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... 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!
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
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?!
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