concerned about my sons

[irishsweetie83]

My boys are 11 and 9 and intact. their foreskins only retract to the base of the glans or head of the penis.

I am worried that it is not normal and should have already been retractable. my fiance(not the bio father) is intact and says he thinks they may need to see a doctor because his foreskin was retractable from very early childhood, so I am torn as to what to do. 

[EchoSoul]

I'm sure others here will know more than I do, but I've read, here actually, that sometimes their foreskins don't fully retract until they hit puberty, and some don't even fully retract until they're adults, and some don't even fully retract at all. Have I got that right, everyone?

So..you  shouldn't need to worry :)

[Greg B]

They may not fully retract until puberty.  There is great variation in when foreskins can retract.

Even if they do not retract when they are adults, they may not find it a problem.  I think I read that about half the men with unretractable foreskins do not find that a problem. 

If they feel that is a problem when they are an adult, then there are stretching excercises that can correct this.  If the excersizes are not sufficient, then there are steroid creams that can be used to help.

They definitely do not need to see a doctor yet.  Be very wary of any doctor's advice in the US.  Most are totally clueless about foreskins and give them no value, so simply recommend amputation.

Here is some additional information:

http://www.nocirc.org/publish/4pam.pdf

http://www.noharmm.org/anatomy.htm

http://www.circumstitions.com/phimosis.html

Regards

[irishsweetie83]

thanks so much, yeah that was my instinct to not take them to the doc. the last thing i want to do is get them cut. thank you for the links :)

[Mitchell756]

This information is from the Doctors Opposing Circumcision website.

BASIC MALE ANATOMY
At birth the penis is anatomically immature and still developing. The foreskin adheres to the glans, (the little firefighter’s hat at the end) because of a natural connective membrane, the balano-preputial lamina. This membrane or synechia is apparently nature’s method of protecting the highly nerve-supplied portion of the maturing penis from feces, the ammonia in urine, and other irritants and pathogens. This membrane can take as long as 18 years or more to disappear allowing retraction. The mean age for natural foreskin retraction without pain or trauma is 10.4 years.¹ Some men never see their glans until they are in the 20’s. [Admin note: Edited for Copyright Violation. Quotations may not be more than 100 words unless you have the express permission of the author.]    

You can read more about the development of the male foreskin and about the harms of forcible retaction here:http://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/info/info-forcedretraction.html

[brant31]

I was around your older son's age when the remaining natural adhesions around the corona finally gave way during my own, um, explorations. The coronal adhesions, in my opinion, are rather different in nature than the synechia between the glans surface and the inner foreskin surface. There were a couple of surprises at the time which I don't know if it's OK to mention here (neither one remotely sexual). But it all worked out well and I still believe I was on a fairly normal schedule of development.

[joandsarah77]

Totally normal. My own son 8.5 has a loose foreskin but it still has the end closed so he can move it around but not pull it back. I only know because he showed me last night lol. Some will be loose on one side, some will have the ending muscle loosen before the shaft skin, some will retract early and some will retract late. It doesn't matter how their bodies work it out, or when.

[Yaliina]

My 7 year-old wasn't able to retract his at all until a couple of months ago when he was playing with it (boys will be boys), and he accidentally forcibly separated it, much to his distress.  He complained of stinging pain for almost a month!  I just kept putting him in the bath, and telling him to rinse it with clean water after he would pee.  I put neosporin on it once to be sure it didn't get infected.  Now, 2 months or so later, he's very excited that it now retracts almost all the way.  I don't recommend forcible retraction, of course, as it was quite painful to him.  He probably would not have retracted naturally for another year or more- I guess we'll never know.  But his little brother, who is 2.5, is already fully retractable (and without forcing it).  They like to compare, and are very proud of how far back their foreskins go, lol.  The point is, it's all in the scope of normal.  Don't fret!

[Joe50]

Originally Posted by irishsweetie83 

My boys are 11 and 9 and intact. their foreskins only retract to the base of the glans or head of the penis.

I am worried that it is not normal and should have already been retractable. my fiance(not the bio father) is intact and says he thinks they may need to see a doctor because his foreskin was retractable from very early childhood, so I am torn as to what to do. 

There is extreme variation in what is normal regarding foreskin retraction. At one end of the spectrum, a very few boys are born with a retractable foreskin. At the other end of the spectrum, the foreskin may not become retractable until the end of puberty at age 18. The vast majority fall somewhere in between. The average age of first foreskin retraction has been found to be 10.4 years by several studies. Your boys are both within the normal range.

After age 18, a non-retractile foreskin might be considered pathological by some, but not be others.

[3LilChunklins]

So glad someone asked this! I have a 3 week old and was wondering when is normal age for retraction. Every one else in the family is circ.ed and thought it strange that I insisted on NOT retracting it during diaper changes

[IsaFrench]

am concerned too about my son, and looking for information

he's intact, has been retracting in the bath since age 3 or 4 so as to "clean " with a bit of bath water

but now he's grown up physically, he's nearing 12 and i've just noticed that he cannot retract anymore ...

since i've spent more than 6 years thinking it was a "normal" basic hygiene practice to retract, rinse and push back the foreskin....

am now worried about what his bath routine should involve ...

any advice ?

[Escaping]

If they're not in diapers anymore, no one should be touching or looking at their penis 

I don't mean that to be prudish or judgmental, but it's a self-cleaning organ which doesn't require attention. No one needs to be preoccupied with whether or not it's retracting far enough or behaving in a certain way. 

How would a 12 year old girl feel if her parents followed her into the shower and started making sure things are ok down there? 

[mama24-7]

Originally Posted by IsaFrench 

am concerned too about my son, and looking for information

he's intact, has been retracting in the bath since age 3 or 4 so as to "clean " with a bit of bath water

but now he's grown up physically, he's nearing 12 and i've just noticed that he cannot retract anymore ...

since i've spent more than 6 years thinking it was a "normal" basic hygiene practice to retract, rinse and push back the foreskin....

am now worried about what his bath routine should involve ...

any advice ?

You seem worried.  How does your ds feel about this?  IMO, we are way over worried about "washing," especially of genitals, & even more so of boys genitals (perhaps to counter the bs that circ'd boys are cleaner, somehow?  Sure, when you don't have it, it can't get "dirty."  ).  If your ds is concerned about it, I'd recommend he do nothing w/ it.  Like a PP'er said, it's a self-cleaning organ.  I liken it to our eyes.  Self cleaning, has a protective cover, they kind of take care of themselves when we leave them alone .  If he is concerned about it, perhaps some time & it being left alone will help it.  If you have an intact friendly doctor whom you *know* knows about normal development, the two of you (or likely just your son) may want to talk to him.  If, after he's gone through puberty, then the steroid cream that is sometimes mistakenly prescribed to prepubescent boys can be tried.  There are other things that are possible "treatments" too, should it come to that.  Lastly, there are men who make it to adulthood who don't retract & go on to father children & lead happy lives.  It is not a requirement. 

It's hard not to worry, especially when we're told our sons' foreskins are ticking time bombs.  I don't think his is going to explode though & he'll likely be okay!  He's lucky he has a mother who left him as he was made & is so concerned about him! 

Best wishes,

Sus

[IsaFrench]

thank you both for the re-assurance,

where i live, only muslims and jewish people have their boys circumcised, so a very small percentage of the population in fact => it's not much of a topic of conversation ....

have also been reading other posts in this Intact Care sub-forum and now realise that i have nothing to do ....

[Islay]

Absolutely nothing to do, IsaFrench. 'Benign Neglect' is the password for your son's healthy penis!

Christopher

[IsaFrench]

"benign neglect" .... i like the phrase !