Q for intact men: retract ever?

[Maiasaura]

i am trying to avoid weeding through the probably vast info on here

my boy is now nearly 8. i know retraction is a no-no when they are babies and when they are very little. but how about now? is there an age when it's time to retract and clean in there?

ds had a sore penis for like a week, on and off, recently (like last week). he said it was where the glans ends, that ridge part, before the shaft. you could see a red spot *through* the foreskin on his glans. we used plantain-infused oil and that seemed to clear it up temporarily, and a bath, and after a couple days of this (it was so sore he didn't want to retract at all) he did finally retract and there was some hair and fuzz caught in there; he got it out, and there was an awful stink. next day he took a bath and pulled it back to try to clean around in there.

is this the thing to do now that he is older? clean some now and again?

thanks

[Fellow Traveler]

Originally Posted by mercyn

i am trying to avoid weeding through the probably vast info on here

my boy is now nearly 8. i know retraction is a no-no when they are babies and when they are very little. but how about now? is there an age when it's time to retract and clean in there?

ds had a sore penis for like a week, on and off, recently (like last week). he said it was where the glans ends, that ridge part, before the shaft. you could see a red spot *through* the foreskin on his glans. we used plantain-infused oil and that seemed to clear it up temporarily, and a bath, and after a couple days of this (it was so sore he didn't want to retract at all) he did finally retract and there was some hair and fuzz caught in there; he got it out, and there was an awful stink. next day he took a bath and pulled it back to try to clean around in there.

is this the thing to do now that he is older? clean some now and again?

thanks

Intact guy here, sounds like you got it right. It's only bad in infancy or childhood for someone else to do it because they don't have the same 'feedback' on how it feels and they could take it further than comfortable. Now that he is comfortable doing it, you can just make it a habit at each bath though in all honesty it isn't imperative that it happen every day or every other day. I do it at each shower, as do many men I am sure, but I've gone several week when it wasn't available. For him just a retract and swish in the water should do it.

[Maiasaura]

yay, thanks!

ok, so it's about HIM doing it vs. someone else. i get it.
he did let me help him with the owie but i'm sure once he gets much older, that ain't gonna be a go (even though i plan to be a nurse at some point).

he doesn't even bathe every day prolly more like once or twice a week for bathing, and then if it's more it's for water play

so i will tell him he should prolly clean in there now and again just to keep that owie from happening again.

thanks so much!

[Papai]

If it doesn't hurt him to retract, he's free to do it.

As for retracting ever, YES! Intact adults can and should retract regularly for washing and sex. Although it's not a requirement during sex, most intact men natrually retract partially or fully when erect anyway.

[latinalonestar]

He can retract, rinse, and replace.

[Maiasaura]

thanks, guys

he just had a tub, and i went in just after reading your responses to remind him, and he said he already did (clean in there).

he said "i had to make it stiff because it's easier to clean that stuff out that way" i'm like...mmm, that's TMI

silly kid

[Fellow Traveler]

Originally Posted by mercyn

thanks, guys

he just had a tub, and i went in just after reading your responses to remind him, and he said he already did (clean in there).

he said "i had to make it stiff because it's easier to clean that stuff out that way" i'm like...mmm, that's TMI

silly kid

Hmm. Think about that statement and then wonder why people think that boys might not wash it in the shower, from my experience it often got the most attention. Especially the older he gets.

[Maiasaura]

oh gawd....so are you telling me that's why guys seem to take such long showers?

sigh...i needed to know that...

[KMK_Mama]

Originally Posted by mercyn

thanks, guys

he just had a tub, and i went in just after reading your responses to remind him, and he said he already did (clean in there).

he said "i had to make it stiff because it's easier to clean that stuff out that way" i'm like...mmm, that's TMI

silly kid

I had to laugh at this.

[Asha+Joy]

Originally Posted by mercyn

oh gawd....so are you telling me that's why guys seem to take such long showers?

sigh...i needed to know that...

Hey come on, we all knew that.

[Maiasaura]

seriously. i didn't.
sigh.

