cleaning under the foreskin..

Tamara - posted on 06/13/2009

Quoting Lena:

I would encourage you to pull the skin back and clean it well. Be sure to rinse well and make sure the area is dried. If you don't keep it clean your little guy could get a serious infection; which can be pretty painful.

Until a boy's foreskin retracts ON ITS OWN, you NEVER EVER EVER EVER retract it.  This leads to many many problems including infection which you aimt to prevent in your misguided advice.

Tamara - posted on 06/13/2009

If your son is not retractable, DO NOT retract him to clean. His foreskin will retract on its own. Simply wipe it down like you would a finger or other part of the body.

Jennifer - posted on 06/13/2009

so many people told my baby's dad that we should be pulling it back and cleaning it, and others said no, my best advice, call your doctor and ask, no question is stupid, and they know best, mine said it wasn't necessary but to make sure i kept it moist, i used alot of a&d ointment and it healed quickly

. - posted on 06/13/2009

I always wondered wether I should be pulling my son's back and clean it but my plunket nurse told me not to. To leave it alone. I don't want to do anything to cause my son an infection.

Tammy - posted on 06/13/2009

Leave it alone! More infections and problems are caused by disturbing it too early (when it's still attached to the glans). It's normal body part, it's mostly self cleaning and by the time it does need to be completely retracted and cleaned, you will long be out of the business of dealing with it. Have hubby tell him sometime around puberty to retract it and clean it. Until then it's probably not fully retractable anyway and messing with it can cause you to rip back skin that is not ready to be detached leaving an open wound area that is FAR more likely to get infected.

Donna (de) - posted on 06/13/2009

I'd like to thank everyone for all their help, i am feeling much more enlightened on the subject and i'm pretty confident i now know what to do thanks to all your help! i also don't feel like such a bad mum now for not knowing as it seems it's not as obvious as i thought! thanks again! x

Ruth - posted on 06/13/2009

Quoting Francesca:

i have 2 ss's, age nearly 8 and 4, we encourage both of them to pull back and clean themselves. we are a little concerned about the oldest as his is still joined and seems to have the same problem as my husband. my youngest is always fiddling so no problems there!!!

Yeah, I have two who are FASCINATED by what's in their pants! I'm forever saying - "In your room only please! People don't want to see it!".

Francesca - posted on 06/13/2009

i have 2 ss's, age nearly 8 and 4, we encourage both of them to pull back and clean themselves. we are a little concerned about the oldest as his is still joined and seems to have the same problem as my husband. my youngest is always fiddling so no problems there!!!

Jenifer - posted on 06/13/2009

Just did a quick search, and here are a few articles on the topic...

http://babyparenting.about.com/cs/circum...
http://www.aap.org/publiced/BR_Uncircumc...
http://www.drgreene.com/21_513.html
http://www.nocirc.org/publish/pamphlet4....

Ruth - posted on 06/13/2009

This has me intrigued! I'm just reading on a website - Dr Greene.com - and I am enlightened. As long as you CAN pull back the foreskin, (usually able to do it by age 2) then you should wash it gently with soap and water. If you CAN'T retract the foreskin (even in a 10 year old) then just wash the outside. It says that 90% of foreskins are moveable by age 2 but for the other 10% it can takes years more.

Dawn - posted on 06/13/2009

Yes you do need to clean it. I clean my son's ever night. Lena is correct on infections and also the build up of smegma (sp?) will create an odor. Also, if he acts like it hurts you need to get him to a doctor real quick. It should never hurt. That would be a sign of an infection.

Jenifer - posted on 06/13/2009

Is his foreskin retractable - as in it can be pulled back with no resistance? At 18 months, his foreskin is likely still fused to the head of his penis - this is usually the case until 3 or 4 years. You should never force the foreskin back - generally, the only person who should pull back the foreskin is the boy himself, since he'll stop if it hurts. Until then, he only needs to be wiped on the surface, just like a finger. Once it does retract, he'll just need to pull the skin back when he sits in the bath, no special soaps or extra cleaning required. Most boys need very little encouragement when in comes to playing with themselves in the tub....

Ruth - posted on 06/13/2009

I've never heard of having to clean under a little boy's foreskin. A man or teenager - yes, but not a little boy. My son is 4 now and we've never done it and he's never had any problems. I certainly wouldn't feel comfortable about pulling his foreskin back in case I hurt him. Maybe I'm wrong but I don't think it's neccessary at such a young age.

Lena - posted on 06/13/2009

I would encourage you to pull the skin back and clean it well. Be sure to rinse well and make sure the area is dried. If you don't keep it clean your little guy could get a serious infection; which can be pretty painful.

Elizabeth - posted on 06/13/2009

You should probably ask his pediatrician. I know most grown men who are uncircumsized do clean under the foreskin, but as long as he's still taking baths, it's probably like when a woman sits in a bathtub, it kind of washes itself out.