Our son has been on the waiting list for a circumcision for several years. I originally signed his pre-op form back in July 2022, however it wasn’t until 4th July 2024 that the hospital finally booked this in.
He has suffered for a long time with infections and UTI’s, they offered steroid creams which worked short term, but couldn’t be used for long periods so the minute we stopped using the skin would tighten back up.
His operation was 2.5 weeks ago and we have ridden a rollercoaster, and found very little helpful information to support us (not least the fact the surgeon refused to come and discharge the kids on the ward so we left with nothing but the note for when he could next have pain killers! No advice, nothing.
I thought I’d write a post to try and help others who may be in our situation, so they know what to expect and some pointers which may help.
The Op took around 1hr20. My son wasn’t in any pain when he came around, was chatty, hungry etc.
•DRINK
As soon as they are alert enough to drink, get as much liquid in as poss.
DS had 2 glasses of water and a small bottle of vimto with his toast in hospital, and needed to go to the toilet around an hour and a half after he was brought round.
For the first two weeks, drinking lots of clear liquids is hugely important. Not only does it encourage them to wee (which must be terrifying for them), it promotes healing.
DS drank enough liquid that he was going to the toilet every 45-60 minutes.
•TOILETING
Be prepared for it to go EVERYWHERE. I even ended up with it in my hair whilst helping DS, there is no controlling it whilst it is healing as it is too sore to direct.
We encouraged our son to urinate into a large jug which we then tipped away, this allowed us to manoeuvre it to where the streams were going.
2.5 weeks in and it still has a mind of its own, but the circumcision has meant that for the first time in his life, when he does urinate it is in one stream not 5 different directions.
•WOUND CARE
The tip will go white/yellow and look like pus, unless there is a smell / temperature this is completely normal, and does go away. The most difficult part of this is that as it is healing over the tip of the penis, if my son wasn’t urinating as frequently or whilst he slept the tip actually closed up as the scab dried out. This meant he couldn’t urinate until he forced it out bursting the scab. This resulted in a very panicked trip to A and E 2 days post op, luckily no infection was present, but they did give a course of antibiotics to ensure that the body was fighting as well as it could to heal.
We didn’t get any advice from the hospital so I trawled the internet late into the nights to find some advice. What worked for us was:
•VASELINE
The holy grail in circumcision healing. We first used a small amount just on the very tip to try and keep it moist so it didn’t close up, however 2 days in and we began putting a thick layer across the entire head of the penis with a clean Q Tip and it was a game changer!
We reapplied it every 2 hours ish and it has been the single most effective thing we have tried. I cannot stress enough to use this from day 1 to avoid the issues we had!
•CLEANING
48 hours after they can have a bath / shower. We did soapless baths for a few days (then sponge bathed him to clean him) just to let the wound soak to clean. The wound and skin around needs to be dry thoroughly, we used Q Tips and cotton wool pads to dab any excess moisture. If he bathed in the morning then at night we would use some cool boiled water and Q tip / cotton pad to give it a clean before drying and applying loads more Vaseline.
2.5 weeks in and lots of the scabbing has come off, there are still odd dissolvable stitches sticking out in places, and some scabbing to the bottom underneath which are coming off every so slowly.
•PROTECTION - the cricket cup protector!
Needing to go to an and e on day 2, and a refusal to put any bottom half on - we had to get inventive!
My son had a cricket protector cup from his school sports and we drilled holes in it (so it could breathe!). It was a large type of cup and ensured no material could touch it. Held in place by underwear, this was another game changer (and something we’ve only stopped using in the last two days!!).
•AT HOME
We put a towel on the sofa or bed and sat our son up during the day whilst he watched films etc. He was very conscious of putting clothes on it (he didn’t wear underwear for 14 days on their own!) so we bought him a crafting tray from Hobby Craft to put over his lap. He then put a blanket over and his wound was free to air out all day. It stopped the dog from being able to jump on him too!
He even slept with the tray over him to avoid any knocks in his sleep!
£5.50 from Hobbycraft, I highly recommend, we couldn’t have done without it.
https://www.hobbycraft.co.uk/white-multi-purpose-lap-desk/6511961000.html/?utm_source=newsite&utmmedium=email&utmcampaign=orderconfirmation
•UNDERWEAR
Tried the usual boxers he wears but they just didn’t hold him or the cricket cup properly so we got him some briefs and they were far more comfortable for him. We went for a day out yest and he walked round for 4+ hours with his briefs and tracksuit bottoms on (without his cricket protector!).
Hospital said he may be fine to go back to school after a week; but there is no way he was fit, well or even able to dress appropriately to attend. He would have needed a bare minimum of 2 weeks off and then upon return, would have needed to wear his PE kit / comfortable bottom half as he wouldn’t have managed in his school trousers even now 2.5 weeks on.
I hope this post comes in useful for someone going through or preparing for the same.
DRINK - and then drink some more
VASELINE
LAP TRAY
CRICKET PROTECTOR