Tight foreskin ?

[Ghosty]

Hello,
Just a little question ... since my DS has been out of nappies I have noticed that his foreskin balloons just before he is does a wee. I didn't think anything of it until I read in a parenting magazine about a woman whose little boy had to have a circumcision at the age of five due to a tight foreskin and one of the symptoms was that it ballooned with wee before it came out.
Has anyone had any experience of this and should I take him to the doctor? Any replies gratefully received!!!!

[Jaybee]

Ds had the same thing - it was first noticed when he was about 6 months old - we were told to wait until he was out of nappies to see if 'natural fiddling' sorted out the problem - unfortunately, it didn't and he had to be circumcised when he was 4. It may be worth seeing if his foreskin will retract at all (next time he is in the bath) - ds' wouldn't. I would also try an encourage him to loosen it himself, i.e. giving it a good soapy clean while in the bath etc.. Personally, I would take him to see your gp and get a referral, at least you will have started the ball rolling and if he manages to loosen it himself then no time is lost.

[Tuscany]

My ds has the same thing. I spoke to my GP about it & he said that until he is 4 it's fairly normal as long as it's not causing a problem to not worry & have it checked out when he's 4. I'm still concerned too though. I'd ask the doc. next time you are there or even just give him a ring - my doc. used the term 'ballooning' too.

[GeorginaA]

Silly aside question... my ds is 22months and I know that when he was a baby you were not supposed to ease the foreskin back in the bath to clean. At what age do they need to start paying a bit more attention to cleanliness under the foreskin? (I asked dh and he didn't have a clue :P )

[mollipops]

Ghosty, my ds is now almost 4 and had the same problem with the ballooning (used to cause a huge mess when he sat to wee as it would spring forward!). I have just realised reading this post that it is no longer as noticeable as it was a year ago...the HV said it should lessen as he gets older and it seems to have done just that. (Without any loosening or poking from us I might add!) Yes if it goes beyond age 4 or so I think they sometimes do recommended circumcision to reduce risk of infections etc. I'm very relieved he doesn't need it - it wasn't something we wanted, and definitely not at this age. Keep an eye on it, I'm sure he will be fine.

Georgina, I believe current ideas are that you don't need to retract the foreskin at all, or clean under it - it is "self-cleaning" - and it is unnecessary and possibly harmful to try. HTH.

[Ghosty]

Thanks for the reassuring messages everyone. I think that I will mention it to the doctor next time ... or actually I will try to ring the Plunket Nurse (equivalent of Health Visitor here). I hope he doesn't have to have a circumcision as I really don't want him to have to go through that (AND I know DH would not be keen) but if he has to then well ...
He is 3 years and 3 months now so I guess 4 is not that far off ...
Thanks again!

[Jaybee]

GeorginaA - When my eldest nephew (dn1) was born - he has just turned 18 - my sister was advised to retract the foreskin at every bathtime, however, this advice had changed before dn2 was born 2 years later - it seems that the advice is to leave well alone. In my ds' case, as it was exceptionally tight, I was advised by the consultant to gently try and retract it about once a week and check for any infection, i.e. not try and force it back.