Is circumcision necessary?

[OneNimbleHam]

DS is 12 and has been having trouble with foreskin, waiting on doctor appointment in early feb, but I’ve been thinking, are any foreskin issues automatically treated with circumcision?

If the problem is phimosis (right foreskin), there are some medical treatments including steroid creams that are often tried before committing to surgery.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/phimosis/

Ask the doctor about preputioplasty, which is a small surgical procedure where the tight "dolphin nose" part of the foreskin is widened but the foreskin itself remains intact. It has a Wikipedia page.

I’m not sure if what he has would be classified as phimosis or not, however it does seem to be the case. Thanks both, I’ll ask about steroid creams when I can. Is there anything that should be done in the mean time? Or is it just a waiting game?

My son was given a steroid cream. If that hadn’t worked then circumcision was being recommended.

it did work.

Well that isn't true at all.
Circumcision is only necessary when medically indicated.

An AI written post if ever I saw one.

I wouldn't recommend this procedure at all,it made things worse in our experience. If an operation is needed then imo it's better to go for circumcision especially at your ds's age as it would mean two embarrassing operations of the first didn't work. Different if he was younger . Quite often things can be sorted with steroid cream.

I had an ex partner who had a tight foreskin and had been recommended to have it removed as a child. His mother decided against having it removed so he still had it as an adult. It really effected his sexual function. He wanted to have it removed as an adult but obviously that is a lot harder to do psychologically so at the point I knew him he still hadn't managed to get it done. He had tried stretching techniques to no avail.
So personally I think if a doctor has recommended it to deal with a real medical issue then that's what you should do.
I absolutely do not support circumcision just for the sake of it. I think that's batshit to be frank.
But there really are certain medical issues which make foreskin removal necessary. And waiting to see if the condition improves on its own can often be traumatic.

Of course it isn’t, unless medically indicated.

Thank you this gives me hope that it’ll be the same outcome for mine

What an utterly bizarre and creepy post, this sounds like AI drivel

What a load of absolute tosh!
With the amount of soap and water most of us have access to, there is no need for boys to have parts of themselves surgically removed in order to be clean.
Occasionally, as in the Op, a foreskin will be too tight and need some help in the form of steroid cream or a little snip on the side so that retraction can happen without it getting stuck which is very painful. Sometimes a circumcision is necessary but certainly not always.

My son has just been prescribed a cream (Betnovate) which I am going to start tomorrow morning (thought it best to start in the day when I can monitor during nappy changes due to possible side effects being itching, etc!). May I ask how long you used the cream for in order for it to work? My GP has just said we’ll review in a week! But when he was examining him he properly pulled my son’s foreskin down and it’s looked a little looser ever since. I’m worried he could have hurt him as the NHS page says to not attempt to pull the skin down in that way especially at a young age!

@OneNimbleHam from what I’ve read the other treatments they consider depend on age, if child is over 5 then circumcision is more likely to be recommended. My son is 2 so our GP willing to explore other options like steroid creams. I appreciate with your son’s age this is a tricky time for him and he’s likely feeling a bit embarrassed and a bit of an oddball. I feel for him in that respect.

I’d like to see it banned unless medically necessary. Whilst not as awful as FGM it’s awful to make a decision like this which has life long impact for a child due to your beliefs and nothing more. Even for religious reasons I don’t think it should be allowed until the child becomes an adult.

Thanks for the insight. I’m definitely airing on the side of trying alternative options like steroid cream if that is what is offered by the gp. My last resort will be circumcision, with the reasoning being it is an irreversable choice, and my son himself has expressed not wanting it because he’s afraid of any sort of surgery. So I’ll respect his wishes as long as the issue isn’t calling for it out of neccessity. I don’t know much about circumcision, or male genitalia I must admit

Yeah it’s made worse by the personal nature of it all, luckily, my son is still at an age where he’s not overly embarrassed as long as it’s me or a doctor. But even still I have a lot of sympathy for him, it’s not easy

Hi

it was several years ago and he was aged about 8 at the time. I can’t really remember but it was weeks rather than just one week.

Just no.

OP- do you mean he hasn't even seen a GP for this yet and it still waiting till Feb to be seen???
IF that is the case, I'd be contacting the practice again, and ask to see ANY Dr available!

You can buy mild steroid creams from any pharmacy. Not to be used over the opening (meatus) but can help soften the foreskin. I'd be trying to get a Dr to check what is going on firstly though.

If it obstructs urine or is BXO then yes circumcision is needed. If anything else then they usually try creams etc

@OneNimbleHam bless him. Well I wish him luck whatever the outcome 🤞🏻

@MajorCarolDanvers thank you for the response. I’ll see how we go then! Just reassuring to read that the cream has worked for someone else as I was sceptical about a cream making much difference.

Yeah not until the first week of feb, not great. I thought about private maybe but he is able to wee with no issue so I I thougjt it best to wait unless it got worse, in whoch case go emergency.

Thanks, do you know of any cream names like this?

Also "reinforces the value of self-control, as it minimizes unnecessary sensitivity" sounds very much like "I am one of those weird people who think that masturbation is harmful and so anything that makes it less pleasurable is to be encouraged".

Both my brother and an ex-boyfriend had too-tight foreskins and needed the operation. All was fine and all happy now! Really a common and minor procedure.