Foreskin question

[butterflyz2]

Hi ladies,:)

My son is now 4 and half, and still his foreskin does not retract at all. Ive read a few books, but with mixed information. Some say the foreskin should retract pretty early on. And others say, the foreskin will retract once they get older, ie kindy.

My son has had one infection in the past. But recovered quickly with cream. Ive always planned to leave the decision up to him if he wanted to get the 'chop'. Hubby had the chop when he was kid himself due to religious reasons. But we both agree we wanted to leave it to our son. His bits, his decision.

However the doctor sudgessted that i could put vasaline, and try to encourage the foreskin to loosen. I did this for awhile, but didnt work. Its as tight as a glove. Other than this, there have been no problems with his wee.

Just wanting to know if any mums who had their sons foreskins retract on their own later in life, and what the age was.

Mel

p.s.. i would like to add that if he had continued infections, then i wouldnt hesitate to get him circumsised.

[MrsTwith3]

I too have a son who is nearly 4.5yo and his foreskin still doesnt retract. Im not worried about it at all. I used to be though...lol
He has had 1 nasty infection and the Dr told me that his foreskin is very tight and he will need to be circumcised if it doesnt retract by the time he is 4yo. Im not getting it done and the foreskin will retract when it is meant to.
In the meantime though when he is in the bath I have been encouraging HIM to try to slowly retract it himself. That way he can pull it back as far as he feels comfortable and without any discomfort or pain.

Im sorry I probably havent been any help but just wanted you to know that your boy isnt alone and its normal.

[BreakfastatTiffanys]

Ds1 was the same at 4, I would just encourage him to try it himself in the bath or shower. It didn't really retract until last year when he was 7. It all seems to be in working order now:laughing:

[Roxy]

My DS is nearly 4 and his isn't retracting yet either (I got a full frontal view yesterday when I went to put his pj's on him after his bath and he was having a lovely time playing! :o:laughing:)....I'm not worried - it will retract when it's ready.

[JJJ&D'sMum]

I was concerned when DS2's foreskin hadn't retracted by 3yo and the dr told me that if I didn't want to circumsize then I was to encourage him to pull the skin back in the bath and also to allow him to play with it as much as possible (again in the bath). His foreskin retracted one night while he was in the bath at about 3.5yo and he thought something had gone wrong. It made a popping noise when it finally retracted and he hasn't had any problems at all. No infections either.

Your DS is old enough to understand that continual pulling of the foreskin will help so please encourage him to do it as often as possible. Even get DH to show him how to do it if that helps. Sometimes those things are easier dealt with when daddy helps out.

Good luck,

CC

[smog]

my ds is 4.5 and his doesnt retract yet, he has never had an infection. i thought it was best just to wait till they discover to do it on thier own? my ds plays with it all the time so i guess its only a matter of time :laughing:. im not going to do anything at this point unless he has an infection or something ill just wait and see what happens

[AM]

My 4 1/2 year olds foreskin does not retract, and I would never dream of intefering. It will do it in it's own time.

My 2 year olds retracts a fair bit, which shows just how different they all are, and that they are all on their own timetable.

I would not worry in the least, completely normal, and inteference can cause infection. It's his penis! Let him take care of it.

[butterflyz2]

Thanks for the replies,

so it appears in general alot of boys are still in the non-retractable stage!;) Although i have to admit the difference in a lose foreskin, and one that is tight, is quite obvious. A close friend of mine has a son, who is 4 months younger than mine. And to compare willies is an understatement!lol. Once she was getting her, son ready for a bath and i was shocked to see how saggy the foreskin was with her son. We discussed it, and she said her sons foreskin pretty much got loose around aged one. Although i know you should never compare kids!lol

I guess for now i wont bother with it then, unless a bad infection arises. At the moment my boy is going through a funny stage, where he wants his privacy! If he goes to the toilet, he wants the door shut! And no one looking! lol Even after a bath, he wants to get dressed quickly. So he has become self aware. Must have learnt it off his big 8 year old sis or preschool!lol

So anything regarding his willy at this stage, might embarrase him! further. I guess i will leave it up to him then, at least for now!.lol:D

Mel