Care and cleaning of uncircumcised baby... need info - Infant Care (up to 18 months old) Message Board

happymom2b · 08-24-2004, 06:58 AM

My baby is now 3 months old... do we need to do asnything to ensure his uncircumcised penis stays clean? I was told by our PED when he was born NOT to pull back the foreskin... just to clean the tip with your baby wipes. How long do we do this for? When do we start to clean more thoroughly? How did you do it? Thanks!

Magpiezoe · 08-24-2004, 11:50 AM

Hello, What ever you do...Do not put any diaper rash ointment on it, because your son might get an irritation from it. The nurses and pedeatricians where my son was born told me, "It's easy, just go swish, swish in the water and you're done." The skin is attached to the penis and doesn't separate until they are around 2 years old, then you can do the retracting thing. You must never force it to retract or you could hurt them. The reason the skin is attached is to keep out bacteria. Pretty cool huh? Most infections in infants are caused from diaper ointments or linaments. Keep the A and D ointment on the butt only, and you'll have no problems. Also, I never used powder at all. My boy's 5 year old and never had a UTI, so I know what I'm talking about. You don't need to go overboard with the wiping with the wipes either. Just wipe like you would yourself and chill out and consentrate on that cute little face.

happymom2b · 08-25-2004, 06:40 AM

Thanks so much!! I appreciate the advice.

Geoff B · 09-01-2004, 04:31 PM

Here is a quote from my stretching instructions.:-
"When the penis is formed in the womb it is all as one organ. At birth the foreskin is nearly always fused to the glans. There is no cavity under the foreskin at this stage and therefore nowhere for germs or smegma to collect. (Before infanct circumcision the doctor forcibly separates the foreskin from the glans with forceps, in the US usually without anaesthetic). Misguided attempts to retract the foreskin at this early stage often cause serious damage. Sadly it is quite common for misguided doctors and nurses to attempt to do this. The infant penis should only be washed on the outside. The foreskin should be left alone.
As the boy grows the natural adhesions between the glans and the foreskin break down. Sometimes hard lumps of smegma (a different harder form of this substance at this stage) emerge as this process advances. Young boys often pull on their foreskin and this helps break down the adhesions. As soon as the boy can retract easily he should be taught to wash regularly with plain water. That way many problems can be easily avoided."
The only extra comment I should add is that the age of first retraction varies greatly. Some boys don't retract till much older than two years old and this is considered perfectly normal. Ask him now and then if he can retract and start him washing regularly as soon as he can. Plain water is best as some males get irritation and infections from soap.
Hope this helps though you already had good advice,
Geoff