my 2 1/2 year old boy has phimosis?

[maria1976]

i have a 2 1/2 intact year old boy.

my pediatrician has one time retracted him when he was about 5 months old before i had time to stop him. none has touched him since then.

during our last visit our new ped told us that his skin is too tight and that we should arrange a next appointmwnt to retract it, when i told him that we will not do that he told us that he has too many years of experience and he is sure that it will not retract on its own and if we choose not to the only thing we will do is that we will make our son go through a op under full anaisthisia.

he has no problems during urination or at least he has never complained during urination.

during his bath today i told him that i would clean him and tried to gently pull it to check,

it was tight and i could not even see any hole, i am wondering if i was supposed to see the glands?

i am really concerned.

i have to tell you i am from greece and even though the circumsicion is not prevelant here the ped retract it and the mothers are told to retract at every bath.

any advice is welcome!!!

[mama24-7]

Welcome Maria1976!  So glad for you & your son you came here first.

Sounds like the doctor has taken a lot of classes in instilling fear in parents!  No, your son does not have a problem because he's not retractable.  The average age for that is 10.  Yes, 7 & 1/2 years from now!  And, even if he doesn't retract then, it's still not a problem.  Some males don't become fully retractable until well into puberty.  I think there was a mother here recently who said her husband is not retractable & they have no problems w/ it.

As long as your son can pee fine & is in no pain, then he's fine.  If something does come up, like swelling, pain, redness, etc., there is lots of info here to help you get the care you may need w/o resulting to surgery or anything w/ general anethestia (sp?).  One thing I've seen parents say they would say to a dr. if there is a problem, is how would you treat a girl?  I don't think that FGM is anything to worry about in Greece (someone, Maria, correct me if I'm wrong), so if a girl has a problem, treat it like the patient were a girl, w/o a knife.  

Best wishes,

Sus

[MyBoysBlue]

This is one link I think all parents of intact boys should read.

http://www.cirp.org/library/normal/

Your son sounds perfectly normal.

[maria1976]

thank you so much for your answers,

i am going to leave it to mother nature and pray everything goes well.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

True phimosis cannot be diagnosed before puberty, the reason is that it is supposed to not retract until at least 10.5 (though any time between birth and adulthood falls into the normal category) the end of the foreskin is a sphincter much like that anus and only relaxes when in use. It is nearly impossible to tell exactly how big the hole is because of this. It is especially tight when someone is messing with it. Your best bet would be to try and watch him urinate but even if the stream is thin it isnt a problem since he can urinate.

There are 2 types of phimosis normal (physiological) unretractability is the one almost all boys are born with where the glans and foreskin are fused and the sphincter at the tip is closed tightly when not in use. As the boy ages and his hormones start to work the sphincter starts to loosen allowing for retraction. In the mean time it clamps down tight to keep things out when not in use.

The second type, Pathological phimosis, is where there is damage to the tip of the foreskin either by repeat forced retraction or repeat untreated infections and some diabetics run into issues as well. This type can only be diagnosed after puberty has been well established. The sphincter will be scared and that prevents it from stretching open like it should. Treatment is steroid cream with stretching and if that dosnt work then a slit can be made in the foreskin to allow retraction this saves the foreskin. Many Dr's though go right to circ thus all the "he had to be circed at X age because he couldnt retract"

"True" phimosis --- better termed "preputial stenosis," because "phimosis" has so many different definitions it now is devoid of any useful meaning --- occurs in less than 2% of intact males.

Of these 2%, 85-95% will respond to topical steroids. Of those who fail this, at least 75% will respond to stretching under local anesthesia, either manually or with a balloon. The arithmetic is simple: At the very most 7 boys in 10,000 may need surgery for preputial stenosis.

[Super~Single~Mama]

My 2.5yo doesn't retract either, although his foreskin is "loose" at the tip.  It certainly doesn't sound like anything is wrong with your son - just let nature take its course.

[T-man's Mama]

My 2.5 yr old son is the same way. I am not worried in the least...he urinates just fine and that's all that he needs it to do right now!

[TyrantOfTheWeek]

He can pee, leave it be. If you mess with it, it is likely to cause more problems. A baby's intact penis is pretty maintenance free, contrary to popular beliefs. 

[helloall]

Ugh, this is sick! Diagnosing a kid with phimosis! I'm glad you found info on the web before potentially following this weirdo doctor's orders.

[mattemma04]

No need for anyone  to retract his foreskin.Never had a doctor try that.Find a new one.