tight foreskin on 2 year old

[tortoisesarefab]

hi, my almost 2 year old has been complaining about being sore when we change his nappy. at first i thought he was just getting more aware and didnt even know if he knew what sore meant but he keeps saying it so today i pulled his foreskin back gently to make sure it was clean and it doesnt pull back far at all, it also obviously hurt him. should i take him to the gp with this? is there anything they can do about it? thanks

My son had this problem when he was about three but it seemed to loosen and become more normal by the age of about 5 , he is 13 now and I recently asked the doctor about his health in that area and he may have symptoms of erectile dysfunction, I don't know if the two are connected but I hope it doesn't happen with your boy :)

You really shouldn't try to pull a child's foreskin back because you can hurt them and cause damage. The foreskin is attached in babies/toddlers and gradually is able to retract as they get older - it shouldn't be forced, your DS will be able to do it himself once he's older.

I'd maybe get the GP to check you haven't damaged it and there wasn't an infection making him sore to begin with.

This might help www.kidshealth.org.nz/foreskin-care

Definitively never retract foreskin. The average age for a boy to retract it himself is age ten.

As long as he can pass urine, his foreskin is likely to be fine.

Sometimes when the separation of the foreskin from the glans begins, it can be sore. This is normal.

thanks for your replies. i know i havent damaged it as i was very gentle and was just checking under the skin fold in case he had any dirt there that could be making it sore as he has had some loose poos recently. i didnt pull it back past the start of the penis if that makes sense and i certainly didnt force it. it sounds like it could just be normal then, will see how he goes.