doctors and retracting foreskin

[Lolafanana]

Hi there

this is my first time posting on this forum and i have a question. I took my 1 year old ds to a new doctor for a well baby visit and during his exam, the doctor retracted his forskin a bit. no other doctor had ever even touched his penis before and i heard doctors (or anyone) should ever retract the foreskin. When he did it, I was concerned but just figured he knew what he was doing and he only retracted it a teeny bit.

"The tip of his penis looks red today. Could it be getting infected? And whats the deal with retracting it? Are they supposed to? Is a little okay or can that be harmful?

Thanks
Diana

[paquerette]

No, they're not supposed to do that but many doctors did not get the memo. He may have microtears now causing the irritation, and he will be more prone to get an infection. A soak in the tub with a little baking soda thrown in may soothe things a bit. Other than that, just leave it alone and let it heal. No one should retract or attempt to retract, not even a little bit, except your son himself. Next time you see any healthcare provider, be clear with that upfront and be ready to remove their hands if they don't behave!

[Lolafanana]

thanks paquerette- i didn't think he was supposed to do that but i didn't know for sure. i REALLY like this pediatrician so i'm hoping to talk to talk to him about it next time i see him

thanks so much
diana

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

I would definatly talk to him about it going so far as to bring print outs from the AAP about not retracting and making him sign the Intact Care Agreement that can be found here http://www.mothersagainstcirc.org/care.htm

While he didnt force it as badly as he could have you have seen what even a tiny bit of retraction can cause when it isnt the boy doing it himself so from here on out tell the Dr. that you do not want him touching your ds's penis at all.

My rule now after having 2 Dr's mess with ds is they can look but they cannot touch and if they need to move the penis around I do it for them now. I take no chances at all after what I have been through.

It is so much easier to prevent and injury than it is to heal it.

[Lolafanana]

okay so another question is about his testicles. Do doctors have to find them? He was feeling for his testicles to see if they dropped yet. Is this normal?

[Heidi74]

Originally Posted by Lolafanana

okay so another question is about his testicles. Do doctors have to find them? He was feeling for his testicles to see if they dropped yet. Is this normal?

I don't know whether that part is necessary, but in Norway, where I'm from, the doctor did feel to see if the testicles had dropped. I think that's normal to check..and harmless. In Europe they certainly wouldn't retract the foreskin though. (I'm glad I read this now that we're in the US so I can be on the alert for it during checkups here.)

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

They check them for hernia's as well as both being down. Once it is established that they are down there is really no need to look for that any more but I dont have a problem with a hernia check since that isnt something I am 100% sure I could catch.

The Dr. does usually need to move the penis out of the way for that and that is acceptable but that is as much as he/she should touch it.

[Fyrestorm]

I hate to be a PIA stickler here...but language means everything.

Can we please use 'intact' instead of 'uncut' or 'uncirced'

I know this has been mentioned here before, but saying UN.... sounds like something that should have been done wasn't.

If you still have both of your breasts are you unmastectamized?

If you're female are you uncircumcised?

If you have all your limbs are they unamputated?

Intact is normal...circumsized requires surgical intervention. You are not un anything...you are normal.

[Lolafanana]

thanks so much for clarifying all of this! None of my friends boys are uncut so I have no one to ask these questions to !

Thanks!

Diana

[fruitful womb]

Originally Posted by Fyrestorm

I hate to be a PIA stickler here...but language means everything.

Can we please use 'intact' instead of 'uncut' or 'uncirced'

I know this has been mentioned here before, but saying UN.... sounds like something that should have been done wasn't.

If you still have both of your breasts are you unmastectamized?

If you're female are you uncircumcised?

If you have all your limbs are they unamputated?

Intact is normal...circumsized requires surgical intervention. You are not un anything...you are normal.

Having all that you were born with isn't UN doing anything. Its an oxymoron to say you're subtracting from the body when you've actually kept all that you were born with.