I have a big problem with my uncircumcised son, need help! *update* - Page 2

[Lula's Mom]

Just agreeing with the many pp who said I do not think your son has an infection.  Balanitis just means the glans is irritated & inflamed, which: duh, you could have told them that.

I think it is all 'separation trauma'.  The foreskin starts out fused to the glans like a fingernail is fused to your finger- when those connections start to dissolve, and are maybe helped along by the tugging that boys tend to do, it can leave raw spots!  It can be really painful, cause swelling, and end in the expulsion of some normal, healthy smegma.  As someone else said, I've never heard of smegma blocking the passage of urine before, but combined with the swelling of the tissues, I'm sure it's not out of the realm of possibility.  Swelling & pain from separation clears up in a day or 2 without treatment, so even though you used antibiotics, I would not be too quick to believe that they were of help in this case.  And yes to watching out for a yeast infection, yo know that can be a side effect of taking abx.

You don't need to clean under there.  Even now that it has separated, and not after it's retractable.  Just keep wiping the outside if anything gets on it.  Baths or showers are both fine; my boys take both.  Sometimes the baths are plain water, and sometimes there are bubbles in there (they've never had inflammation from bubbles, but some people do).  I have told my retractable 5 yr old that if he retracts in a soapy bath, he needs to rinse with plain water afterward so that soap doesn't stay inside his foreskin and make it hurt.  It's really so easy and trouble-free; doctors often seem to create worry for parents where there is none.

*Edit- I didn't see your other thread, and that you've moved onto the 'specialist' now.  Apologies for posting here instead of the most up-to-date thread.

Edited by Lula's Mom - 12/9/10 at 7:55am

[NYMOM07]

thank you again for all the support and help over the last few weeks. after getting a second opinion from a non-pro circ pediatrician, i decided to do the steriod cream since she said the opening to my son's foreskin was extremely tight and that there needed to be some intervention so that the problem would become irreversible. now, i know that is going to get many of you frustrated since many feel that no intervention was needed, but without looking at my son's foreskin, it is hard to see that he did need help. he was complaining about it being hard for him to pee, that the hole was too small, and i know the skin had detached from the head of his penis because of the ballooning while he was peeing. i looked on line and found something called pathogenic phimosis, which is when the skin is not retractable once it is detached, this concerned me and i decided on the cream. well i have to say that we are having extreme success. there is no pain involved, gentle maniplation of the skin, and within one week his is retractable half way. my son is soooo much happier, actually telling me "my penis is better it is easy to pee now" which makes me so relieved and happy since i know now that he was very uncomfortable. now the pee can come all the way through the foreskin, and we are able to wipe away excess urine, it cant "pool" under the skin leaving room for infection. when the cream is done, after about another week and a half, all we have to do is keep gently pushing it back a few times a day and that will keep it open and loose. i am really so happy that i tried this, circ was not an option but i had to help my son. so thank you again, and i just wanted to share this for other mothers that may have the same situation, intervention is not always a bad thing, *especially* if there is a problem such as phimosis which really does require medical attention.  :)

[Pirogi]

Originally Posted by NYMOM07 

thank you again for all the support and help over the last few weeks. after getting a second opinion from a non-pro circ pediatrician, i decided to do the steriod cream since she said the opening to my son's foreskin was extremely tight and that there needed to be some intervention so that the problem would become irreversible. now, i know that is going to get many of you frustrated since many feel that no intervention was needed, but without looking at my son's foreskin, it is hard to see that he did need help. he was complaining about it being hard for him to pee, that the hole was too small, and i know the skin had detached from the head of his penis because of the ballooning while he was peeing. i looked on line and found something called pathogenic phimosis, which is when the skin is not retractable once it is detached, this concerned me and i decided on the cream. well i have to say that we are having extreme success. there is no pain involved, gentle maniplation of the skin, and within one week his is retractable half way. my son is soooo much happier, actually telling me "my penis is better it is easy to pee now" which makes me so relieved and happy since i know now that he was very uncomfortable. now the pee can come all the way through the foreskin, and we are able to wipe away excess urine, it cant "pool" under the skin leaving room for infection. when the cream is done, after about another week and a half, all we have to do is keep gently pushing it back a few times a day and that will keep it open and loose. i am really so happy that i tried this, circ was not an option but i had to help my son. so thank you again, and i just wanted to share this for other mothers that may have the same situation, intervention is not always a bad thing, *especially* if there is a problem such as phimosis which really does require medical attention.  :)

I am glad you and your son were able to find a solution that you are both happy with! 

