Dr. Saurabh's Child Clinic

Dear Parents,

In my daily practice I see frequently that parents don’t ask me this question when they do its already late and child is suffering of some infection. To prevent any type of skin infection in private parts regular cleaning is very important, cleaning to be done with plain lukewarm water not with soap or dettol water which is a common practice. Soap/Dettol decreases the pH of the mucous membrane and predisposes it to bacterial or fungal infection. This was about cleaning now comes what other things to look for while cleaning. Will discuss this gender wise

Girl Child – for a girl child while cleaning if you see little white discharge, it’s normal. If the discharge is more or foul smelling then u should get alert and meet your paediatrician to take his opinion. Any rashes or discolouration also to be consulted with the doctor

Male Child – there should be no discharge at all from penis. Important thing is that while cleaning penis you should always try to retract the skin over the Glans [ or head] of the penis , in a normal condition we should be able to retract the skin completely. If u are not able to retract then it’s a matter of concern and you need to meet your paediatrician. If you are not able to retract the skin then this condition can lead to local infections, urinary tract infections and difficulty to participate in sexual intercourse later in life.

Hoping this blog was helpful, Please feel free to leave your comments.