Hi guys, I was hoping you can put my mind at ease. I got circumcised 5 days ago and my penis bleeds a little every day (for about 1-2 minutes then stops) around the stitching and then the blood dries up, turning black. I wash it gently in the shower with warm water and mild soap, but I don't pull the skin backwards at all for fear of it bleeding again. Erections in the morning are excruciatingly painful. Still bruised and swollen, like a bee stung it. I've not been able to put on underwear since the surgery because of how sensitive the head is (never been able to retract my foreskin, got it done for phimosis.)
I attach a photo after it's just bled and dried up, before I shower to clean it up. Excuse its size, I'm nervous and cold 😐
Is the above normal? Should I be cleaning it differently? Is the daily bleeding worrying? I'm supposed to be back at work in 4 days on Monday.
Thanks for your help in advance.
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Patrick1o1
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Thanks for your advice, bud. I promise I'm following the doctor's instructions, but just needed advice from someone who's gone through this, as since the NHS has been taken by storm by the virus outbreak, it's been difficult to speak to the consultants.
As long as it's only a small amount of blood then I wouldn't think it was anything to be overly concerned about. Mine was done by NHS and the surgeon said the current thinking was that keeping the wound 'open' was good as it helped it to drain and it healed better (I only had nine stitches). I had a few spots of blood in first week or so but nothing major. Yours may be the same.
However, if it were me I would be inclined to pull the remaining skin back for fear of it 'setting' and healing as you've shown it or with an unsatisfactory scar that might be avoidable. I'm not a medic and this isn't a recommendation and I could be entirely wrong, maybe others have a view?
Thank you for your advice 🙂 I've done exactly what you've said in the shower, folding back the skin slightly and it seems the corona and rest of the head is healing nicely after the crusty dried blood started to slip off. I just need to work on desensitising the glans a little by putting on underwear, because the meatus is extremely sensitive and puffy (like in the photo).
You should be able to get some low adherence dressing (melanin) pads from your pharmacy. A piece of that wrapped around like a tube and held in place with micropore tape will take care of occasional blood spots and also some protection while sensitivity reduces.
5 days? Like Cccfffcc stated, you have a ways to go. You can't hurry a circumcision up. The suture line (where you've been cut) goes through a lot of shrinking and expanding. As you mentioned, morning erections are murder on the poor boy. I even popped a stitch one morning trying to flex an erection (natural reaction for us guys.) I was on my feet and dancing like a cat on a hot tin roof. As for the cleaning, my doctor told me to relax and keep my hands off of it. A moderate, warm shower is enough to help with the cleaning. Don't go all nuts on scrubbing and squeezing.
How did it go? I'm on day 12 and am just now appreciating how long a haul this is going to be. Still lots of swelling/inflamation below the head and moist residue along my slow-to-disolve sutures. I guess my question is: I'm moderately terrified still; did things improve for you versus what you expected?
To tell you the truth, it’s worked out for me exactly as hoped and I couldn’t be happier with the result. I know you’re probably tired of hearing this, but as everyone rightly advised, it’s all about time. Look after it well, keep it clean, let it heal and you’ll be golden. Sensitivity to underwear went away after a few months, so much easier to clean, and, personally, I get more satisfaction sexually. Don’t be terrified, you will be okay, I promise.
Thanks so much. My doctor basically gave me the impression that after a couple weeks everything would be fine and dandy, so when I'm pushing 2 weeks and still have swelling, sutures, irritation, etc. I feel like something's going horribly wrong. Obviously I had unrealistic expectations, but hey, it's our favorite body part! It's impossible not to worry about it. Thanks for taking the time to respond 9 months later; you really put my mind at ease.
You’re more than welcome. Two weeks is hardly any time at all, but of course everyone heals differently. Week after week, you’ll notice small changes, while the skin recovers, scabs fall off, and you’ll start to see healthy pink skin again. Just please don’t try to play with it too soon! I waited 1.5 months and it was worth it!
It looks like my skin was basically sutured to the shaft, which resulted in some pretty serious swelling. It's tough to tell where sutures end and skin or swelling begins. The thing that concerns me is not that I see something wrong, but that I realized I have no idea what I'm looking at! The docs and PA's have said everything's normal, but I can't seem to help but second-guess and fret over every aspect of it. Knowing other people felt the same way is a huge help. Any last tips besides warm water, neutral soap, and being gentle?
I was in the same position as yourself. I’m already an overthinker and worrywart as it is, so that didn’t help my case at all. Constantly scouring forums and threads.
That’s basically what it is, the skin is stitched to the shaft, a little before the corona ring. Some circumcisions are tighter than others, of course. Personally speaking, and not professionally whatsoever, I took a shower daily with Simple shower gel, let the water and soap kind of trickle and fall off the penis, as opposed to scrubbing, and very gently dab it dry with a towel when I was done. A little Vaseline around the head, if you can bear it, helped me. Then it really was just a case of time. Weeks passed and gradually I switched back to standard shower gel, stopped the Vaseline, started running again, sensitivity faded and that surgery will be the best thing you’ve ever done.
I have one more question for you, sir! Almost to week 7; sutures are all out, suture line is closed up... the skin between the suture scar and the head is still a little puffy, though, and remains attached to the shaft. Did you have this? My doc said it’s “because I’m still healing” but I guess I expected the skin to move somewhat freely over the shaft by now. Just curious if that happened for you and when it improved?
I hope you're well! What you've described is perfectly normal and it happened to me too. It was almost like my penis was wearing a round water float. You may consider 7 weeks to be ample time to heal, but trust me my friend, you are nowhere near. I'm in my 10th month, and I still see it looking and feeling better with each month. I know it's a worrying time right now, but you'll get through it. Mine went down after about 3 months, but remember everyone's is different. Just focus on keeping the penis clean and dry and he will respond with time.
Thanks so much, my friend. Yeah, it looks like my penis was in an accident and is wearing a slightly lumpy C-collar, haha. Looking forward to better days ahead. And to anyone considering this: p-a-t-i-e-n-c-e!!
I reckon that looks pretty normal! Mine bled in rings for a few days, they fell off and gradually got smaller and smaller. (I had the mad erections too!)
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