Medical: Ouch! "Little Bird"

Swollen to twice its size — turns out phimosis caused a bacterial infection

A 3-year-old boy developed a bacterial infection due to phimosis, and his "little penis" swelled to twice its normal size. The photo is not of the patient.

(Photo by reporter Liu Binquan)

[Reporter Liu Binquan / Nantou report] A 3-year-old boy in Nantou returned home from a weekend outing with his family and complained that his "little penis" hurt a lot. His mother saw that his genitals had swollen to twice their normal size and was shocked. She quickly took him to the urology department. After examination, doctors found the boy had a bacterial infection caused by phimosis, resulting in redness, swelling, warmth and pain from inflammation. With antibiotics and topical ointment, the swelling has gradually reduced.

Dr. 李昇平 of the Urology Department at Nantou Hospital said the recent hot and humid summer, combined with phimosis, likely made it difficult to clean the genital area properly, leading to bacterial infection.

Most boys experience phimosis, where the foreskin tightly covers the glans, but it usually improves as they grow older. If infection causes balanoposthitis, symptoms can include redness and swelling of the foreskin, pain, and even pus-like discharge from the genital area.

Dr. 李昇平 said that treatment for inflammation includes antibiotics plus topical ointments. Once the swelling subsides and the foreskin opening becomes looser, the foreskin can be gently pushed back to rinse with clean water, which will help the inflammation improve.

As for whether family members ask if circumcision is necessary, Dr. 李昇平 noted that surgery is not recommended unless infections recur frequently. Because children usually require general anesthesia for the operation, the risks are higher. If a child has more than two infections in a year, further evaluation and treatment should be considered.