[AlmostAPpropriate]

My son went for his 5 yr check Wed. All is well. She checked testes, has him pull up and then asked me about his cleaning habits when foreskin retracted. It doesnt retract at all. She was surprised.

Tonight during bath I remembered and decided to check and encourage him to retract during bathing just to where it will comfortably go. It doesnt go at all, really. How to describe.... The tip of his foreskin kind of rolls into itself, just a tiny bit, and he can retract until you can see the true tip of the foreskin. But none of the glans is visible.

What to do?

 

[Fellow Traveler]

There isn't really anything to do. It is quite normal for boys not to be retractable until early adolescence. For now just keep doing what you're doing, which is really nothing.

Here is a link to some information which you should read to get an idea of the process:

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

Now, at some point, whether it happens soon or not, I'd say it is a good idea to inform him that it will eventually happen and make sure he understands the cleaning habits but besides that it isn't anything to worry about.

 

[Dev]

There is nothing the matter or abnormal with your son's non-retractable prepuce (foreskin). The average age of full retraction for boys is age 10 based on reputable European studies. Many boys don't have full retraction until puberty sets in. Read the link below from doctors opposing circ. It discusses the harm of retraction, and the normal development and cleaning of a boy's prepuce. Many American doctors are ill-informed when it comes to intact boys (for some strange reason they all seem to "get it" when it comes to caring for intact little girls ?!).

I wouldn't encourage your 5 yr. old with a non-retractable prepuce to be attempting to retract. Tell him to simply wash the outside of his whole penis like he would a finger. Demonstrate on your finger if you must. Tell him that as he grows up and gets older his prepuce (foreskin) will be able to retract or roll back, exposing the inside including his glans. When that occurs tell him that he should simply rinse it with warm water when bathing, and roll his foreskin forward when done rinsing. It really is that simple. Your Primary concern should be with keeping doctors hands away from your son's penis during exams. You can help protect boys by educating ignorant, uneducated American doctors who give inaccurate harmful advice to parents of intact little boys. Best Regards, Devin

http://www.doctorsopposingcircumcisi...etraction.html

 

[l_olive]

My six year old doesn't either. Completely normal. Again, a sadly misinformed health care provider.

 

[tutucrazy]

This is NORMAL. Only 50% of boys are retractable by age 10. As for hygiene, only clean what is seen.

Sadly, I am not surprised by your care providers lack of knowledge.

 

[perspective]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlmostAPpropriate My son went for his 5 yr check Wed. All is well. She checked testes, has him pull up and then asked me about his cleaning habits when foreskin retracted. It doesnt retract at all. She was surprised. Tonight during bath I remembered and decided to check and encourage him to retract during bathing just to where it will comfortably go. It doesnt go at all, really. How to describe.... The tip of his foreskin kind of rolls into itself, just a tiny bit, and he can retract until you can see the true tip of the foreskin. But none of the glans is visible. What to do?

There is nothing wrong with your son, it would be quite early actually if he could already retract. A study done in the Netherlands found that the average age for a boy to become retractable was 11 (roughly). But really there is no point to start worrying, some boys retract early, some late. Heck there are even some males in their late teen, early 20's that cannot fully retract, and thats fine too! As long as a boys penis can do what he needs it to do (pee, be sexually functioning, etc) there really is nothing to worry about.
When the foreskin cannot retract, it is sealed off from the outside world, because of that, there is no outside dirt or bacteria that is getting under the foreskin, so there is nothing that needs to be cleaned out. Think of it like the area deep inside of the vagina, its self cleaning, and getting soap up in there is actually bad.

Your son is fine, he is healthy, it is just the natural state of his body. There is nothing to worry about.

 

[eepster]

Completely normal.
Do nothing.