[jaredsmom]

I'm not sure where to post this, hopefully this is the right forum. Today, after my 3yo ds went to the bathroom, I noticed something different about his penis. He is intact, and is able to retract his foreskin. After he urinates, he retracts the foreskin and wipes himself. Anyway, when it was retacted, I noticed on the side of the head and a small part of the foreskin what I thought was blood. It wasn't that, but it was red. I asked him if it hurt, and he said no. However, he did say "hot." He has a limited vocabulary, so I don't know if it burns him, or stings, or just looks like a burn to him.

He doesn't complain about any pain, so I'm not too concerned. If he did, I would have called our family practioner. Could it just be an irritation? There is no puss or anything oozing from that site.

Also, I don't know if he should be cleaning his penis after urination by retracting it. (Dh taught him that, although dh is circed.) I know I don't want to put anything on it. I don't want to makke matters worse.

Any advise is most appreciated!

 

[dynamicdoula]

... but in my own experience, avoid the wipe!!!! There's no need for it and it will just dry out his skin. A gentle shake if he can fenagle it would serve the same purpose as if he were circed. What was your DH's thought process about having him wipe his penis?

I don't think my older son's penis retracted at 3 and I know my 3yo sons penis doesn't retract now. Even if it did, I would let him do that on his 'own time' (if ykwim!

) but wouldn't encourage him to do it while urinating.

Frankly Speaking- jump in any time!

 

[jaredsmom]

Beleive it or not, ds started to retract it on his own! I didn't think he would do that this soon.

As for dh, he thinks that wiping it would keep it cleaner. I think it has to do with what he was taught in school.

Believe me when I say that if we aren't supposed to take care of it like this, and I can tell dh the reason(s) why, he would not have our son do it again!

Thanks!

 

[dynamicdoula]

Well, as a mom to two intact boys...

Biologically, why would he need to wipe it? Urine is sterile when it comes out. Giving the penis a little shake to get the excess off is good enough for DH I'm betting

, it's no different for intact boys. You don't really want to wipe off an intact penis anyway, the smegma that develops under the foreskin helps to keep it moist, bacteria free, and protected. Wiping it off makes the penis more prone to infection than if you left it there. There's just really no benefit to wiping the penis off, vs. shaking it!

Good luck!

 

[E'sMa]

Hmm, My son was a victim of an uneducated practitioner at 3 or 4 months and had his forskin retracted forcibly, it bled a bit but otherwise seemed to heal ok. EXCEPT for reoccuring infections - red swollen, even pussy at worse. 3 to 5 times a year. He's 4.5 years old now.
Long story short, I am able to treat with herbs - oregano particularly - a bath, but his ped referred us to a urologist who prescribed a cortico steroid cream to be applied to the tip of his forskin. Now the great fear in the docs mind is paraphimosis, and I've read much about it and true phimosis is caused by a sclerosis of the tissue of the skin - not the case. It just doesn't retract, which to me seems normal, the infections not so. Where this relates to this thread is doc told me that the reason he was getting infections was because when urinating his forskin balloons and the urine is forced down the shaft of the penis causing bacteria to grow. So naturally we're supposed to get him to retract his skin when he urinates. Doesn't seem to be very comfortable for him.
The cream is very effective at loosening the skin at the tip of his penis, which it does seem that he has a lot of skin, being that I do not own a penis and my hub is circ'd I'm not really sure what it's supposed to do at this stage. I'm feeling confused 'cause I was under the impression that urine was sterile and I don't really see the connection. I do need to find a solution though. What are your thoughts?

 

[Frankly Speaking]

The description isn't enough for me to really get a good handle on it and without seeing it, there's probably not a way to adequately describe it. However, I'm going to hazzard a guess.

My best guess is that he is not fully retractile yet. That is, he can't pull the foreskin all of the way behind the glans because there are still some remaining adhesions that have not released. I suspect that the red spot is where an adhesion has just released in the past 2 or 3 days. These areas would be naturally very red and would be extremely sensitive. These newly exposed areas are so sensitive that they will often burn when exposed to air or water (or urine). I think he was giving an accurate discription even with his limited vocabulary.

Physically, there is no reason for him to retract and wipe. There is absolutely no need for any kind of maintenance any more than there is a need for a girl to maintain her vagina. Once he is in puberty and is producing significant amounts of testosterone and gonadotrophins, he will learn on his own to retract and rinse or he may even decide he wants to use soap.

On a psychological level, I don't think teaching him to wipe is a good idea. In public restrooms, there is no toilet tissue at the urinals and he will notice that circumcised men do not wipe after using the urinal. This could send a signal to him that intact men are not as clean as circumcised men because they obviously do not need to use toilet tissue after using the urinal or there would be toilet tissue there. This would reinforce in his mind the cultural myths that intact men are dirty. I don't think that is a valid or desireable signal to send.

