found these to be excellent, but you'd have to wait a few days to get them in the mail. They are for either sex. https://www.parentgiving.com/shop/dry-direct-ultimate-protective-underwear-for-adults-9300/p/?onsite=ddspecial  I hope you get it figured out. Keep us posted.

M1

BW if memory serves me I think the term is balanitis-swelling and irritation of the glans. Could be bacterial or fungal either one, if the topical cream hasnt helped he may need an oral treatment. And yes, the wet depends probably contribute so switching brands is warranted. Keep us posted

DrinaJGB

My DH has diminished pain perception so that may be the reason he cannot articulate the pain level. Yeast takes a while to clear up---it is not going to happen after just one day of cream, so if it is yeast you may need to be a bit patient.

DrinaJGB

Also FYI--The powder for yeast seems to work better than the cream--at least that was our experience when my DH was in ICU for a month.

dayn2nite2

Also, I would forget about urgent care and if you're taking him anywhere, the ER is where he needs to go.  That organ can become gangrenous.  Is he diabetic?

ButterflyWings

Thanks for all the feedback and tips. I’m sure all of you are correct. This is so scary. We are at the ER now (walked in...I got him to go with me— sirens, police/paramedics/ambulance just sets him off too much.) Waiting for triage

He’s not diabetic but I did read that antifungals could interact with seroquel? I assume that’s the oral med which the /nurse practitioner was going to call in, but never did. If prescribed we will definitely take it. 

Thanks everyone- will keep you posted. And will be upgrading incontinence briefs, getting the powder, plus trying to change underpants more than 1x daily after we get through all this...even if I have to stand on my head to entertain him.

EllisA

nothsharecare.com  great people.  EllisA

ButterflyWings

Wow, I just typed a 4 paragraph response, and it deleted. 

So typing it again: M1 you nailed it. Diagnosis is balanitis. We have meds (anti fungal and antibiotic) but they started the anti fungal pill in the ER and checked his liver function to confirm it is strong and the meds won't hurt. Also confirmed that things will look worse for another day or so but then should shrink back to normal after the yeast subsides.

We spent 7 HOURS in the emergency room today. Glad it was not immediate life or death. They were super short staffed (only 3 of the 12 that should have been on the shift). Reminded me that Covid is having lots of collateral damage too...med provider burnout and stress, plus lots of folks are jumping ship from traditional hospital jobs. A friend's wife (RN) is making $20k a month right now after she took a private contract offer she couldn't refuse, as a traveling nurse doing exactly what she was doing. 

Sundowning in the ER was interesting. DH got testy with me once when he decided to help another waiting patient who was in lots of pain. They didn't want DH in their space/face (nor did I!) but until security convinced him to return to our seats, he gave me a few choice words and probably exposed us to Covid lots of times. I replaced his mask dozens of times. But we sure had to get some urgent answers and treatment so...it is what it is. 

Got the meds at the pharmacy drive thru, picked up pizza, came how and fell asleep. I'm up not trying to catch up on emails from my work day, and wanted to give you all and update plus say thanks again!!! Every one of your suggestions was correct, and so helpful. Thx again

Thanks Ellis - Northshare is the one we ordered from before and the briefs were great. Switching back to that more expensive brand now, but if it prevents what we are going through now, it is worth it to not have briefs that contribute to, or cause, a problem.

ER doc says it will look worse before it starts to show clear improvement. Will keep you all posted.

M1

Bless you BW, I'm sure you're exhausted. Hope tomorrow is an easier day.