Cynful Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 I noticed several ladies saying that they've had issues with their intact boys at the ped's office. We just had a baby boy in December and we did not have him circumsized (actually no on even asked us). However, my 14 year old son *is* circumsized. I'm not really sure how to take care of my intact son and at his 6 month well exam, the Nurse Practitioner asked us if we "were working at it"? I still don't know what exactly I was supposed to be "working at". :confused: I didn't think we were supposed to do anything for a while. Anyway, can anyone please point me in the right direction of taking care of him please and making sure they know what they are doing at the ped's office? Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tangerine Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 (edited) You shouldn't be working at anything! :) http://www.nocirc.org/publish/pamphlet4.html This may be obvious, but perhaps I should mention...there are diagrams of intact penises on the linked page. Edited July 1, 2011 by Tangerine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoVanGogh Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 You shouldn't be working at anything!:iagree: I will add: Our first pediatrician kept insisting that we had to take our son to a urologist as there was something 'wrong.' We went to two urologist that didn't see anything wrong, both said DS was just fine 'as is.' They both felt our pediatrician had an agenda about getting boys circ'd. Our pediatrician later moved and we found a new doctor. Our new pedi has always said DS is perfectly fine. I know back when my DH and his brother were born ('60s), conventional wisdom at that time was to 'work at' the intact... Now they say to leave it well enough alone and not force it to retr*ct. Interestingly enough, our first pedi was young/new so she shouldn't have been stuck in the old ways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 Ditto, just wash it like anywhere else. We thankfully have never had an issue with that, although I have always been ready to tackle any nurse or Dr that might try to do any retraction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 Take care of it like a finger or the tip of his nose. Rinse like a finger in the tub. Don't retract, don't mess with it. Just let it be :) Don't trust a health care provider telling you anything else at his age. You know those stories about boys who "had" to be circ'd later in life? Much of that was because back in the day parents were erroneously told to retract their baby boys before they were fully retractable on their own (and sadly, this still happens!). This causes scar tissue which *does* lead to problems. It would be like trying to rip your fingernail from the nailbed to which it is adhered. Seriously, nothing to it. Just wash like a finger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roxanne23 Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 (edited) . Edited January 4, 2023 by roxanne23 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WiseOwlKnits Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 You should not do anything other than wash it the way you would wash a finger. The only person who should retract is the owner. :iagree: YAY on another uncirc'ed boy. :) An uncirc'ed pen!s is super easy to take care of. Just leave it alone. Messing with it causes problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cassiemc Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 Just leave it alone. We've never had any problems. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty in Pink Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 :iagree:What they said! Just leave it alone. Wash it like any other body part. Do not try to retract the foreskin. It's perfectly normal for it not to retract until the child is older. Much older. Keep an eye out at well-baby visits. I have had to tell nurses and pediatricians not to mess with it; you would think that they would know better. Make sure you tell anyone who may be changing his diaper to leave it alone, too. I have three intact boys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynful Posted July 1, 2011 Author Share Posted July 1, 2011 Thank you ladies. I thought that was the case, but wanted to make sure. The Nurse Practitioner was sooo young - you'd think she'd know better - we are seeing the doc from now on anyway as the NP just wasn't my style. It's sooo hard to find a doc you love.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Yep, what everyone else said. Wash it like a finger. Don't retract it. There is a huge variation of normal as to when they will be able to retract on their own -- for some it's pretty young, and for others it's not until closer to puberty. Typically it's around 3-5, but the only one who should ever retract is the boy himself. He'll figure it out. :) (Once he can retract it, he can retract it in the bath, swish it around, shake it off, and put the foreskin back, but until it's retractable on its own, it will keep stuff out of it itself.) Your doctor does not need to retract in order to check on your son. Our ped would just do a quick look in the diaper area, occasionally lifting the p*nis to check for any concerns about the scr*tum, but she never retracted the p*nis at all. At every appointment, you should be ready to stop the doctor/nurse if he/she even tries to retract, because some of them are quick. If for some reason your son ever needs a catheter, they may tell you that they need to retract, and that's just not true. They may need to find someone who is able to do it without retracting, but it is possible to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 And in case you just needed another vote for "leave it alone-only the owner gets to retract", here I am raising my hand! