Has your family experienced an uncircd infection?

[my_lot]

Have your uncirc'd son/s ever had an infection?

I keep reading that its uncommon, yet nearly all the parents of sons i know have gone through this with a son of theirs.

[Funkychicken]

Never had one in either of my sons. One is 9yo and the other is 2yo. In fact I don't know anyone who's son has had one.

[OJandMe]

My sons are circed...

but my nephews are not. I have 3 nephews.. and they have all had infections.

My nephews cousin (SIL's nephew) has had reoccurring infections, he's not circed.


Maybe it has a lot to do with parents actually 'thinking' about teaching their sons to clean it properly.
I don't think my sisters or SIL had even given it any thought..

[the_queen]

I think the question is incomplete - I mean, the question should be "has your uncirced son ever been forcibly retracted, and if so, has he gotten an infection?"

[my_lot]

my older boy has had. horrible pain, very sore little penis! he was around 19 months and we used that open air recovery time as a great time to toilet train :p

We taught him to "wipe" from day one of using a toilet. Our Dr said something in a joke about it and i just thought it was a good idea. What he said in all seriousness was to teach him to pull his f/skin back just a little when urinating to try to prevent the urine catching under the skin.

[OJandMe]

I don't think it's about forcible retraction..

Little boys do play with themselves. And the OP didn't say 'toddler' she just said 'son' ... so it doesn't have an age requirement.

One of my nephews is 8 and the other 7, their foreskins do retract..

My SIL's nephew has been experiencing infections from about age 5... but no one 'forcibly retracted' him.. he just played with himself he 'liked making it go purple' :confused:

Anyway... I don't think the question has an age attached.

[neostudded]

:yes: I agree queenie.

My son hasnt had an infection, neither has any of my siblings.I also didnt let any health "professional" retract his precious foreskin...As they like to do for some reason unknown to me.:(

[the_queen]

Of course their foreskins retract - but doing it themselves is how nature intends it to be :)


my_lot : urine can't catch under the skin. The foreskin is fused to the glans. Retracting it is like pulling your fingernail back from the nailbed.

[Funkychicken]

that could be a point to consider. I have never tried to retract either of my DS's foreskins-never had a need to. When DS#1 was about 4 1/2-5, he did it himself. Frightened the heck out of himself-he thought he had "broken" something! :D

We congratulated him and discussed how he was entering a new stage of boyhood and this means he is now old enough and responsible enough to clean around his foreskin and retract it back to clean under it when he was bathing etc...

[my_lot]

I think the question is incomplete - I mean, the question should be "has your uncirced son ever been forcibly retracted, and if so, has he gotten an infection?"

you are wrong.

My son was born with a retracting forskin.

and my other son is only 1yr old, never been forced, in fact its never even "washed" with hands - just a swish of water it its general direction and a wash over the whole area with baby soap. and i often see it part the way retracted at nappy changes and after shower, have done since birth.

[SassyMummy]

I have no sons, so I voted "no," but used my brother as my example.

When discussing, briefly, circumcision with my mother when I was pregnant, she informed me that she had planned on having my brother done, but decided against it when she went in there and heard a little baby boy screaming... she left with him immediately, in tears.

She told me that he'd never had any sort of problems... and so, in her opinion, she was glad she'd never inflicted him any pain like she heard that other little baby suffer.

I think she may have been trying to, gently, convince me not to circ my son (I didn't know what I was having), but I wouldn't have circed anyway... so it didn't really matter. lol.

[OJandMe]

that's what I'm saying :)

The question doesn't have to be 'was your sons foreskin ever forcibly retracted'

as men with foreskins that have been retracting for a long time can still get infections.

As can little boys who's foreskins have never been retracted.

It was just about the circ/uncirc boys... not about forcible retraction.


:laughing: Who knows if I'm making any sense at all! :laughing:

[Funkychicken]

:yes: I agree queenie.

My son hasnt had an infection, neither has any of my siblings.I also didnt let any health "professional" retract his precious foreskin...As they like to do for some reason unknown to me.:(
I have never come across a health professional that wanted to retract my sons foreskin. :confused:
I would imagine it would only even be exposed to a health professional if it had a problem or infection, save for when they were born.

