How big is a "pearl"?

793 Views 6 Replies 5 Participants Last post by aja-belly, Mar 31, 2006

gridley13

Discussion Starter · Mar 30, 2006

I have a friend with a 22 month old intact son. With her permission, I am cutting and pasting to get some advice from you guys. Her ds has a lump that is tender and about the size of an almond. The doctor said it was cell buildup... I just have not heard of something that size. Here is the info I have:

Last night when I gave ___ a bath I noticed he had a big lump on the shaft of his penis. He told me it hurt and didn't want me to touch it. It is about the size of an almond. I called the ped right away and they said as long as he can sleep don't worry and bring him in tomorrow. I am taking him to the ped in about an hour, but just wanted to know if anyone had any ideas of what it could be. It was kindof discolored and looked whitish. It is under the skiin, not like a bug bite would be.

***
Dr. said it is just a depsit of skin cells and doesn't really hurt him thnak goodness. she said when his foreskin fully retracts it will clear up. then she had the nerve to tell me that i really should consider having him circ. i literally freaked out right there in the peds office. the doc. office has 5 peds, and we have only seen this woman once. so ingrid i need you expertise. please help, cuz now she freaked out dh, and my mom who allthink i am crazy now for not circ him!!!! i am near tears here!!!!!!
***
And from a private message between us:
i literally was laying awake last night freaking out about this. dh is behind me 100%, but the rest of my famil is convinced that i am out to harm my son. the doc yesterday said i really need to start tring to forible retrat his skin, cuz she was worried that his is real tight. i said something like,"you aren't suppsoed to do that, doesn't it happen naturally when it is ready?" And she says well yes, but it can't hurt to help it along. ARRGGGG!!!!!! I told her that ___ plays with it enogh himslef I am sure he is helping it along without me trying to force the skin back. The peds office scheduled us an appt with a urologist to get his opion if the foreskin is "really too tight!" It is a month away and I can decide if I will go or not. When we were leaving I said so "let me get this straight just so I am not confused, the lump is just dead skin cells and Debris and not a problem. And she says yes, it will clear up on its own. Then she says, but you really should consider possiblely having him circ. I looked at her like she was from Mars. DH says well if we wanted him circ we would have done it when he was born. It just amazes me they didn't offer us any literature or anything. So any info you could help me with would be awesome!!!
***

Does anyone have any helpful advice/ comments? I did tell her to have a copy of the Care of an Intact Penis thingy on hand next time she went...

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Frankly Speaking

· #2 · Mar 30, 2006

What she is describing is clearly a classical case of a smegma pearl and she is right that nothing should be done about it. The boy's body will expell it all by it's self and no medical intervention should be attempted as that can only cause harm and damage.

But, that's not what really bothers me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gridley13
then she had the nerve to tell me that i really should consider having him circ.

This is called "soliciting surgery" and is highly illegal when the surgery is cosmetic and circumcision when there are no problems clearly fits the bill.

Quote:

the doc yesterday said i really need to start tring to forible retrat his skin, cuz she was worried that his is real tight. i said something like,"you aren't suppsoed to do that, doesn't it happen naturally when it is ready?" And she says well yes, but it can't hurt to help it along. ARRGGGG!!!!!!

And this is horrendously bad advice. She is potentially diagnosing phimosis when there is no phimosis. I have seen nothing in your posts that would indicate that phimosis would even be possible. She is seeing the normally tight infant foreskin and trying to diagnose a problem that doesn't exist. She is recommending surgery to resolve a problem that she has clearly indicated that she can not diagnose and that is illegal. Really, what she is doing is recommending cosmetic surgery for no reason at all except maybe she has a personal problem with intact and normal penises.

Quote:

Then she says, but you really should consider possiblely having him circ.

Not only did she solicit John Geisheker with Doctors Opposing Circumcision. John is an attorney and will write a letter to this woman explaining the danger of what she is doing. He will explain that soliciting surgery is illegal and could affect her professional license and he will explain to her that retracting foreskins causes damage and leaves her vulnerable to a very expensive lawsuit. Those are the last things a doctor wants to hear and while it may not affect her disdain for the normal male genitals, I'm sure it will prompt her to read and follow the guidelines of her professional medical association. Just this simple letter will protect many boys from this dangerous woman. Just do it!

