How common...

[~NewMa~]

Just wondering how common "ballooning" and other... complications? of an intact penis are?

[Fellow Traveler]

Originally Posted by ~NewMa~

Just wondering how common "ballooning" and other... complications? of an intact penis are?

I don't know solid figures but ballooning isn't really a complication. It just means he is peeing faster than what can pass through the end of the foreskin so it balloons. It helps encourage separation but isn't painful, the foreskin is quite elastic. The only other thing you should be aware of is that a small number of boys when they begin the process of separation (often between 2 and 5) can experience intermittent soreness, have a red tip, puffyness. Of that small group and even smaller group might be really sore. This is often what is mistaken for infection but it's just a growing pain like teething and few even notice it happens. It goes away in about 48 hours. We have a thread around that describes it but if you're not prepared and it does happen it makes parents worry, since they don't know.

[Cheshire]

I don't know solid figures but ballooning isn't really a complication. It just means he is peeing faster than what can pass through the end of the foreskin so it balloons.

Yes, ballooning isn't a complication but a natural process of separation. I want to add that from observing my son it isn't that he is peeing faster than what can pass through the opening - it is more that his urethra and the opening in his foreskin don't line up exactly so his foreskin balloons right as he starts to pee, as the urine empties out of the opening it lines itself up and the ballooning goes down well before he is finished urinating.

[jessjgh1]

the complication rate that is 'accepted' by pro-circs is 1-3% as listed in many sites... This is also what percent they might allow as acceptable for circumcision complications... 1-3%

These numbers are both questionable as the complication rates for intactness are often increased by medical mismanagemetn and the complication rates for circumcision DO NOT include issues that show up after the post-partum period, such as meatal stenosis and loss of sexual sensitivity or function (for example, pain during sex caused by a circ done too tight might never be traced to the circumcision)

Sorry little one waking, need to go w/o editing...

Jessica

[Yulia_R]

Originally Posted by ~NewMa~

Just wondering how common "ballooning" and other... complications? of an intact penis are?

Balloning is NOT a complication; it is a normal part of the separation process.

The whole question sounds extremely ridicules to me. It's like asking what are the complications of not amputating your toes (or ear lobes) at birth! The only "complication" of leaving your body uncut is having whole non-mutilated fully functioning body .

[LavenderMae]

Originally Posted by Yulia_R

Balloning is NOT a complication; it is a normal part of the separation process.

The whole question sounds extremely ridicules to me. It's like asking what are the complications of not amputating your toes (or ear lobes) at birth! The only "complication" of leaving your body uncut is having whole non-mutilated fully functioning body .

:

[~NewMa~]

Originally Posted by Yulia_R

Balloning is NOT a complication; it is a normal part of the separation process.

The whole question sounds extremely ridicules to me. It's like asking what are the complications of not amputating your toes (or ear lobes) at birth! The only "complication" of leaving your body uncut is having whole non-mutilated fully functioning body .

I used the word "complications" with a question mark right after it, for lack of a better word because I didn't understand that ballooning was a normal process.
I think it was extremely insensitive of you to call the question ridiculous when I'm asking to be educated.
There are rare cases of complications arising with both circ'd and uncirc'd boys from the material I've read.
Just like there can be complications with any part of a "healthy" body.
By asking this question, I wasn't trying to decide whether or not to leave my son intact. That decision has been made and he was not circumcised. I'm simply trying to learn what developmental differences we might happen across because my son is really one of the only uncirc'd boys I know.
I'm trying to learn something!

Try to be a little more understanding would ya

[tammyswanson]

Hey, congrats on keeping your baby whole! :

Weirdly, my son had a bit of ballooning when he was really little (a few months), and then after that, nothing at all. I think it was because the $#@!@ resident at the hospital tried to retract him when he was 3 days old. I knocked her hands away very quickly before she could do any damage, but she may have done a little damage. Gotta watch those people like hawks!

Here are some great links to websites about intact babies:

http://www.nocirc.org
http://www.circumcision.com
http://www.circumsitions.com
http://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.com

[Tinijocaro]

Originally Posted by ~NewMa~

I think it was extremely insensitive of you to call the question ridiculous when I'm asking to be educated.

I have to agree, that struck me as a rude way to treat a person.

[KMK_Mama]

My son just turned 3 yesterday. He has been telling me his penis hurts on and off for a few months and then about a month ago when he was showing me how he stands to pee, I noticed his foreskin balloon a bit. I asked him if he could pull it back at all and he tried and it did. He was very excited and now plays with it all the time. LOL It doesn't completely retract, but almost. I was surprised because I thought he would be much older before it retracted.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

I have no idea how common things happen but sometimes they do. A thread I put together with some things you might see http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=764732

Most are normal some require treatment NONE require circ.