[neostudded]

Some people dont know that retracting a babies foreskin increase's the risk of infection.

Just like having an internal can cause infection during labour.

[neostudded]

During the six week examination some GP's pull back baby boys foreskins.

[reAllytee]

Yes my family have & i shall leave it there because i dont want to get into a debate with anyone :)

[OJandMe]

no doctor even looked at my sons penises in their 6 week check... :confused:..

and I've had 3 six week checks.

Maybe I've just had good doctors.

[reAllytee]

no doctor even looked at my sons penises in their 6 week check... :confused:..

and I've had 3 six week checks.

Maybe I've just had good doctors.

Same !

If any doctor went near my sons penis to try to 'fiddle' with it they would be seriously " cruisin' for a bruisin' "

[neostudded]

You probly just have a great GP...I am unhappy with my GP, very unhappy.:thumbsdown:

(sorry a bit off topic)..Ill leave it at that though.

[JJJ&D'sMum]

My 2 uncirc'd boys are now almost 16 and 11yo and have never in their lives had an infection in that area. They were taught as soon as they were old enough how to pull back the skin and clean it while in the bath/shower and reminded daily till they did it automatically. My almost 17 and 15yo uncirc'd nephews are the same - they've never had infections either.

I also think that hygiene is the key. If little boys are taught from a young age, there shouldn't be any infections at all.

:hugs:

CC

[my_lot]

My little son was born a few months premmie and when all his veins collapsed they used the only one left :( so it was very clear my son had a retracting foreskin- AT BIRTH.

[Roxy]

DS had a slight infection late last year - I have no idea how he got it, but find it interesting that he never had one before attending that child care centre, and he hasn't had one since leaving.....

And no - his foreskin has not been forcibly retracted by anyone other than himself - he was fascinated that something popped out the end when he pushed the skin back! :laughing:

[Benji]

My son hasn't had any infections.

My parents have never mentioned my brothers having any either!

[MotherNurture]

Honestly, the penis is part of the genitals. Some irritation at some point during childhood isn't uncommon...irritation can be itching, pain, swelling, rash. Girls get irritation occasionally too. Irritation can even arise from a change in laundry detergent or not rinsing off soap or bubble bath thoroughly. For some reason when it's an intact boy though the assumption always seems to be "Infection!" perhaps because of the myth/expectation that foreskins are problematic. The reality is almost every time someone mentions an "infection" the doctor is randomly prescribing an antibiotic or antifungal without doing a culture to figure out what's going on in the first place...so the chances are very high that a large percentage of the "infections" we hear about aren't really infections at all. Repeat infections are probably even more rare---with no culture it's impossible to make a firm diagnosis and if you're treating a candida (yeast) infection with antibiotics you're actually going to be contributing to the problem rather than curing it.

And then there's the issue or unnecessary and damaging forceful retraction to "look", "peek", "check", "stretch", or "clean". Attempting to retract a young boy's foreskin prematurely is bad because it tears the natural adhesions (synechia) that bond the foreskin to the glans (head) of the penis and can cause microtears at the tip of the foreskin's opening---this causes pain/swelling/potential scarring and may be an entry point for infection. In addition, retracting the foreskin can damage the foreskin's opening that keeps it snugly closed and prevents foreign material from getting under/inside it, and if the foreskin's being retracted prematurely for "hygiene" the excessive washing can cause a pH and flora imbalance just like douching out a little girl's vagina would. The first person to retract a boy's foreskin should be the boy himself; he knows his own body, will stop if there's discomfort, and is unlikely to cause damage.

It seems so common sense, just like the genital care of little girls:
Leave it alone, less invasive poking and prodding and cleaning is better.
Just wash the outside with plain water or the mildest of soaps.

For the most part, it's all the messing with it that typically causes problems.

My son is 4 1/2 and has never had an infection of any kind. In fact, the only time he's experienced any problem whatsoever was when he inadvertently pinched his foreskin while recapping a Crayola marker in his lap. Oops. (No more naked coloring---unless it's crayons! lol) He's not retractable, and we don't worry about it; his penis gets washed normally at bathtime along with the rest of him. Nothing fancy or complicated.