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Actually, be proactive when THEY look at your son; sometimes nurses or Drs have tried to retract it, which is an uneducated thing to do. You just leave it alone.... without pushing anything back or trying to wash inside of it. In fact, only if you mess with it, would there be a need to do anything with it. It's kinda got a connection to keep everything out. NOW, if by some weird chance he gets an infection, which my son did around 8 months... here's what to do. You get some Monostat (is that one of the yeast infection creams? that's what I'm going for) and put some on the tip.... you kinda "pull" but towards you... not towards baby...just gently... and do this how many ever times a day... (2?) It took care of the infection in a few days. (Literally, I gently squeezed towards me and out came green puss :( ) My Dr when I took him in, said a totally different way; later I commented that his sons must be cir'd and he said yes. I knew that because you can't rub it on the tip!! DUH!!! (and he said this right after looking at my son... HELLO??!!!!) Anyway, if there's ever a problem you want an uncirc'd Dr or someone who is pro intact, because other Drs can't see beyond their own noses, and imagine all sorts of reasons to circ. (stepping slowly off the box) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Retracting easily can take many years. Sometimes it doesn't happen until the... umm.... exertions of puberty. I come from a non-circed country and the whole thing is a non-issue. My boys have occasionally had a little redness around the tip. I put this down to not rinsing well after the shower/bath. Directing the shower jet at the end with care for a few days seems to sort it out. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akmommy Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 :iagree: YAY on another uncirc'ed boy. :) An uncirc'ed pen!s is super easy to take care of. Just leave it alone. Messing with it causes problems. :iagree: I never did any thing special with DS and most certainly never "worked" anything. He still has all his parts in factory condition. It was DS's Dr. That convinced us to leave it whole and alone in the first place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Retracting easily can take many years. Sometimes it doesn't happen until the... umm.... exertions of puberty. Good to know, cause we're at this stage right now, and the doc is pushing for a circ. I don't know how long we can wait! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 The practitioner needs to get a grip. or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tangerine Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 or not. Tee hee. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 My boys are intact and my 9 year old can't retract his yet. Our ped wasn't concerned. It definitely can take a while. My 4 year old's will get a little reddish on the tip at times; it's never required any treatment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaceyinLA Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 We had gotten a tad concerned at that point just since it WAS so long, but our ped was PRO intact and just gave it a quick look and said there was nothing to worry about. Ds is 16 now and from what he says, it all works as it should (this not in a sexual way btw). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynful Posted July 2, 2011 Author Share Posted July 2, 2011 or not. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjbeach Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 (edited) My youngest is not circ'd either. Pedi 1 said don't worry, so we didn't, but as we approached his 5th birthday I was very nervous because it didn't look like he was even beginning to retract. So now we have a new pedi, pedi 2 was very nervous because he had no retracted by now so wrote for urology consult. At urology consult urologist retracted him in a second flat. Seriously. Obviously we were way too nervous. He did send me home with some steroidal cream to make retraction easy but told us to just relax. It was explained to me a long time ago that as a baby it will be like the nail growing into a nailbed so dont even try retracting, just keep clean, and that in time it retract on it's own. Edited July 3, 2011 by cjbeach typos - new ipad :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punchie Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Thank you for this thread! We're having a boy this Sept and we are not circ'ing him. I asked the ped about it and she said to periodically gently see if the foreskin will retract, but to do nothing else. That made me feel a bit uncomfortable actually. I'm glad to know that doing nothing whatsoever is what's best. I'm assuming I'll have to keep a close eye out during well-baby visits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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