As far as the red spot, I would check in a week or so and see if it is still there. I suspect it will be gone.

Frank

 

[Frankly Speaking]

EsMa:

I would recomend having a sample taken and a culture grown to identify the specific pathogen so that it can be treated. I suspect he has had the same infection all of this time and his immune system has it in an ebb and flow, fighting it back for a while and then losing ground for a while. When he is symptomatic is when his immune system is losing ground. If this is an untreated infection, it can indeed cause true pathological phimosis if left untreated long enough.

Good luck and let us know what happens.

Frank

 

[E'sMa]

Thanks Frank, I probably should've started a new thread 'cause it's getting a little off topic. Since this has been kind of an ongoing thing I had it cultured two infections ago. Streptococcus(sp?) and stapholococcus(sp?) overgrowth. I was told they were bacterias normally found in these areas, but like any bacteria it can become overgrown. He was not given oral antibiotics, but the cortico-steroid has an antibiotic element to it as well. We treated it topically and tried to bump up his immune system. The infection seems to be clear for months and then reoccur. I wasn't sure if it was ok to use the cream for an extended period of time as a preventative measure. Or maybe we need to try a more aggressive approach. The urologist said if he couldn't start retracting it he would just keep getting infections and would probably have to be circ'd. - of course. I need to find a new doc who's forskin friendly, but alas there doesn't seem to be any in my area.
The other thing is about the ballooning when peeing. Is that a common thing for a forskin to do? I feel Clueless. Thanks.

 

[Frankly Speaking]

Streph and staph are not normally found inside the foreskin and should be eliminated as soon as possible. I suspect a competent doctor will put him on oral antibiotics for a week to 10 days. Make sure you give him the entire prescription to avoid the development of a resistant strain. The course of action this doctor has been prescribing is almost guaranteed to develop a drug resistant strain. Imagine if your son was a daughter. Would you even listen to a doctor who could not treat recurring infections? Would you even go to that doctor again if he even mentioned cutting her external genitalia off to prevent infections? Of course you wouldn't and you need to get away from this incompetent quack as well. If this is the quality of care she provides, imagine what would happen if something serious arose. Your children's lives could be in danger

By the way, I suspect the ointment she has been prescribing is betamethesone and if it is, it has no antimicrobial properties at all. It is simply a skin relaxer that makes the foreskin easier to stretch for retraction. If it's not betamethesone, please post what it is.

Balooning is normal and he will eventually outgrow it. No treatment is needed.

Frank

 

[Teresa]

My suggestion is to tell him to stop retracting himself.

If there are hygiene concerns, offer him one square of toilet paper to 'dab' the tip of his penis after he urinates.
No retracting, No wiping!

If there are further hygiene concerns, just plunk him into a warm bath NO soaps, bubbles, etc.

 

[E'sMa]

Yup, Betamethasone Dipropionate. Interesting. Never ceases to amaze me how even a specialist can be so misinformed and misinforming. Both docs are men, figured they'd know more about it than a female doc. Neither intact I'm assuming.
He has no symptoms of infec at this time. Would you suggest I pursue treatment or wait? I'll be looking for a new doc.
Thank you much.

 

[Frankly Speaking]

Well, both are contagious and can be easily spread to other children and even adults although adults are more resistant, so, for that reason, I would say yes. My best guess is that while he is asymtomatic, he is not very contagious but it is very important that he wash his hands any time he touches himself and after going to the toilet. There is also little harm being done while he is asymptomatic so I would take what ever time necessary to find a highly competent doctor and set an appointment. I suspect once you say "staph" or "streph," they will try to get you in rather quickly because they are both contagious.

Once you rid him of the infection, you should see an end to the problems for good.

Frank

 

[Marsupialmom]

My son dabs after peeing or the slight wetness causes irritation (rubbing in his undies). He figured this out on his own. This consists of a square of TP and he does retract but not all the way.

What is funny around here my dh decided to pick up the habit because of the same wetness irritation. My dh is circ'ed and not his bio-dad. Also, I will admit something since he started doing this there is no need for him to wash before certain sex acts. Actually this lack of cleaning was one reason I did not enjoy it.

But back to the topic.

In our home we are sensitive to wet undies. If any of us ladies have to drip dry we get irritation on our vulvas (I can get yeast infection). I could see some males being the way. Urine is sterile but when the undies or diapers are wet bacterial growth can happen. I think some are more predispose to this (we don't use soap in bath tubs because of sensitivies).