One final hint: If your son "plays with" himself a lot, frequent handwashing and keeping fingernails short may decrease the chances of infection caused by a self-inflicted scratch.

Jen

[MotherNurture]

you are wrong.

My son was born with a retracting forskin.

Here's the thing:

Pulling back a baby's foreskin is almost always unnecessary.
It doesn't retract unless someone's pulling it back.
If you're pulling it back, you're risking damage.
You probably won't know you're causing damage until it's too late/has already occured.

A parent or care provider may have no idea they're causing damage; it's not always immediately apparent. The skin is very delicate and is NOT as elastic as it will be after puberty...so, little tears can happen at the tip of the foreskin. Repeated forceful retraction can lead to scarring and "acquired phimosis"---that is, a foreskin that can't be retracted later, when it actually ought to.

The amount of natural adhesions (synechia) that fuse the foreskin to the glans (head) of the penis vary from child to child, some have less some have more, some have strong adhesions some have weaker adhesions...it may be possible to retract a baby's foreskin without causing any apparent bleeding or trauma, but that doesn't make it a safe or wise practice.

[Roopee]

Nope- neither of my boys have had any kind of infection in/near their penis.

DS2 has had one UTI and after a visit to a stand in GP who recommended i circ him. I had both my boys there- one had the UTI- one had an ear infection and i just asked which one he was doing first? "wanna take the ears or penis first?" Fool.

[Noah_and_Elijah]

No and no!

[Jakois]

NO for either son.

[charlen49]

I voted yes(for my best frinds son as i only have daughters)..he had chronic infections from 0-2yrs..no matter how clean he was cleaned etc..his parents finally had him circumsized and he never had another infection. My brother is circumsized( i am un awares of any infection) though he was a bed wetter(though i doubt that is of any relivance.My father isnt circumsised.

[michelleR]

no doctor even looked at my sons penises in their 6 week check... :confused:..

and I've had 3 six week checks.

Maybe I've just had good doctors.

OJandMe, Did they not even check the testicles had decsended, or for hernia's etc?? Mine did this when checking for clicky hips. He checked my son all over thoroughly, and I would not expect anything less :thumbsup:. He did not retract his foreskin though. Sorry a bit off topic :p, just a comment I found strange.

[Butterflies&Hurricanes]

Yes my son had an infection last year. He is uncirc'd and we NEVER attempt to retract the foreskin. No one has, not even the doctor who did his 6 week check.
But last year one day his penis started swelling and he was very cranky and then later in the day it was oozing so off to the docs who put him on antibiotics and it cleared soon after. Doc said its quite common in uncirc'd boys but not a reason to circ. Only if it was a recurrent thing.
He hasnt had it since though. Doc also said it was nothing we did wrong. Just happens. He said not to try wash it or anything. Just wash the outside like you would any other part of the body. Oh and also back then, DS didnt play with it (unlike now! :rolleyes:) so I doubt it had anything to do with him retracting himself.

(he is nearly 2 - if it makes any difference)

[sam's mum]

no for DS, no for 16y/o nephew, no for 35y/o ex DH

[Milliner]

Nope, never, not once.

[WorkingClassMum]

DS is 7 and has never had a foreskin/penile infection

DD is 4 and has had one UTI

neither of my kids are circumcised

[rileysmumm]

never happened to anyone i know. as long as when the boys grow up they are tought properly how clean it properly. my husband was taught when in the army as they sometimes dont shower for days. very handy to be taught if boys go camping.:thumbsup:

[Mybabble]

My ds has so many infections ive lost count. He also has Phimosis. He has been in pain, his penis has bled and it just keeps happening. We have tried creams,antibiotics and he has had ultrasounds to make sure that there is not something more serious going on.

He is going to be circumcised in June.