[Fellow Traveler]

Originally Posted by Maiasaura

seriously. i didn't.
sigh.

I don't know if you saw the Penn and Teller video, but they say as much in that. The common question was people asking will a boy wash, and keep himself clean. And Penn or Teller (can't remember which one) answered, "How hard do you think it will be to convince a boy to rub his d**k in the shower."

I assure you it won't be a problem.

[talk de jour]

yeah, as long as he can.

(TMI alert) I had an intact partner once who had a phimosis problem and, um, it was pretty obvious smell-wise that he couldn't wash properly

so, um, once he hits sixteen or so, you might, um, want to make sure he can retract enough to wash properly. Because it was really gross.

[Alyantavid]

Originally Posted by latinalonestar

He can retract, rinse, and replace.

Seriously, the best advice ever!

My 6 year old retracts to clean in the shower and he's never had problems.

[Fellow Traveler]

Originally Posted by talk de jour

yeah, as long as he can.

(TMI alert) I had an intact partner once who had a phimosis problem and, um, it was pretty obvious smell-wise that he couldn't wash properly

so, um, once he hits sixteen or so, you might, um, want to make sure he can retract enough to wash properly. Because it was really gross.

I think the best way to ensure that is to make sure that he knows that it's supposed to do that, even if a boy can't do it yet. That way if it becomes a problem they'll know and can speak to the Dr. about it.

[Maiasaura]

Originally Posted by jwhispers

I don't know if you saw the Penn and Teller video, but they say as much in that. The common question was people asking will a boy wash, and keep himself clean. And Penn or Teller (can't remember which one) answered, "How hard do you think it will be to convince a boy to rub his d**k in the shower."

I assure you it won't be a problem.

no, i've never seen it, but i am familiar with Penn and Teller. i can just imagine. i get it

Originally Posted by talk de jour

so, um, once he hits sixteen or so, you might, um, want to make sure he can retract enough to wash properly. Because it was really gross.

off to look up phimosis...sounds gross!
but he can retract enough; i've seen him do it (especially after this Fuzz Fiasco ) and even from just fuzz, it smelled pretty rank. though it didn't smell till after he retracted it enough to tell what the problem was, and even he agreed that it stunk. because it hurt him to retract it-- not from the retracting itself, but because the hair or fuzz or whatever that had gotten caught in there caused an inflammation. it's pretty well a done deal, now, though; the problem is gone : and now we've both learned something new. clean in there!

he does seem to complain a lot of fuzz/hair getting caught in there though. he's always pulling stuff out. ew.
prolly comes of sleeping nakey in flannel sheets, and not wearing underwear

funny thread, this (that it has turned into)

[talk de jour]

Originally Posted by Maiasaura

off to look up phimosis...sounds gross!

It's when the end of the foreskin is too tight to draw back when the child is old enough and mature enough that they should be able to.

This guy's was so tight that it physically would hurt him for it to draw back/expose the head during dtd. (can I say that?! )

[Fellow Traveler]

Originally Posted by Maiasaura

no

he does seem to complain a lot of fuzz/hair getting caught in there though. he's always pulling stuff out. ew.
prolly comes of sleeping nakey in flannel sheets, and not wearing underwear

funny thread, this (that it has turned into)

This could be do to a lot of possibilities but one thing he might try to reduce that possibility is to pull back the foreskin just enough to expose the tip when he urinates.

[Microsoap]

As an intact guy, I just retract my foreskin under the water and replace it over the glans. I think the intact penis is like the canal females have... water goes in, water goes out (especially when you get up in the bathtub). My foreksin is very loose and has a crown-shape end rather than the closed teardrop type.

BTW, I choose to retract my foreskin when I urinate, but it's not a must-do.

[talk de jour]

Originally Posted by Microsoap

As an intact guy, I just retract my foreskin under the water and replace it over the glans. I think the intact penis is like the canal females have... water goes in, water goes out (especially when you get up in the bathtub).

Water does not go inside my "canal" if I take a bath/swim/whatever.