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.

[Lolalowelova]

My 2 yr old son has phimosis. The doctor visits began with many painful issues. He has difficulty urinating and it's very red and awful looking for lack of a better description. The foreskin has kinda started to seal itself so it seems and so i have scheduled my child's circumcision. My older son on the other hand, has had no problem retracting since he's been about 1 yr old. I would advise that if there is ever pain redness or your instinct flags go up a mother should act! otherwise... Let the children laugh and be happy! -Lola

[Lazurii]

My son is 5 and he still doesn't retract.  By the time he was 2 he knew what I meant when I asked him to retract his own foreskin.  I don't even let his doctor do it, and his doctor is VERY foreskin friendly.

Be firm with your doctor or get a new one.  That's my advice.

[Lazurii]

Oh, I wanted to reply to Lola.  There are other treatments you can take to help true phimosis, such as steroid creams.  PLEASE  look into other treatments before going through with your son's surgery.  It may not even be phimosis but yeast or another type of infection.

[mama24-7]

Originally Posted by Lolalowelova 

My 2 yr old son has phimosis. The doctor visits began with many painful issues. He has difficulty urinating and it's very red and awful looking for lack of a better description. The foreskin has kinda started to seal itself so it seems and so i have scheduled my child's circumcision. My older son on the other hand, has had no problem retracting since he's been about 1 yr old. I would advise that if there is ever pain redness or your instinct flags go up a mother should act! otherwise... Let the children laugh and be happy! -Lola

My understanding is that phimosis can not be correctly diagnosed in a child prior to sexual maturity, as it is the normal state of a yet-to-mature penis for the foreskin to be adhered to the glans.  It is often diagnosed as a problem because most of the doctors diagnosing it either don't have a foreskin themselves, they are women who have not educated themselves and/or are knee deep in the culture that says foreskins are a problem when in fact it is very rare that they are.  WHile the foreskin may be suffering from a problem that is causing it to be red & restricting the sphincter right now, just like we wouldn't start cutting a girl who is irritated, we don't have to start cutting boys.  Before allowing a doctor to amputate your child's foreskin, please find an intact friendly doctor to evaluate the problem and/or contact Marilyn Milos of NOCIRC.  You might ask the doctor what he's recommend if a female child came in w/ similar problems.  If he says something different than what he's saying for your son, he has shown his bias.

Please, for the sake of your son & his future, do not have him circumcised.  He has a treatable condition, more than likely.  Just like you wouldn't amputate his finger if it had a problem, please don't allow his foreskin to be amputated.

Best wishes,

Sus

[Lolalowelova]

What I don't understand is this: people pay $400 for circumcision immediately after birth and from what I've been told medicaid use to cover it for free years ago. Many people deem it necessary for cleanliness and not only for religious reasons. I'm kind of confused I guess as to why circumcision would be a bad thing... I've been to 3
different unrelated doctors and next month I will see the 4th who will preform the surgery.

[mama24-7]

Originally Posted by Lolalowelova 

What I don't understand is this: people pay $400 for circumcision immediately after birth and from what I've been told medicaid use to cover it for free years ago. Many people deem it necessary for cleanliness and not only for religious reasons. I'm kind of confused I guess as to why circumcision would be a bad thing... I've been to 3
different unrelated doctors and next month I will see the 4th who will preform the surgery.

But babies are supposed to have "phimosis."  The foreskin is supposed to be attached to the glans until it is ready to not be any more.  Why are you having your son circumcised when his penis is normal?  Please don't!  There's nothing wrong w/ it except he's been seen by doctors who don't know about the normal development of the penis.  If he were seeing a doctor in a non-circ'ing culture,  you wouldn't be posting this, most likely!  Please, protect your child.  Take him to doctors who know what they're talking about!  This is his life that will be effected forever because of these doctors who don't know what you're doing. 

Here's a bunch of mothers who regret circ'ing their children.  Please don't go through w/ this & have a reason to post there as well.  http://www.mothering.com/community/f/44/the-case-against-circumcision

Where have you researched this?  What experience does this doctor/doctors have w/ normal, whole penises?  Please contact Marilyn Milos ([e-mail]) or Doctors Opposing Circumcision or find a foreskin friendly doctor before your son regrets that you did not!  You are getting bad advice from doctors who clearly do not know as much as they'd have you believe since they've diagnosed "phimosis."

Please, don't allow your son to be circ'd!  There are other options, that & he may STILL have the problem that is causing the redness, etc. even after he is circ'd.  What will they recommend cutting off then?  Think they'd have recommended circ if your son was a girl w/ red genitals?

Sus

ET: said boy in the last sentence when I meant to say girl.

Edited by mama24-7 - 12/29/12 at 8:43am

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Circ removes so much from not only the man but his future partner as well. You need to do a lot of reading on this subject if you still dont see why it is such a BIG deal to cut off such an important part of the penis.