[MumOf4Monsters]

Yes my first son did end up with an infection when he was 2 and he is not circ'd. It was quite traumatic for him and also for me to have to watch him in pain!
I'm glad to say that he has not had any problems since then and i have two other un-circ'd boys that have never had any problems with infection.:yelclap:

I have a friend that pulls back both of her sons foreskins to clean them and has done from birth. One is 1 and the other is 3. I've never done this with my boys, but heres a question for all you knowledgable ladies - At what age do you start pulling the foreskin back to clean it??? I was just talking to dh the other night about having a talk to ds who is nearly 8 years old about how to clean it. Dh does'nt have a clue either as he is circ'd.

TIA!

[Mamaduke]

3 intact boys here and 1 has had an infection...and no, his foreskin was never retracted by anyone.
We went to see a pediatric surgeon who then retracted it and found there to be a little skin left from it naturally retracting which may have caused the infection. The surgeon told us that it wasn't necessary to operate (thank goodness) and after his course of antibiotics, no further treatment was required.

[fozzie]

DS1 had a couple when he was young but nothing sinceand DS2 & DS3 haven't had any.

[BreakfastatTiffanys]

No never and ds is 8 and intact, and the same for dh.

[my_lot]

Quote:
Originally Posted by my_lot
you are wrong.

My son was born with a retracting forskin.
Here's the thing:

Pulling back a baby's foreskin is almost always unnecessary.
It doesn't retract unless someone's pulling it back.
If you're pulling it back, you're risking damage.
You probably won't know you're causing damage until it's too late/has already occured.

A parent or care provider may have no idea they're causing damage; it's not always immediately apparent. The skin is very delicate and is NOT as elastic as it will be after puberty...so, little tears can happen at the tip of the foreskin. Repeated forceful retraction can lead to scarring and "acquired phimosis"---that is, a foreskin that can't be retracted later, when it actually ought to.

The amount of natural adhesions (synechia) that fuse the foreskin to the glans (head) of the penis vary from child to child, some have less some have more, some have strong adhesions some have weaker adhesions...it may be possible to retract a baby's foreskin without causing any apparent bleeding or trauma, but that doesn't make it a safe or wise practice.

I know you lilke to sound like you know everything there is to know about circumcision, and you do a great job. I am not anti circ by a long shot but i still find your posts interesting but the FACT is my son was born with a retracting foreskin- ie IT WAS NOT FUSED. no-one retracted it. It was obvious by sight! Do you not think that if a Doctor has seen this sight they would not investigate further for possible problems, such as where the urethra is located??

Dont you think as a parent who wanted circumcision and looked into the ways it is preformed, i knew the foreskin was meant to be fused at birth. I could clearly see what the doctors could.



My son was manhandled far more than a newborn baby because he was very, very premature. It was because of this prematurity that he had many checks on undecsended testicles, hernias, clicky/dislocated hips. It was a teaching hospital, we agreed to have students watch over our paed. We also sought a second opinion (and then again after we left hospital) on the circumcision, we had planned, due to his foreskin not being fused.

I know you find it so hard to believe that a newborn would be retracted at birth. That he "must have had it forced". and "how on earth would we know if it wasnt forced". But beacuse you think like this doesnt make you right and another full of cr@p.

[MotherNurture]

I had both my boys there- one had the UTI- one had an ear infection and i just asked which one he was doing first? "wanna take the ears or penis first?" Fool.

:yelclap:

Smart momma!


At what age do you start pulling the foreskin back to clean it???

I would just mention to your 8 year old son that at some point, he'll be able to pull the skin back and if he wants to try it during a shower or bath, to feel free. Once he can pull it back comfortably he should rinse underneath the skin during bathing. There's no specific age when it "must" retract, but most boys can retract by the time they reach puberty, many by age 5.


...the FACT is my son was born with a retracting foreskin- ie IT WAS NOT FUSED. no-one retracted it. It was obvious by sight! Do you not think that if a Doctor has seen this sight they would not investigate further for possible problems, such as where the urethra is located??

If a kitten's eyelid are closed and you've never seen it open them itself, how do you know if they can open? If you go outside early in the morning during springtime and a flower bud is closed, how do you know-unless you've seen it open on it's own previously-whether that bud will open that day?

