Please advise::worried about lump(s) under foreskin on 3yr old

[Threekiddos]

Hello fellow compassionate parents

I have two boys, both intact , the older of which is the 3 year old. His foreskin does not yet retract, as I am learning is quite common, but I am concerned about the appearance of some visible whitish lumps underneath the foreskin on the glans. We were military up until a few months ago, and I had him seen back around Oct/Nov by a military doc on base. Thank goodness I had started reading threads on this page before I took him in, because up until that point I had thought that Docs would know how to treat an uncirc just as they would a circ. After reading some of the horror stories on here, I went prepared and practically bit the Doctors head off when he looked as if he might try to pull the foreskin back. Anyway, he had to call another doc in for a second opinion, and together they decided that it "could be" just a build up of dead cells, or smegma. However they seemed less than confident that they even knew what they were talking about, and for that matter I wondered if they had ever seen an uncirc'd penis before! They then sent me to a urologist who seemed to agree with their conclusion, but from all three I just didn't get the vibe that they had any idea what it really was and were just making a "guess". Okay, fast forward, so now we've separated from military, and my hubby has started a new job and we're waiting for health insurance to kick in. The spot on my son looks like it may be larger, and there are several smaller ones that I either didn't notice before or are new. None of the lumps budge when you touch them, which seems strange to me because you'd think if it were dead cells it would shift around with the foreskin, but they don't. Please tell me, have any of you encountered this before, and is it normal? Also, I know I read on here somewhere how I can find "foreskin friendly" docs, could you re-inform me?

Sorry for the novel...Thanks to all replies


Nat

[Frankly Speaking]

Yep, what you're seeing are called "smegma pearls" and your son has penile jewelry. :

They are very common and simply are an indication that the separation process of the foreskin and glans is taking place. You don't need to do a thing. They will eventually come out all by themselves. They may even get larger, so large infact that it may cause you some concern but it is all very natural and normal.



Frank

[Threekiddos]

Frank,

Thank you so much for your quick reply! Okay, so even though they don't move around with the foreskin, that's normal? And are they supposed to be hard, like little stones? I didn't figure it would be anything too serious, as they don't seem to cause any discomfort to my son, but, being a mom and my hubby is circ'd, I had no idea what to think.

Still waiting for info on finding intact friendly docs, if anyone can help me...

Nat

PS>The jewelry joke was great, Frank

[Frankly Speaking]

Originally Posted by Threekiddos

Frank,

Thank you so much for your quick reply! Okay, so even though they don't move around with the foreskin, that's normal?

Yep, smegma is thick like a very stiff paste. It will stick to skin surfaces and thus doesn't slide around much at all. Actually, if you could see inside the foreskin, all of the skin surfaces would be coated with smegma. This is a good thing. If that coating weren't there and there was an irritation, the two skin surfaces could grow together like surgical adhesions. The smegma acts like a barrier cream until retraction is achieved.

And are they supposed to be hard, like little stones?

They aren' t really that hard but I understand that they feel that way through the foreskin. If you could get them out, they would smush quite easily between your finger and thumb. It's the compression action between the foreskin and glans that make them feel hard.

I didn't figure it would be anything too serious, as they don't seem to cause any discomfort to my son, but, being a mom and my hubby is circ'd, I had no idea what to think.

That's a problem in America. Normal penises became so rare in the past that we have lost the knowledge of what is normal and what is not. On other child rearing issues, we have experienced mothers and grandmothers as well as other family members, friends and neighbors that can advise us. Essentially, that is how we learn parenting, by example. However the medical profession tried to make foreskins extinct for so long that that knowledge database was pretty much destroyed and now we must rebuild it from scratch in the current generation of mothers. Thank goodness for sites like MDC that let us share the wisdom and experience. Without them, these boys would remain at a very high risk level of circumcision for most of their childhood from the medical "profession."

Still waiting for info on finding intact friendly docs, if anyone can help me...

There has been some discussion from time to time about establishing a national database of knowledgeable doctors but as far as I know, no one has done it. It would be a gargantuan task and would require constant maintenance to keep it up to date. I don't think one person working full time could possibly do it and be accurate and up to date. This leaves mothers to do interviews on their own and make their own determination. Looking at the realities of the situation, I think it is probably best to learn as much as possible about the care and diagnosing of potential problems and then find a doctor that simply respects your wishes and will do as you instruct. I know it's awful to have to pay a "professional" a princely sum for their non-existent knowledge and then to have to educate him/her but that is the reality of the situation.




Frank

[mollyeilis]

I'm bumping this up to thank the OP for her question and Frank for his full answer.

My son is 10 months old and just today I noticed a relatively large looking lump under his foreskin. All at once he has majorly "discovered" his penis *and* will not be still for a diaper change. While changing him on my lap today, and being impeded in closing the diaper because his hand shot down there to play LOL, I noticed it. Quite freaky in appearance, if you have never heard of these "pearls" before!

I'm glad I had heard of it, and glad to find this thread (to ease my mind completely). Though gosh, it means he's already starting to retract himself? Well, with the amount of tugging he does, I guess that shouldn't surprise me, either.

Thanks again.

[barbiebrown]

Thank You!

I just wanted to say thank you so much for giving an in depth answer to this question. I just noticed a lump under my 2 year old's foreskin this afternoon and I was quite concerned. Thank you for easing my mind!

[Mackenzie]

Frank seems to be an expert in all things penile. He helped me out a lot with a a concern I had with my sons foreskin! So glad to have you around Frank!!

[Frankly Speaking]

Thanks for the kudos! However, we have quite a few rising stars here who give information equal to what I can provide and that is a relief. I've been planning an extended trip of about 5 or 6 weeks in the future and I was wondering how I would handle it. With the depth and breadth of knowledge here now, I no longer have any worries. Let's spread the credit around where it belongs.



Frank