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Care of intact and circumcised boys

Health care providers can often convince parents wavering on their decision on whether or not to circumcise by telling them that the intact penis requires special care and cleaning. This is false, but hightly effective, particularly among parents without experience with intact males. In fact, the intact penis of the child requires no special care other than rinsing with water during regular bathing. In particular, parents should avoid trying to retract the foreskin to wash underneath, since the penis is not fully developed in most boys, and the foreskin often remains literally fused to the glans. This condition is normal and can persist well into puberty. Forcing the foreskin back prematurely results in tearing of delicate tissue, pain, and frequently scarring and a predisposition to subsequent infections. Trying to clean underneath a child's foreskin makes no more sense than scrubbing underneath eyelids or washing out the vagina of small girls. Parents who are aware of the fact that the foreskin should not be forced back need to be particularly vigilant when their child is examined by a doctor or nurse. Many health care providers are ignorant of the simple fact that the foreskin of young boys should not be retracted and will attempt to do this during physical exams. The ignorance of health care providers regarding the normal development of the penis and proper hygiene is one of the most frequent reasons for calls to the Info-Circumcision phone line.

In contrast to the intact penis, the circumcised penis is more prone to problems during childhood (Van Howe RS. Variability in penile appearance and penile findings: a prospective study. Brit J Urol 1997;80:776-782). It does require special care, particularly in the period immediately following circumcision, when everything forward of the circumcision incision to the end of the penis is a raw wound. In order to prevent the formation of skin bridges between the remaining shaft skin and the glans, parents need to check that these two areas are not healing together during diaper changes, tearing apart any adhesions that appear to be forming, and applying petroleum jelly (vaseline) to prevent areas of the wound from sticking to itself.

This very concise summary of care of the intact penis comes from an article in Minnesota Parent:

Caring for Your Son's Intact Penis

If you choose not to circumcise, your son's intact penis will require no special care (unlike the cut penis, which will need to be treated as a painful and infection-prone wound for several weeks after the procedure). Your baby's whole, healthy penis will also be less inclined to develop diaper rashes and irritation. But one very important thing to know about a baby's intact (uncircumcised) penis is that the foreskin should never be forcibly retracted. According to pediatrician Paul Fleiss, M.D., M.P.H., "Forcibly retracting a baby's foreskin destroys the beneficial bacterial flora that protect the penis from harmful germs and can lead to irritation and infection." Sometime in the first one to five years of your son's life, his foreskin will loosen and begin to retract naturally on its own. If your pediatrician is not familiar with uncircumcised babies, she may try to convince you to force the foreskin back or even retract it herself. This can tear your baby's delicate tissues and cause permanent scarring.

Once your son's foreskin begins to retract on its own, you can teach him to gently wash himself, just as you would teach your daughter of the same age to clean the folds and crevices of her own external genitalia. A child's foreskin, like his eyelids, is self-cleansing. Just as you would never lift the eyelid to "wash" the eyeball, it isn't necessary to pull back the foreskin to wash the glans, which is essentially an internal organ. Rinsing in warm water is all that is needed to keep the intact penis clean. Applying soap to the inner lining of the foreskin or the head of the penis isn't recommended, because it can cause irritation.

The white emollient under the child's foreskin is called smegma. Dr. Fleiss notes that "Smegma is probably the most misunderstood, most unjustifiably maligned substance in nature. Smegma is clean, not dirty, and is beneficial and necessary. It moisturizes the glans and keeps it smooth, soft, and supple. Its antibacterial and antiviral properties keep the penis clean and healthy." The best way to care for a child's intact penis is to leave it alone.

	Raising an intact boy From Infocirc.org
	Care of intact and circumcised boys Health care providers can often convince parents wavering on their decision on whether or not to circumcise by telling them that the intact penis requires special care and cleaning. This is false, but hightly effective, particularly among parents without experience with intact males. In fact, the intact penis of the child requires no special care other than rinsing with water during regular bathing. In particular, parents should avoid trying to retract the foreskin to wash underneath, since the penis is not fully developed in most boys, and the foreskin often remains literally fused to the glans. This condition is normal and can persist well into puberty. Forcing the foreskin back prematurely results in tearing of delicate tissue, pain, and frequently scarring and a predisposition to subsequent infections. Trying to clean underneath a child's foreskin makes no more sense than scrubbing underneath eyelids or washing out the vagina of small girls. Parents who are aware of the fact that the foreskin should not be forced back need to be particularly vigilant when their child is examined by a doctor or nurse. Many health care providers are ignorant of the simple fact that the foreskin of young boys should not be retracted and will attempt to do this during physical exams. The ignorance of health care providers regarding the normal development of the penis and proper hygiene is one of the most frequent reasons for calls to the Info-Circumcision phone line. In contrast to the intact penis, the circumcised penis is more prone to problems during childhood (Van Howe RS. Variability in penile appearance and penile findings: a prospective study. Brit J Urol 1997;80:776-782). It does require special care, particularly in the period immediately following circumcision, when everything forward of the circumcision incision to the end of the penis is a raw wound. In order to prevent the formation of skin bridges between the remaining shaft skin and the glans, parents need to check that these two areas are not healing together during diaper changes, tearing apart any adhesions that appear to be forming, and applying petroleum jelly (vaseline) to prevent areas of the wound from sticking to itself. This very concise summary of care of the intact penis comes from an article in Minnesota Parent: Caring for Your Son's Intact Penis If you choose not to circumcise, your son's intact penis will require no special care (unlike the cut penis, which will need to be treated as a painful and infection-prone wound for several weeks after the procedure). Your baby's whole, healthy penis will also be less inclined to develop diaper rashes and irritation. But one very important thing to know about a baby's intact (uncircumcised) penis is that the foreskin should never be forcibly retracted. According to pediatrician Paul Fleiss, M.D., M.P.H., "Forcibly retracting a baby's foreskin destroys the beneficial bacterial flora that protect the penis from harmful germs and can lead to irritation and infection." Sometime in the first one to five years of your son's life, his foreskin will loosen and begin to retract naturally on its own. If your pediatrician is not familiar with uncircumcised babies, she may try to convince you to force the foreskin back or even retract it herself. This can tear your baby's delicate tissues and cause permanent scarring. Once your son's foreskin begins to retract on its own, you can teach him to gently wash himself, just as you would teach your daughter of the same age to clean the folds and crevices of her own external genitalia. A child's foreskin, like his eyelids, is self-cleansing. Just as you would never lift the eyelid to "wash" the eyeball, it isn't necessary to pull back the foreskin to wash the glans, which is essentially an internal organ. Rinsing in warm water is all that is needed to keep the intact penis clean. Applying soap to the inner lining of the foreskin or the head of the penis isn't recommended, because it can cause irritation. The white emollient under the child's foreskin is called smegma. Dr. Fleiss notes that "Smegma is probably the most misunderstood, most unjustifiably maligned substance in nature. Smegma is clean, not dirty, and is beneficial and necessary. It moisturizes the glans and keeps it smooth, soft, and supple. Its antibacterial and antiviral properties keep the penis clean and healthy." The best way to care for a child's intact penis is to leave it alone.