A baby's foreskin covers the penis. There is no way to have x-ray vision and to know whether the skin is attached to the glans without manipulating it. There is no way to know how stretchy the opening of the foreskin is without testing it. A newborn is unable to do these things himself...so the only way they occur is if an adult intervenes, and I stand by my position that that's generally unnecessary and a bad (potentially quite painful and harmful) idea.

Did your son have a partially formed or "dorsal hooded" foreskin? That's different, and it is sometimes an indication for the condition hypospadias which has to do with the placement of the urinary opening. This is what your statement seems to elude to.


Dont you think as a parent who wanted circumcision and looked into the ways it is preformed, i knew the foreskin was meant to be fused at birth. I could clearly see what the doctors could.

If the foreskin was abnormal, that's not the same as retractible. I think we've just misunderstood each other.

At birth, the foreskin usually cannot be pulled back to expose the head of the penis. In most boys the foreskin becomes retractable in the first few years of life, although in others it may not be able to be pulled back until as late as puberty.

What is hypospadias?

The most crucial steps in the development of the penis take place between weeks nine and 12 of pregnancy. During this time, male hormones act to stimulate formation of the urinary channel and foreskin. Various problems with hormone action may result in a congenital condition called hypospadias.

Hypospadias is a common birth defect, occurring in one out of every 150 to 300 boys. Most often it is the only problem in these infants and does not imply there are other defects in the urinary system or other organs. It is a condition in which the urethral opening does not form completely to the tip of the penis. Instead, the opening may be located anywhere along the underside of the penis. While the urethral opening is most often found near the head, a position referred to as distal, it also may be located from the middle of the penile shaft to the base of the penis or even behind the scrotum, a position called proximal. About 70 percent of boys with this condition have distal hypospadias. In 15 percent of those cases, it is associated with mild downward curvature of the penis. In contrast, when the urethral opening is located more proximally, curvature occurs in more than 50 percent of patients.

Usually hypospadias is apparent at birth. Not only is the urethral opening in the wrong position, but the foreskin typically is also incompletely developed, resulting in what is called a dorsal hood that leaves the tip of the penis exposed. In fact, it is the appearance of the foreskin that most often calls attention to the problem. However, some male newborns have an abnormal foreskin with a normally positioned urethral opening, while in others, a complete foreskin may hide an abnormal urethral opening. About 8 percent of boys with hypospadias, also have a testicle that is not fully descended into the scrotum.

http://www.urologyhealth.org/pediatric/index.cfm?cat=01&topic=96


My son was manhandled far more than a newborn baby because he was very, very premature. It was because of this prematurity that he had many checks on undecsended testicles, hernias, clicky/dislocated hips. It was a teaching hospital, we agreed to have students watch over our paed. We also sought a second opinion (and then again after we left hospital) on the circumcision, we had planned, due to his foreskin not being fused.

:hugs:

I'm sorry to hear about his prematurity and other difficulties, but it sounds like his foreskin wasn't "retractible" in the normal sense. By him being born "retracted" it sounds like he was actually born with his glans was exposed and he may have had an anatomical marker/abnormality associated with hypospadias which is probably why they were investigating things so thoroughly.

There's also an even rarer condition called aposthia, a congenital defect in which a boy is born with no foreskin.


I know you find it so hard to believe that a newborn would be retracted at birth. That he "must have had it forced". and "how on earth would we know if it wasnt forced". But beacuse you think like this doesnt make you right and another full of cr@p.

Occasionally newborns have few adhesions and a stretchy enough preputial sphincter that it doesn't tear when an adult attempts retraction, but there's no way to know whether damage is being done until it's already occured, or, sometimes the damage is so minor that it's not obvious. The concern is that even minor damage, over time and if it occurs repeatedly can lead to scarring and true phimosis later in life.

Your son's case sounds like a different scenario entirely.

Again, sorry for the misunderstanding.

Jen

[pookiesossige]

My son has never had an infection. He is nearly 4 and his foreskin doesn't retract yet (which is fine for a long time yet, by the way).

I've never known any uncircumcised boy who has had an infection....

[A Party of Five]

All three of my boys have had an infection.