I just wanted to address the bolded part above, for posterity's sake.  Just like "balanitis," the term "phimosis" is vague and often used as a catch-all term whenever the foreskin doesn't retract.  Some (doctors, etc) are suggesting that the term "preputial stenosis" is a more accurate term for the pathological condition that can occur, without including the harmless and normal reasons a foreskin may not retract.  Then again, there are adult men in the world whose foreskins never retract, and they are completely happy with their penises, so who is to say what is "pathological" and what is "acceptable?"

I am not definitely not arguing with you here, just wanted to provide a resource for others who may read this thread.  This link gives good information on what phimosis is and the treatments available.

http://www.cirp.org/library/treatment/phimosis/

Again, I am glad you were able to find a non-surgical solution that everyone is happy with!
 

[NYMOM07]

Originally Posted by Pirogi 

Originally Posted by NYMOM07 

thank you again for all the support and help over the last few weeks. after getting a second opinion from a non-pro circ pediatrician, i decided to do the steriod cream since she said the opening to my son's foreskin was extremely tight and that there needed to be some intervention so that the problem would become irreversible. now, i know that is going to get many of you frustrated since many feel that no intervention was needed, but without looking at my son's foreskin, it is hard to see that he did need help. he was complaining about it being hard for him to pee, that the hole was too small, and i know the skin had detached from the head of his penis because of the ballooning while he was peeing. i looked on line and found something called pathogenic phimosis, which is when the skin is not retractable once it is detached, this concerned me and i decided on the cream. well i have to say that we are having extreme success. there is no pain involved, gentle maniplation of the skin, and within one week his is retractable half way. my son is soooo much happier, actually telling me "my penis is better it is easy to pee now" which makes me so relieved and happy since i know now that he was very uncomfortable. now the pee can come all the way through the foreskin, and we are able to wipe away excess urine, it cant "pool" under the skin leaving room for infection. when the cream is done, after about another week and a half, all we have to do is keep gently pushing it back a few times a day and that will keep it open and loose. i am really so happy that i tried this, circ was not an option but i had to help my son. so thank you again, and i just wanted to share this for other mothers that may have the same situation, intervention is not always a bad thing, *especially* if there is a problem such as phimosis which really does require medical attention.  :)

I am glad you and your son were able to find a solution that you are both happy with! 

I just wanted to address the bolded part above, for posterity's sake.  Just like "balanitis," the term "phimosis" is vague and often used as a catch-all term whenever the foreskin doesn't retract.  Some (doctors, etc) are suggesting that the term "preputial stenosis" is a more accurate term for the pathological condition that can occur, without including the harmless and normal reasons a foreskin may not retract.  Then again, there are adult men in the world whose foreskins never retract, and they are completely happy with their penises, so who is to say what is "pathological" and what is "acceptable?"

I am not definitely not arguing with you here, just wanted to provide a resource for others who may read this thread.  This link gives good information on what phimosis is and the treatments available.

http://www.cirp.org/library/treatment/phimosis/

Again, I am glad you were able to find a non-surgical solution that everyone is happy with!
 

thanks pirogi, i know that i will never know for sure if it is something that would have cleared up on its own at a later date, but since this has been very easy and has solved our problem, i am happy that I knew about all of my options and chose wisely with how to help my son- and so many thanks to everyone here!

[Crunchy Frog]

It sounds like this was a situation where some sort of intervention was warranted.  I am so glad that you found a good doctor and were able to go with the the least invasive type of intervention possible, and also that your son is feeling so much better, which is the most important thing.

I think people on this board are so used to hearing about ignorant docs making bogus diagnoses and hair trigger circ reccomendations that we tend to reject out of hand the possibility that there might occasionally be some genuine problem where intervention is justified.

I hope your son continues to be problem free from now on.

[chaoticzenmom]

Originally Posted by NYMOM07 

they didnt swab his penis, all of the tests they ran from the urine sample... i am guessing this is not the correct test? the pedi told me that it was balantis, which i see from the internet is somewhat common in uncircumised males.  how to you ladies bath/clean your sons ?  do you wipe them after they pee?  do you use soap or just water?  how can separation be that painful and cause him to not even be able to pee- the antibiotics started to clear it up within 24 hours... unless that was a coincidence, but i dont think so. thanks for all the input!

I have 3 intact sons.  First was 10 when he became retractable.  2nd I think is just mostly retractable now at 5 and the 3rd is 2yo and only has a small pinhole still.  To bathe them, I use nothing in the water.  They take baths, I wash their hair once every week or so and use a wet wash cloth for their faces and behind ears.   When we've gone through bubble bath phases, they do seem to get more irritated in that area.