This evening as I was giving my son a bath I noticed some yellow/white discharge coming from his penis, so, I took him in and they said he had an infection and gave me some liquid medicine to put on it at every diaper change. My question is: was I supposed to be cleaning his penis at every bath...I thought I wasn't supposed to try to pull anything back and clean it until he was a year old--just clean the outside. Is that wrong? How common is this? Is it difficult to get rid of or cause any long term problems? I know...:rolleyes: I forgot to ask all the doc these questions when I took him. Many thanks in advance for any advice--can you tell I'm a newbie to all this mommy stuff?!;)

From what I've discovered lately (in dealing with a UTI in an uncirc'd 3.5 year old) even at a year you don't pull it back to clean it. Not until they can do it themselves. There is excellent info on the men's page on this.

there's much conflicting info, some say its not possible to retract until a much older child (7+), others argue its ok for infants (4+). Personally, as an unretracted male until late teens (no one told me!), it was then that soreness and infections and the constant battle for cleanliness began!

take the advice of your gp...you cant go wrong :cool:

soyoukan, your experience is not normal. you should see a doctor, and find out what is causing your infections and soreness. it sounds like a simple yeast infection, which can happen to anyone...male, female, circumcised, uncircumcised.

You were given the right advice. It is very uncommon for the foreskin to be separated from the glans at this age. It does happen in rare cases though. Are you sure that nobody like a nurse or even a doctor tried to pull the foreskin back at some stage? That is the commonest cause of problems at such a young age. Once the infection is cleared up you could try and GENTLY see if it will easily retract (stop instantly if he shows any sign of discomfort), in case he really is in that one or two percent of baby boys who have a retractable foreskin this early. If he is then you could wash it daily with plain water like an older child. You must be extra careful to avoid damage though. I am not sure I should even be telling you to try as there is definite risk. It would probably be fine just leaving it alone but if you are worried about the possibility of another infection it is your decision.
Geoff

Wow, I had no idea there was so much to know about an intact penis until this happened. Please keep the advice coming! I want to know whats best for him!
On Saturday when I took him in they cleaned him out (squeezed some stuff out, it was terrible), then gave me a soak to put on a gauze pad and wrap around his penis in his diaper. They said to take him to my gp on Monday. On Sunday it was much better--nothing coming out, redness and swelling improving. But, when I took him today--the doctor I saw said it still looked a little red so she prescribed a course of amoxicillin. Is this the best way to deal with this? Of course I'm giving him the antibiotic because I'm not the doctor here, but she really didn't seem to know much about this sort of thing--couldn't very well answer many of my questions and she basically told me this is why boys get circumcised--because this sort of thing happens over and over again and she told me that his foreskin is a little tight and he might have to get circumcised anyway to avoid more problems. Ugh, any advice? Does anyone know if certian boys do just need to get it done because of anatomical problems and maybe my boy is one of them?:confused:

I have a friend whose son was uncircumcised, and he got several infections. Then when he was about 6, the foreskin started fusing to the penis. He had to be circumcised. So I guess anything is possible.

In the US many doctors don't know a lot about foreskins. It doesn't even appear in a lot of their textbooks and most foreskin problems are treatable in less invasive ways. Most intact boys don't have any problems. There is a cream, Betamethasone 0.1% or 0.05% that can be used to help stretch the opening if he has a tight foreskin problem. I still suspect someone has tried to retract it too early. However, take it slowly. After the course of antibiotics see if it will retract for washing in plain water without hurting him. Keep a close eye on it and don't let any infection take hold again.
With any luck you won't have any other major problems but get back to us if we can help further.
Geoff

Thanks for the replies. I really feel awful for the poor little guy. His foreskin is so tight that I can't even see the head. I never have been able to. I don't know how to clean it if the head isn't exposed at all. I called the doctor again today because I was given instructions to clean with warm water but I just can't get in there and I don't want to force it. They told me he'll probably have to get circumcised. I've been stretching it a little to see if it will open a little. We have an appt. mid february for his 12 month check up, so we'll get the definite answer then I guess.

He is most likely getting the infection because someone is trying to retract his foreskin before it is ready. This tears the connection between the foreskin and the glans slightly, and allows the infection to happen.
Your doctor has the wrong information...and the wrong attitude. No one should retract a foreskin on a child, unless it is the owner.
Your son doesn't need a circumcision, he needs a doctor who knows basic human anatomy.
He should sit in a warm bath, with the foreskin left alone, to relieve discomfort. The antibiotics should take care of any infection.
His foreskin will retract in its own time. That can be anytime from birth, to puberty, or even later. If he can't retract as an adult, simple stretching will fix it, or simple stretching combined with betamethasone cream. If you want more evidence about when a boy retracts, do a web search for the Oster study....Oster + foreskin should do it.
There are valid reasons to circumcise. Frostbite and cancer of the foreskin are two of them. Your son's situation isn't even in the ball park.
Been there, done that, with the medical professionals. We had our first son circumcised due to incorrect medical advice. The second son, we left alone, and he has been problem-free for 28 years.