retracting foreskins for hygiene

[judetheobscure]

Read in another thread (ys, the highly controversial circumcision thread) that the foreskin should be retracted for cleaning on a weekly basis. What age should this start and what would the cleaning entail?

[Angiel]

I've had this discussion with various friends before. Opinion seems to vary from - you shouldn't touch it at all and you should give it a clean in the bath.

I have never tried to retract my ds's foreskin and I don't think I'd feel comfortable doing it. He is now nearly 3.

[monkey]

Last time I went to doc with my 3.5 & 2.2 yr old, doc said I should start to try & retract the 2.2 yr old's because it is very tight, not for cleaning purposes, but to try & gradually loosen it and thus avoid circumcision. I dunno if this goes for all boys over age 2 or if his is ready, if you see what I mean. I have to say, despite being married with 2 sons, the penis is still a mystery for me.

[Ghosty]

I was told that the foreskin does not need to be retracted AT ALL before the age of 4. I was also told that it is self cleaning so I didn't understand that bit in the other thread about cleaning it once a week.
I recently took my DS to the docs because I thought his foreskin was too tight (it ballooned when he did a wee). The doctor very gently pulled his foreskin back and showed me that it wasn't too tight and there was nothing to worry about. He also said that even if he couldn't have pulled it back then, DS was still too young for it to be a concern (DS is 3.4).
I wouldn't worry about it judetheobsure (good name btw!) ...

[Ghosty]

Errm ... I meant the doctor pulled DS' foreskin back ... not his own

[judetheobscure]

Love the image Ghosty

[SimonHoward]

judetheobscure

I can't say I ever recall having this done to me as a youngster.

I know as I started getting to about 11 or 12 I asked my parents about it because it was tight and they told me the same the doctor did and it was fine.

[judetheobscure]

Thanks for the replies - I shall be leaving well alone - with three boys I'm glad not to have another "chore" added to the long list

[StuartC]

There's advice from a paediatrician here .
Some soaps and bubble baths can be irritants.
Natural separation of the foreskin from the head takes place around age 6, but can be later, possibly age 10. Until separation, the foreskin should not be retracted.

[Rhiannon]

We had a nasty case of what we called "cauliflower willy" in our house when DS was 7. It was all because it wasn't being cleaned properly. It looked very nasty, he had to show the GP (v. embarrasssed) and had Canestan to put on it.