My son was not circumcised as a baby. I was told that his foreskin would not retract right away and I should not force it but that eventually it would and at that time I should teach him to clean under it.
He is almost 8 years old and it still does not retract. Soon he will to be too old to want his mom to show him anything about this part of his body! Should I keep waiting or take him to a doctor about it?
I asked this under general health too. I know he is just a boy, but still, I thought maybe in this section I would find more people who know about this sort of thing.
2007-10-12 09:53:49 · 10 answers · asked by Thrice Blessed 6 in Health ➔ Men's Health
A study in Europe found the average age to be around 10.4 years of age. Doctors here often say around 3/4 to encourage circumcision. Smegma doesn't increase production until puberty; so that's when pulling it back is necessary.
Does it look tight? If it doesn't, don't worry. It'll separate from the head once his penis begins to grow. Some don't pull back until puberty.
I myself was able at age 9, 10, or 11. I can't remember exactly which.
Here are the studies:
http://www.cirp.org/library/normal/thorvaldsen1/
http://www.cirp.org/library/general/oster/
If it does look tight, you can actually use a cream to loosen it. You just need a prescription, and it's $4 at the WalMart pharmacy. It works in almost 95% of cases. It's 0.05% betamethasone. Here's the study if you need it:
http://www.brazjurol.com.br/july_august_2005/Marques_ing_370_374.htm
Circumcision is not needed.
http://circresearch.googlepages.com/tightforeskin
2007-10-12 10:24:43 · answer #1 · answered by Jorge 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
In many boys the foreskin is retractable by age 3. In some boys it might not be retractable until he's about to start puberty. And, while rare, some guys can't retract their foreskins until almost the end of puberty. Each guy develops at a different rate and it's a bad idea to force a foreskin to go back when it doesn't want to. You can try to gently retract their foreskins to see if it can go back, but if you meet any resistance you should stop immediately, as to continue could cause scarring and make things really bad. I'm going to bet that, at their age, their foreskins aren't fully retractable yet. If they're having trouble controlling their stream of urine, they should just learn to adapt, it's not that hard. The link might provide some useful info.
2016-05-22 03:12:21 · answer #2 · answered by meredith 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You made the right choice to leave him intact-he will thank you later. My son could retract his from about the age of 4 but in some cases it can be up to the age of 14. Just as long as you teach him that he needs to try gently to pull it back and that if it doesn't move then don't force it. When he can move it then he need to do it each day to wash underneath the foreskin and pull it back when he pees, could his dad show him how to do it?
2007-10-12 18:50:34 · answer #3 · answered by ? 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
There is probably no correct answer to this as every boy will be different, I think I was about ten years old when mine would slide back completely.
As long as it partially retracts it should not be a problem and as lo as long as he is able to wash himself, it might be possible if he is a quite bath for about twenty minutes so that his penis is very soft it may be possible to partially retract and get him just gently try to retract a little more each time without forcing it back.
2007-10-12 10:17:56 · answer #4 · answered by john h 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
By the time a boy is 3 or 4, his foreskin is usually fully retractable. Your pediatrician was supposed to instruct you on this and how to teach him to properly wash his penis.
The dangers of developing phimosis at age 8 (his foreskin not retracting) are large, and accumulation of smegma can lead to UTIs. Some doctors wait until boys are 8, but by this time is going to be harder to supervise if he has learned to wash himself properly.
Please schedule a visit to your pediatrician and ask him which is the best way to handle this.
2007-10-12 10:16:55 · answer #5 · answered by AMBER D 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I wasn't able to fully retract mine until I was 16. By 8, it should go back far enough to clean under it but maybe not able to retract fully.
2007-10-12 10:00:54 · answer #6 · answered by boring 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
My husband is not circumcised and he said that his foreskin didn't fully retract until he started going through puberty.
2007-10-12 10:07:47 · answer #7 · answered by RoVale 7 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Hope it's not grown attached to something it's not suppose to attach to. You may want to consider going to your Doctor and see if he should see a Urologist... Good luck, if there is a problem it will need to be corrected surgically. The foreskin should retract fully at all times, if not there is a problem.
2007-10-12 10:00:07 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
Although the advise you first received seems to be quite natural as well as sound advise I tend to agree with your concern that this has taken too long to occur on its own, so yes, take him to the doctor.
Good luck to the both of you and God's blessings too!
2007-10-12 10:16:40 · answer #9 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It can actually take until puberty. Whatever you do, don't force it, as that can cause even more problems.
2007-10-12 13:27:42 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