Willy issue... Circumcision?

[KindPoet]

Hi all. I've got a 4.5 year old son and he's got a very red foreskin, he's been saying that it was sore to do a wee today, i've asked him to pull the foreskin back and he pulled it back a tiny amount but he said it was sore to pull it back further?

Should i take him to the GP? Will he require a circumcision? What's the technique for a 4.5 year old to be circumcised if he needs a circumcision? Has anyone else been through this.

Many thanks

I’d definitely take him to the GP but it seems very unlikely it will be anything worse than an infection? Hope he feels better soon.

If the foreskin isn't pulling back very far, when should it pull back? I will get a GP appointment monday morning.

Is it worth letting him go him about naked over the weekend?

You need to let the GP see it and answer your questions. Please don't try to retract your DS's foreskin as it can do some harm at this age.

You need a GP, not Mumsnet.

You need to make an appointment today to get either antibiotics or a topical cream, don't wait until Monday he needs to be seen today.

Its prob a little infection, see GP. Or out of hours Gp over weekend. If it keeps occurring they might recommend circumcision but not yet my son same age had same symptoms- it was balanitis few weeks ago had antibiotics and fungal cream and its cleared up nicely. Foreskin wont retract at all which i think is normal at this age but we’ll see if it becomes a recurrent thing.

Definitely needs to be seen today. Cruel and dangerous to leave till Monday. It’s too young for the foreskin to need to retract, I would have thought. If it is too tight, then you would be referred for assessment.

Yes, GP. My son was circumcised at the same age after a couple of infections. (We went private though, so not sure how bad it needs to be for the urology referral on the NHS.)

Stop pulling his foreskin back it will hurt more. The foreskin can take up to 10yrs old to become fully retractable so this is very normal for it to be attached.
Please make sure you see a doctor today, that is non negotiable.

I will take him up to out of hours tonight. Does it sound like a UTI?

And should i worry about the fact that his foreskin doesn't retract at 4.5?

It's completely normal for his foreskin to not retract yet, the glands start separating slowly when boys have wet dreams leading up to puberty.

@TomatoSandwiches - Is it that late?

My nephew (Who is now 18) his foreskin retracted by the time he was 6 and that was long before puberty

My son had this at a similar age. Creams sorted it

Absolutely normal for it not to fully retract at this age.

@Rockmehardplace - I assume he didn't need a circumcision in the end?

Circumcision is usually the answer if the foreskin doesn’t retract when needed during puberty - but it is way too early to consider this. It is also possible that it can be too tight and cause a little issue at beginning of puberty (one example, a little red blood might be visible) but it usually stretches by itself.

How on earth do you know at what age your nephew’s foreskin retracted!

@BicesterCoffeeDays - My sister told me randomly at the time.

My son had this, tight foreskin which wouldn't pull back and frequent infections. He was referred and saw a consultant who prescribed hydrocortisone cream to thin the skin and daily gentle pulling back of the foreskin while in the bath. We did this for about 2 months. A circumcision was an option if this didn't work but it really helped and hasn't been a problem since.

Obvs don't do this unless recommended by a doctor. See your GP first and go from there. Just wanted to let you know that circumcision might not be necessary.

He may have balanitis so definitely go to the Drs today. My DS had recurrent balanitis and after the 3rd time was referred to urology and had a circumcision which stopped it ever happening again.

Obviously there will be boys that have a retractable foreskin before puberty and some that don't obtain a retractable foreskin at puberty which is when you start looking at options such as circumcision.
At 4.5yrs old it is completely normal to not have a retractable foreskin, very normal.

How old was your son then? Was it a long recovery?

This is what happened to my son also. He was a little older, 9 iirc. He had balanitis and, eventually needed a circumcision on the NHS. He’s left with scar tissue for life. Get him seen as soon as possible. Hopefully it can be sorted.

Take your DS to out of hours.

My DS had reoccurring infections between 4 and early teens. The NHS were very reluctant to do a circumcision, gave him steroid cream, told us it would eventually retract. It didn't.

Covid came and delayed things and the poor lad had it done a couple of months before his GCSEs.

It was particularly painful but no further issues. He has told me that he's 'very happy with his modified penis' 😬

It's fine until the age of about sixteen or seventeen. After that, if the foreskin is too tight, the GP will prescribe steroid cream for a few weeks because this will soften the foreskin so that it can be retracted.

A bit of redness at your son's age is common I think...it usually goes away on its own so don't worry about it but see the GP just in case.

When did they start providing steroid cream? My DS is 11 and has been prescribed since last tuesday

4 when he first had it, circumcised at 6. He was offered steroid cream but there was so much scar tissue from his infections that it wouldn’t have worked so good we went straight for surgery.
It wasn’t pleasant afterwards in the short term but worth it. It’s not something I would have done if it hadn’t been necessary.