Frank

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gridley13

Discussion Starter · #3 · Mar 30, 2006

Thank you SO MUCH Frank, I am passing your information to her now.

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baybee

· #4 · Mar 30, 2006

I did a web search on this subject and found this Q & A with Marilyn Milos which reiterates Frank's info:

ask the experts
marilyn milos

Marilyn Milos, RN
Circumcision and Genital Integrity

My 5 year old son's foreskin will not retract. The doctor recommended a steroid cream to thin and soften the skin, which we haven't applied yet because of what I have read in your columns. He has a white mucous build up under the foreskin. Is this a problem or will it just stay there for years until his foreskin can move back?

You will be happy to learn that your son is perfectly normal. About 44% of boys have a fully retractable foreskin at 10 years of age, 90% at 16 years, and 99% at 18 years. About 1-2% of adult males have a non-retractable, which is simply a variation on the theme. For those who want a retractile foreskin, they can use steroid cream to successfully achieve their goal, but thisshould never be done before the end of puberty, when the penis is done developing. Putting steroid cream on a 5-year-old for a non-retractile foreskin would be like putting steroid cream on the breast buds of a 5-year-old girl because her breasts aren't developed yet. The hormones of these children will be activated when the time is right and they will finish normal developmental tasks. Retractability should never be forced or hurried. If a boy is urinating, his penis is functioning and nothing needs to be done.

With regard to the while lump under your son's foreskin, it is not "mucous buildup," it is called a smegma pearl or cyst. It lets you know that the separation of the foreskin and glans is occurring as nature intended. The membrane that attaches the foreskin and glans, head of the penis, in the early years of a boy's genital development is called the synechia. As the cells of the synechia slough, the separation of the foreskin and glans begins. Sometimes the process begins at the tip of the penis and the sloughed cells (smegma) may never be noticed. In other boys, the cells are sloughed further back, white pockets form, and eventually the pockets coalesce to the tip of the foreskin. When the separation at the tip occurs, the body discharges the sloughed cells, just as sloughed vaginal cells are eliminated by the female body as new cells form.

Again, your son is perfectly normal and nothing needs to be done except to make sure everyone keeps their hands off his penis and to watch as he grows and develops as nature intended, without assistance. So, now you can relax!

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gridley13

Discussion Starter · #5 · Mar 30, 2006

Thanks Baybee!

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pdx.mothernurture

· #6 · Mar 31, 2006

If he can pee fine, and he isn't past puberty, it's not too tight-simple as that. I would forgo the appointment with the urologist, and I would try to educate that doctor who's giving out crappy advice before she causes harm to some little boy. She may already have...

Quote:

Sometime during the first several years of your son's life, his foreskin, which covers the head of the penis, will separate from the glans. Some foreskins separate soon after birth or even before birth, but this is rare. When it happens is different for every child. It may take a few weeks, months or years.

After the foreskin separates from the glans, it can be pulled back away from the glans toward the abdomen. This is called foreskin retraction.

Most boys will be able to retract their foreskins by the time they are 5 years old, yet others will not be able to until the teenage years. As a boy becomes more aware of his body, he will most likely discover how to retract his own foreskin. But foreskin retraction should never be forced. Until separation occurs, do not try to pull the foreskin back - especially an infant's. Forcing the foreskin to retract before it is ready may severely harm the penis and cause pain, bleeding and tears in the skin.http://www.medem.com/MedLB/article_d...DD&sub_cat=108

A few other resources:

http://www.cirp.org/library/normal/

http://www.doctorsopposingcircumcisi...0-2005-dan.pdf

http://www.mothering.com/articles/ne...uncircson.html

Jen

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aja-belly

· #7 · Mar 31, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frankly Speaking

This is called "soliciting surgery" and is highly illegal when the surgery is cosmetic and circumcision when there are no problems clearly fits the bill.

Frank

i didn'tknow this. i keep wishing i had better documented the incident we had whe jet was a newborn. if only i didn't also have to care for a newborn at the time....

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