I am at my wits end. My almost 7 year old is constantly picking his underwear out of his crack. I have tried smaller size in underwear, a bigger size. Boxer briefs and the tighty whitey kind. Nothing seems to help. It is very noticeble and I am afraid other children are going to start picking on him. Plus I hate knowing he is uncomfortable. I even asked if he wanted to go commando, he does not and was astonished that I asked him. Any advice is welcome, I am willing to try anything.
Thank you everyone that responded, I hadn't ever thought about it being another problem, such as itching. He does wipe very well. I sat him down and talked with him about what the actual problem was. Now that he is more aware that it is very noticeble it's not as bad. I think part of it was habit. He now spreads his legs a little to let the legs drop, and we bought a tighter fitting boxer briefs. Problem is in the process of not being a problem. Thanks again
Are you sure he is picking his underware out - or picking because he is itchy or something.
Since you seemed to have tried everything in the underware department with no success, my thought went to pin worms. Sorry, I know, it's yucky to think about, but actually quite common (according to Dr. Oz...), esp in school age kids whose bathroom hygene is still developing....
http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/pinworms-topic-overview
This is going to sound odd, but have him walk around the house in his underwear and watch and see what the problem is..
Usually a wedgie from the underwear is due to them being too small.. Either in the tummy area.. or the bottom area.
IF there is no actual wedgie.. could be itchiness dues to something in his bottom as the moms have suggested
or could be his pants are too tight in the bottom or tummy area.
So sorry! I think that Loving M. has a really good point - it's the first thing I thought of.
If you are able to rule out pinworms, you might give him a tube of Desitin and have him put some on his bottom. It could be that it's irritated. If he's not wiping properly, it can make his bottom sore and so he scratches. The more he scratches, the more irritated it becomes, and it becomes a vicious cycle.
Hope this goes away for you both soon!!
Dawn
I know his pain, I have lopsided hips (due to a childhood surgery) and live with a perma-wedgie. At his next check up make sure his hips are alright, they should be, but just to be sure. Also check to see if it's a wedgie or..itchy from poor wiping. Boys are notorious for being bad wipers because they usually just drip dry and are on their way.
It may just be his curse. :)
To expand on Laurie A's great answer, if he doesn't seem to be getting a wedgie walking around in just his undies, you might consider that it's his pants causing the issues. My son is skinny as a rail but has a chunky butt, and it causes his pants to creep up.
If it is the undies, try some different brands. My son's favorites are Tommy Hillfiger, (bought at the outlet store.)
What about plain old boxers?
Like some others, I wondered if this might not be an issue of underwear fit at all but a medical or toileting issue. He may as others noted have pinworms, but it may not be even that serious -- it's possible (sorry, have to say it) that he doesn't wipe poop sufficiently and might have dried stuck-on poop that makes his backside itch, feel stiff, etc -- the stiffness on the skin would feel a lot like a wedgie, and also if there's poop on his skin, his underwear is going to stick to it and dry there, hence the underwear up the crack. Even a small amount dried in a spot you can't see just with a glance at the backside could be an issue causing discomfort. I'd get him checked by the doctor for pinworms or other poop issues and I'd ensure he's using flushable wet wipes for poops at home. Not sure what to do about school, though. Maybe have the teacher let him keep some wet wipes in his school bag, but will he remember to use them, or fear others will ask about them?....
