A. All newborn boys are circumcised
The first thing we need to tell you is that all healthy newborn boys are circumcised, and prepuce in early childhood is also normal and in no way related to any disease. But just as children look different, the shape and degree of prepuce is also different, and there is a difference between true and false. Plus, when you reach puberty, it’s no longer possible to show your mom your penis. So let’s take puberty as the boundary and talk about it in detail.
Second, your child is which kind?
Third, true prepuce before puberty
The opening of the foreskin of the penis is so small that the glans cannot be exposed; or the foreskin is so long and thin that the glans cannot be exposed because you want to jerk the foreskin downward.
However, there is no need to panic. True prepuce in early childhood is a very common thing. True prepuce before puberty (almost up to 4th grade) and true prepuce after puberty are two completely different things. (However, it should be noted that the development of the penis is also related to the child’s individual physical development, and the time here is also an approximation)
To put it simply, true prepuce before puberty does not require surgery and can be solved with physical therapy and medication. But after puberty, true prepuce needs surgery. The foreskin will soften after physical therapy for prepubescent penises, so if you gradually jerk the foreskin downward so that the glans is gradually exposed, it will not affect the development of the penis during puberty, and the phenomenon of prepuce will not occur. However, the same effect cannot be expected after the growth period is over.
Even if the foreskin opening is particularly small and only a thin line can be peed on, after one month of treatment the glans can be half exposed to surprise the mother. Then the glans starts to show half of its normal state of adhesion to the point where it can be fully exposed, just be patient. It is more difficult to treat a true prepuce that is too long and too thin like a wine jug, and there are children who need surgery depending on the situation, but this is very rare. The vast majority can be exposed after 3 months.
Fourth, true prepuce after puberty
A state where the opening of the foreskin is so small that the glans cannot be exposed is called true prepuce. True prepuce before puberty is not a good idea to leave it alone and let it grow. The gap between the glans and the foreskin can hide secretions, which is not hygienic, and the constant covering of the foreskin is not good for the development of the glans.
However, Dr. Yajima mentioned that during his years as the director of the surgical and urological hospital, he had seen many adult penises, and he had not seen a single case that actually caused sexual intercourse disorders. That’s why his attitude toward circumcision is basically “physiotherapy-based”.
V. Pseudocircumcision before puberty
When you jerk the foreskin downward, the glans will be exposed a little bit, or there is a feeling that it can be exposed, but when you jerk it with your hand, it will not be exposed when you jerk it downward in the shower, it will be exposed a little bit. Most young children have pseudocircumcision.
In this case, it is enough to consciously and gently jerk the foreskin downward in the shower and rinse with water to clean it. But be sure not to do it hard.
If the glans cannot be exposed or is difficult to be exposed, please take your child to a urologist for targeted treatment. The treatment is effective until roughly the 5th or 6th grade.
The purpose of this is to allow the glans to emerge smoothly from the foreskin during puberty because of testosterone. Mothers may find it difficult to understand that, simply put, the penis wears a coat called “foreskin”. With the onset of puberty the penis will get bigger, the foreskin will become ill-fitting and the glans will be exposed.
★ Don’t do early circumcision surgery
Many mothers don’t know where they heard that “don’t worry, it’s okay, it’s better to circumcise your child early when you are 1 or 2 years old”. I really don’t know where to start.
The operation on a child who does not know anything at this age requires general anesthesia. Although it is necessary to operate under general anesthesia in case of heart problems. But it has nothing to do with illness, and it is not necessary to have general anesthesia just to cut the foreskin. Nowadays, you don’t need to do it this hard, physical therapy plus medication will do. And the foreskin of young children also has a protective effect on the glans.
Sixth, pseudo-circumcision after puberty
Pseudocircumcision is a condition where the foreskin normally covers the glans, but the glans is exposed during erection or when you jerk it downward with your hand.
When you go to an art museum to see nude male statues or paintings, pay attention and you will find that almost all ancient works are prepuce, including Michelangelo’s paintings and statues as well. However, it is important to note that adults with pseudopunctures must pay attention to cleanliness, otherwise the accumulation of dirt is prone to the formation of glans circumcision.
