I retracted my baby's foreskin; now it's "stuck" -- help!

[veeveeG]

Dear all,

In August I once retracted my son's foreskin so far that I could see his glans. During diaper changes I had been pulling my son's foreskin tight so I could wipe the tip, but this time all of a sudden the foreskin slid back and I keep going -- until my poor baby said "mama, hurt!" I felt awful, but since there was no blood and apparently no further effects I thought no more about it. But now I've noticed that his foreskin has started to balloon when he pees (it never did this before) and I've tried to see if the foreskin is still loose, but it's closed completely. I've talked to our pediatrician, and she wants me to use a steroid cream and see a urologist. But I don't want any unnecessary medical intervention. I have no idea what's normal and what I should do -- please help!

Thank you!!

Genevieve, mom to beautiful Teddy (20 months)

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Retracting can cause problems as you have seen. That is why the rule is no one retract but the owner of the penis. At your ds's age if you will just leave it alone odds are really good it will repair itself from any damage you might have caused by retracting him so much.

The ballooning is 100% normal and nothing to be concerned about. It just shows that your ds's glans is no longer attached to his foreskin which is a normal, healthy part of the separation process.

It is imperative that you no longer try to retract him not even a little bit because you can cause scar tissue to build up leading to real problems for him down the road.

At his age the use of steroid cream is a big nono because his body isnt ready to retract yet and even if it where to help him retract once you stopped the cream then he would go back to his normal state of being non retractable.

Until he is in his teens you dont know what if any damage you have caused by retracting him. I wouldnt let anyone touch his penis especially Dr's since they will start in on the "he dosnt retract you need to have him circed" routine.

[TrumpetMom]

May I ask another retraction question here? I just want to be sure that my DS will be fine. He's 16 months now, but when he was 6 months, he had a nasty fever and I was told to take him to the Children's Hospital (my HMO's after-hours provider for kids) to have it checked out. The fever was the ONLY symptom; he was otherwise happy and alert. Well, the doctor INSISTED on a urine sample and they retracted his foreskin. He was so uncomfortable and I was getting more PO'd by the second, but it was finally over. He has never been retracted since. (In the end, they got a dirty sample and he probably didn't even need to be on the antibiotics they had me get for him. His pediatrician told me this two days later.)

Here's my question: will/could this cause problems for him in the future? Also, is there ANY other way to get a clean urine speciman from an infant boy, other than to catheter him?

Thanks.

[Ron_Low]

It's very early for him to be retractable, but since he is there's no point in stewing about it.  The best advice (from the AAP) is still to "clean only what is seen" and "leave it alone." 

Without the latent tension caused by the normal synechial bonds there is a slim chance his skin tube will grow shorter than it otherwise naturally would have and it won't fully cover the glans while he's flaccid.  That's for him to worry about, whether he wants to expand his skin or just have it the way it is. 

In the meantime, if you find his retracted skin gets stuck behind the glans (paraphimosis) just remember you can force the skin back into a covering state by gently patiently compressing the glans until the skin will slink back to where it belongs. 

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Originally Posted by TrumpetMom 

May I ask another retraction question here? I just want to be sure that my DS will be fine. He's 16 months now, but when he was 6 months, he had a nasty fever and I was told to take him to the Children's Hospital (my HMO's after-hours provider for kids) to have it checked out. The fever was the ONLY symptom; he was otherwise happy and alert. Well, the doctor INSISTED on a urine sample and they retracted his foreskin. He was so uncomfortable and I was getting more PO'd by the second, but it was finally over. He has never been retracted since. (In the end, they got a dirty sample and he probably didn't even need to be on the antibiotics they had me get for him. His pediatrician told me this two days later.)

Here's my question: will/could this cause problems for him in the future? Also, is there ANY other way to get a clean urine speciman from an infant boy, other than to catheter him?

Thanks.

I am sorry you both had to go through that the good news is that one event like that will not cause long term issues. You would have seen issues right after it happened if there was damage done and that would have been in the form of bleeding, redness, irritation, burning while urinating. One of the great things about little ones is their ability to heal really fast.

In this case I wouldnt give it another thought about problems down the road.

As for cathing the intact penis. The proper way is to move the foreskin just enough to visualize the urethra in the glans without forcing it.