Questions?

[BubbaLicious]

I have some questions for mothers of uncircumcised boys. Or any one with knowledge on this subject.
I am wondering at what age does the foreskin retract for hygiene?
I just read a site that said the foreskin are usually unattached and retractable by the age of 2.
Ds#1 is 4yrs old and I thought it would all just happen in due course and now I am a little worried.
Should I have him checked out?
Anyone's son like mine and take longer for this process?

[belinda]

i thought it was supposed to retract around the age of 2 but i could be wrong....

[melfunction]

I thought it was between 4 and 6 yrs old. In any case, I wouldn't force the issue.

[the_queen]

Anywhere between the ages of 2 and puberty is NORMAL. It will happen on its own - DO NOT forcibly retract it because that is how intact boys get infections.

[JJJ&D'sMum]

I have 2 boys...one retracted at about 2yo and the other one at about 3-4yo (after I had been concerned and taken him to the doctor).

If you have any concerns, see your doctor as they have a special cream that can be used which is NOT harmful in any way. The cream helps the foreskin retract without any other medical intervention.

Sometimes the foreskin is a bit too tight to 'pop' and retract by itself and help is needed. Your doctor will let you know if you have any need for concern.

Good luck and don't stress.

~hugs~

[BubbaLicious]

Thanks for the replies.
I would never forcibly retract as I already know that can do more damage than good. Was just concerned that maybe it won't retract.
Thanks for the suggestion about the cream CCsSurprise. I think I'll let it got a bit longer, maybe get it checked next time he needs to go to the docs.

[theycallmemum]

My eldest sons still doesn't retract properly and he is 10 1/2, he just pulls it back as far as it will go comfortably and washes, no force.

My 8yr olds will never retract because it's just too tight so he is having a partial circumcision in a few weeks. It's getting tighter and longer as he gets older.

[FourAngelKisses]

The last time I tried to retract my 9yr olds, he was 6 and it wasn't going far so I just left it. He wouldn't let me touch it after as it was embarrassing, lol, but I'm guessing it is okay now.

[MotherNurture]

Here's my resource list on this topic, from an Intact Care board that I hostess on another parenting site:

HE'S INTACT---DON'T RETRACT!

What Is Foreskin Retraction?

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.

American Academy of Pediatrics

Retraction of the Foreskin

At birth, the foreskin is usually attached to the glans, very much as a fingernail is attached to a finger. By puberty, the penis will usually have completed its development, and the foreskin will have separated from the glans.8 This separation occurs in its own time; there is no set age by which the foreskin and glans must be separated. One wise doctor described the process thus, "The foreskin therefore can be likened to a rosebud which remains closed and muzzled. Like a rosebud, it will only blossom when the time is right. No one opens a rosebud to make it blossom."9

Even if the glans and foreskin separate naturally in infancy, the foreskin Ups can normally dilate only enough to allow the passage of urine. This ideal feature protects the glans from premature exposure to the external environment.

The penis develops naturally throughout childhood. Eventually, the child will, on his own, make the wondrous discovery that his foreskin will retract. There is no reason for parents, physicians, or other caregivers to manipulate a child's penis. The only person to retract a child's foreskin should be the child himself, when he has discovered that his foreskin is ready to retract.

Mothering Magazine: The Case Against Circumcision

The tightness of the foreskin is a safety mechanism that protects the glans and urethra from direct exposure to contaminants and germs. The tight foreskin also keeps the boy's glans warm, clean, and moist, and when he is an adult, it will give him pleasure. As long as your son can urinate, he is perfectly normal. There is no age by which a child's foreskin must be retractable. Do not let your doctor or anyone try to retract your child's foreskin. Optimal hygiene of the penis demands that the foreskin of infants and children be left alone.

Mothering Magazine: Protect Your Uncircumcised Son: Expert Medical Advice for Parents

Avoidance of premature retraction. Care-givers and healthcare providers must be careful to avoid premature retraction of the foreskin, which is contrary to medical recommendations, painful, traumatic, tears the attachment points (synechiae), may cause infection, is likely to generate medico-legal problems, and may cause paraphimosis, with the tight foreskin acting like a tourniquet. The first person to retract the boy’s foreskin should be the boy himself.3

The Development of Retractile Foreskin in the Child and Adolescent
A guidance for healthcare providers from Doctors Opposing Circumcision

Also available in a PDF leaflet.

See Also: Intact Care Agreement

The #1 rule for intact care is to leave it alone.

The first person to retract a boy's foreskin should be the boy himself.

Until then, just wipe it off like you would a finger or give it a swish of plain water in the bath.

Once he can retract it himself, all he needs to do is "RETRACT, RINSE, REPLACE" in the shower or bath.

HTHs,

Jen

PS. A non-retractile foreskin in a post-pubescent boy can virtually always be treated by conservative means, without tissue amputation. More information can be found by googling, "conservative phimosis treatment". A very successful, pain-free solution is a topical (applied to the skin) steroid cream called betamethasone. There are also strectching exercises, or manual dilation under local anesthetic. Another option is a simple dorsal slit to enlarge the opening, also performed with anesthetic.