I think Yulia was not saying your question was ridiculous but the general idea out the in the "public" are ridiculous.

[MyBoysBlue]

Originally Posted by ~NewMa~

Try to be a little more understanding would ya

Yulia, like I, comes from parts of the world that don't or rarely circ. I didn't even know that anyone circed for reasons other than religious until I came to this board. To be honest when I first read your question I laughed. To me it seemed like a silly question. But that is because of where I am coming from. I have an intact husband and two intact boys, no one I know the status of is circed. We don't even think to look for problems.

[Yulia_R]

Originally Posted by MCatLvrMom2A&X

I think Yulia was not saying your question was ridiculous but the general idea out the in the "public" are ridiculous.

:

Originally Posted by ~NewMa~

Just like there can be complications with any part of a "healthy" body.

I've never EVER in my life have heard about any other body part's problem being referred as a complication due to this part not being amputated at birth. The whole concept of this would have been ridicules and this is what I meant. For example, can you imagine if your finger got infected or cut (or ear infection or a broken toe nail) being referred as a complication due to being un-amputated??? If someone doesn’t equally apply the same rule to foreskin it can be only due to one reason: double standards blindness.

I never meant to be rude and I applaud any parent who chose to leave their sons intact . You are a smart mama and your son is one lucky little guy.

[~NewMa~]

Originally Posted by Yulia_R

Balloning is NOT a complication; it is a normal part of the separation process.

The whole question sounds extremely ridicules to me.

Sorry to be so defensive but she actually did call the question ridiculous and not the "ideas of the public".
Her response made me feel stupid.
I come to this board because I know it is full of useful information from intelligent women. I come to be educated, not ridiculed.

Again I feel Yulian was being insensitive in her post where she stated
"I've never EVER in my life heard about any other body parts problem being referred to as a complication due to this part not being amputated at birth..."

Whether you refer to it as a "problem" or a "complication" doesn't matter.
My point was that "problems" arise in any healthy body at any given time.
I'm not saying it justifies amputation or removal.

Again, I'm from a part of the world where, unfortunately, circumcision is the norm. Therefore, I'm trying to identify how a normal, intact penis may function differently.

It would be similar to if I came from a part of the world that routinely pulled healthy teeth and I decided I wanted my child to keep his.
If I asked what complications could arise by not choosing to pull his teeth and instead leave his body in its natural state, an answer to that question may be that teeth can develope cavities.
That's not to say that his teeth should be pulled out to avoid this, but it is, none the less, a problem you can encounter.

If you're not trying to be rude, you should try a little harder and maybe think about how you word your posts

[~NewMa~]

Oh yeah, and thank you to all the supportive mamas who replied with useful information, experiences and links :

[latinalonestar]

Originally Posted by ~NewMa~

Oh yeah, and thank you to all the supportive mamas who replied with useful information, experiences and links :

Ballooning is not a complication nor are many of the other things that american doctors might be foreign to. The foreskin has not completed it's development until puberty has finished. All the "problems" that you are likely to hear about are really just normal developmental phases that happen as a result of the separation process. The foreskin begins fused to the penis, like a nail to the nail bed. Throughout childhood and adolescents the foreskins separates and the opening widens, making retraction possible. Ballooning, spraying, minor redness, minor swelling, itching, smegma pearls, uneven separation, etc. Are all normal processes that occur as the foreskin is developing. The only true complications that would warrant a circumcision would be frostbite, gangrene, malignancy, or serious trauma. Those are the ONLY reasons!

That said, improper care can cause problems. Forcible retraction is a real danger to an intact boy b/c it can cause scaring, introduce infection, and possibly cause paraphimosis (foreskin to be trapped behind glands) This is why is is VERY important that no one ever manipulate a boy's foreskin. The proper care of a foreskin is to LEAVE IT ALONE.

Here are some great links to keep on hand:

Protect your intact boy:
http://www.mothering.com/articles/ne...uncircson.html

Avoiding Circ after the Neonatal period:
http://www.nocirc.org/publish/pamphlet7.html

Development of Retractable Foreskin in Child/Adolescent:
http://www.doctorsopposingcircumcisi...kinleaflet.pdf

Forcible retraction:
http://www.nocirc.org/publish/pamphlet6.html

Inact Care AAP:
http://www.cirp.org/library/normal/aap/

Thanks for coming and getting yourself educated! Now you can protect your son.