And to treat post-pubertal prepuce will require surgery. This is still the time to be wary of malignant circumcision surgery. If the foreskin is cut too much, it will tug during erection. The reason for not being vigilant about this surgery is also partly caused by not knowing how to take care of the penis since childhood.
Moms’ confusion Q & A
★ Small foreskin opening
Young children’s penises are all circumcised. Even if you jerk down with your hand, few children’s glans can be exposed. 90% of children can see a part of the glans inside through the foreskin opening. Some of these 90% are very small, so small that you barely know where the opening is. When such children pee, the front of the penis will bulge like a balloon, and the pee will be as thin as a line. Although you can pee, it requires force and can have a bad effect on the kidneys. This is why you need to seek help from a urologist to treat the enlarged foreskin opening.
★ Jerking off? To jerk off or not to jerk off?
Many mothers are confused about whether they should wash their penises or not. In theory, even for children, dirt accumulates between the foreskin and glans, and rinsing during bathing can keep it clean and also prevent glans circumcision.
The actual fact is that you can find a lot of people who are not able to get a good deal on a lot of things. So make sure you don’t do it the hard way.
★ Be wary of dads who have good intentions to do bad things
Even if your child is lucky enough to have a large foreskin and can reveal the glans by jerking it down, it is impossible to fully see the root of the glans, and it is good enough to reveal half of the glans. This is because almost all children have adhesions between the foreskin and glans, resulting in even downward jerking, jerking to the adhesion part is not possible.
This is the time to be wary of the dads! When they bathe with their children, they are likely to think that their children can do the same because they can simply do it themselves, and thus insist on jerking their foreskin downwards leading to the problems written above.
This normal adhesion in children will gradually get better with time and development, so parents should not worry about it.
PS: Dr. Yajima believes that this adhesion is related to masturbation.
★ Toddler’s penis can also become erect
Mothers should have encountered the following situation. When you change your child’s diaper or give them a bath and suddenly you find your penis standing straight up, you’re devastated.
In fact, this is not a particularly unusual thing. Adults get an erection by watching, listening, imagining and then by the brain’s reflex effect. But young children have nothing to do with the brain, but simply because of the bladder accumulation of urine and other circumstances, through the lumbar reflex and erection. This is just a proof that the erection function is available even though they are small. This phenomenon is the same as an adult’s “morning erection” and has nothing to do with “sex”.
Sometimes children report a sore penis. If there are no other abnormalities, it is likely that the foreskin opening over the glans is too small during erection, the foreskin is not long enough during erection, or the adhesion between the foreskin and glans is causing painful tugging. The former of these 2 cases can be solved by making the foreskin opening larger, while the latter can only be left to time.
★ Why does my child like to touch his penis?
The child likes to touch his penis, but he wants to stop touching it. It’s not uncommon for mothers to get anxious about this. Dr. Yajima explains that “mothers who don’t have a penis have a hard time understanding the feeling of feeling at ease when they touch their penis.
No one cares about touching their ears and noses, but not their penises? Adults will consciously associate this behavior with “sex”, it is too much to think.
When the hand naturally drops, it is exactly where the penis is, and it happens to be protruding, so unconsciously you will want to touch it, and how soft it is to touch it. So even if the child says “touching is very comfortable” there is absolutely no “sexual” meaning. It’s not someone else’s anyway, right?
The actual fact is that you will not need to interfere with this, as your child grows up you will slowly care about the eyes of your friends, and naturally you will not touch it anymore.
★ Be aware that like to touch the penis may be due to illness
Although it is generally normal to touch the penis, parents should also pay attention to exclude the factors of illness. If you suddenly touch your penis frequently, you should check to see if it is due to eczema or dermatitis; if there is any redness or swelling; if there is any pain.
Dr. Yajima has mentioned that some parents have taken their children for checkups and said that they often touch their penis when they pee, and then the checkup revealed that it was cystitis. That’s why it hurts when the child pees, and that’s why he pinches his penis.
