5 y.o. foreskin not retracting yet... questions - Page 2

[Night_Nurse]

Originally Posted by Asche

My two year old balloons when he pees. It looks like he's completely detached. When you try to retract the forskin it is impossible even when he's completely flaccid you can't even see the urethral opening because his foreskin is so small and tight.
Will this resolve on it's own when he gets old and messes with it himself? He already plays with it a little bit.
The reason I'm concerned is that sometimes he acts like it hurts really bad. Like, when he pees. Not lately, but a while back he would start crying really loud when he was peeing. I didn't know what to do. Doc said his urine was too concentrated and that he needs to drink more water, but that's pretty much all he drinks.
So, I don't want to mess with him, because it's his body and his stuff... But, I do have a responsibility to make sure that he is healthy and free from problems and infections, how can I tell that there's an infection (if the crying starts up again) if you can't see it?

You'll get more replies if you start a whole new thread.
You probably shouldn't try and retract him - you might accidentally hurt him. The best thing is to only allow your son to retract his own foreskin, that way he will stop if it starts hurting.
It sounds like normal separation pain to me and separation is normal. Ballooning is also normal. As long as your son can void (pee) then he's okay. Please read this info about normal separation process and what to do for pain:

http://www.mothering.com/discussions....php?t=764732?

http://www.mothering.com/discussions....php?t=1050900

[artgirl]

totally off-topic:
But OMG CatLvrMom... that picture of Jasper............

[carliec76]

My just turned 6 year old has been "ballooning" for years now. I never knew what it was all about but also never gave it much thought. He is still un-retractable and has never had any issues. I say just give him warms baths. My son went through a resent "itchy" period. But it was an itch he liked to scratch not one that bothered him...lol
I always thought the average age for retraction was in the tweens. I mean how many 5 year olds really need their penis's to be sexually usable. Just makes sense that it would start retracting closer to puberty. So hard to find an intelligent medical doctor. Just wait tell he starts talking about his penis all the time like it is the funniest thing in the world.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Originally Posted by artgirl

totally off-topic:
But OMG CatLvrMom... that picture of Jasper............

I actually didnt really notice him in the first 2 movies but then with the hair in eclipse OMG yummy

Originally Posted by Ashche

My 2yr old.
My two year old balloons when he pees. It looks like he's completely detached. When you try to retract the forskin it is impossible even when he's completely flaccid you can't even see the urethral opening because his foreskin is so small and tight.
Will this resolve on it's own when he gets old and messes with it himself? He already plays with it a little bit.
The reason I'm concerned is that sometimes he acts like it hurts really bad. Like, when he pees. Not lately, but a while back he would start crying really loud when he was peeing. I didn't know what to do. Doc said his urine was too concentrated and that he needs to drink more water, but that's pretty much all he drinks.
So, I don't want to mess with him, because it's his body and his stuff... But, I do have a responsibility to make sure that he is healthy and free from problems and infections, how can I tell that there's an infection (if the crying starts up again) if you can't see it?

You shouldnt try to retract him because you could hurt him. The tip of the foreskin is a sphincter much like the anus and only relaxes to let urine out it then tightens back down to keep stuff out. If he isnt retracting and you force it you can tear the foreskin letting in infection and even get the foreskin stuck behind the glans. As he ages it will loosen and by puberty when the hormones kick in he will probably be fully retractable.

There is no set age when retraction happens. The avg age was found to be 10.5 but anywhere from birth to adulthood is normal.

[AXEius]

Originally Posted by carliec76

My just turned 6 year old has been "ballooning" for years now. I never knew what it was all about but also never gave it much thought. He is still un-retractable and has never had any issues. I say just give him warms baths. My son went through a resent "itchy" period. But it was an itch he liked to scratch not one that bothered him...lol
I always thought the average age for retraction was in the tweens. I mean how many 5 year olds really need their penis's to be sexually usable. Just makes sense that it would start retracting closer to puberty. So hard to find an intelligent medical doctor. Just wait tell he starts talking about his penis all the time like it is the funniest thing in the world.

exactly, ive always thought this myself. Why don't doctors just sit and think critically for a minute. There is NO need for a child's foreskin to retract until he is an adult, and its really not even necessary for an adult's foreskin to retract. it just functions better that way. I have a very hard time believing that a foreskin that has NOT been forcibly retracted would just "seal" up on its own and prevent the passage of urine. I would bet money that if it does seal up, it would be from the damage caused by forcible retraction.

[MomTo2Cuties]

My son is 7 years old and is nowhere near being retractable. He has been ballooning when he pees since he was around 2-3 years old. It's definitely not a temporary phase I guess! When he was around 2-3 he had a couple of days when he complained about it "hurting" when he peed, and shortly after was when he started ballooning. I'm guessing the pain was the separation, and because the tip of his foreskin is still very tight, it causes the ballooning. In any event, every time we take DS to the doctor for his annual physical, the pediatrician does a full exam. I remind him that DS is not retractable yet, and every time he tells me that he should be at this age. And every time he tells me that, I tell him to go buy the book "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You about Circumcision". LOL

[hakunangovi]

Originally Posted by MomTo2Cuties

And every time he tells me that, I tell him to go buy the book "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You about Circumcision". LOL

Good for you !!!

[buckeyedoc]

My oldest son will be 6 in November and does not appear to retract. That is normal.