★ Pee splashes everywhere
After the boy can go to the toilet on his own, the mother’s job adds another one, which is to wipe the potty and the floor around it. It would be nice if they could pee in the potty, but kids can’t pee in a straight line, and they splash everywhere.
Although older people have the same problem of soiling the commode and floor, the reason is different. Older males pee because they don’t have the strength to pee when they pee. Younger children are pneumatic but the outlet for peeing is covered with foreskin. Normal urine exit is at the front of the glans, not a small hole but similar to a rupture. So instead of coming out round like udon noodles, the pee comes out flat like a flat noodle. This flat line will rotate about 1cm away from the penis, and this rotation is what ensures that the urine does not splash around. It’s the same as a spiral in ballistics, where the bullet is shot in a straight line because it is given a strong rotation.
Also when the mother thinks the child has finished peeing and ends up leaking some pee when she brings up the pants. This is also a normal phenomenon related to the structure of the penis. Also when the child pees make sure to roll the pants down completely and don’t let them press on the urethra. When the bladder is full of urine, because of the pressure on the bladder, even if the pressure on the urethra is high, you can pee out; but when the amount of urine decreases the pressure on the bladder decreases and the urine stops. At this time, the residual urine leaks out when the pants are raised.
Therefore, when children go to the toilet, on the one hand, they should roll down their pants completely, and on the other hand, they should not pinch their penises up and down, but hold them from side to side to avoid pressure on the urethra.
★ A hard lump on your penis? That’s circumcision
Sometimes parents will find something in their child’s foreskin, and it’s hard to touch. This is most likely circumcision. Because the child’s foreskin is attached to the glans, the gap is easy to hide dirt. The best thing to do is to leave it alone or go to a urologist when there is a foreskin.
★ How to clean the penis
Whether it’s a baby or a toddler, the penis is covered by the foreskin, so there’s a tendency to have foreskin scale like white cheese powder between the foreskin and the glans. Foreskin scale is an unclean substance of secretion sticking to urine and bacteria. So when you find it, jerk the foreskin down gently and rinse it.
If rinsing still doesn’t clean it, apply a rich soap bubble to the glans and scrub it gently with a wet cotton towel, then restore the foreskin after cleaning. If you leave these foreskin scales unattended, the slow build-up will form small hard lumps, and it is not uncommon for mothers to even think they are lumps and seek medical help.
★ Be careful when going to the pool
When the weather is hot, there are more cases of people coming to the doctor because of glans circumcision. When asked if they went to the pool, most of them answer “yes” with a surprised face.
The culprit of glans circumcision is the water in the pool.
The school pool is a little better, but the pools in amusement parks and parks have a lot of cresol and other disinfectants in them. And because of the evaporation of water vapor in summer, the concentration of disinfectants will increase. So the child’s penis was hit.
After coming up from the pool, immediately rinse the body with water and put on new underwear basically will not cause the above situation. But wearing swimming trunks directly to play may cause problems, please pay attention to the mother must.
In addition, some children have sensitive skin, and wearing underwear with residual detergent and bleach can cause skin problems, so parents should use soap and other detergents instead.
★ We all grow up while wetting our pants
When you are a baby, you pee whenever you want because you are wearing diapers. However, when you start to use the toilet on your own, it is impossible to stop wetting your pants when asked to do so. In the process of toilet training, failure requires gentle encouragement.
Children grow up while wetting their pants, as do you and I. Even children who have stopped wetting their pants may wet the bed and wet their pants because of the birth of a sibling or because they are frightened. Occasional bed-wetting and pants-wetting is normal until about 1st or 2nd grade, so adults should be patient.
★ How long do parents have to help their children care for their penises?
On this point, moms really don’t need to worry, the children will naturally tell you when the time comes. The time to stop is when your child does not want you to help clean his penis and does not want to show it to you. Just teach your child to take care of it on his or her own.
Of course this point in time is different for each child, but from early childhood until around early elementary school, try letting your child do it on his or her own