My 11 year old son came to me the other night complaining of some discomfort in his penis. After follow up questions I learned it was pain from a tight foreskin. Unlike his younger brother he has yet to be able to fully retract. Could this simply be separation pain or might it be something more?
11 year old son is complaining of tig... - Men's Health Foru...
11 year old son is complaining of tight foreskin.
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37 Replies
•
Some of the other guys will have a view but I'd say that 11 might be still too young to worry. Does the problem get worse when he gets an erection, which might be very painful. I'd take him to a Dr.
• in reply toOmniscient1
Yes, he says it is tight all the time but becomes more uncomfortable when he has an erection. I'm not sure if his foreskin is stretching enough to accommodate it. I will see about making an appointment.
jimfromcalif• in reply to
Age 11 is far too young for concern about retraction. Check back with the boy in 3-4 years as he experiences puberty. For now, nothing is necessary.
• in reply tojimfromcalif
That's what some have been saying. I was only worried because his brother has been able to fully retract since he was around 4 with out issue.
Does anyone else have any advice they can share? I am hoping to avoid a doctors visit if possible since the pediatricians in our area are not very intact friendly.
Dzevdetho1989• in reply to
can the father of the boy examine his penis and see if there are any changes in it?
• in reply toDzevdetho1989
We have looked at it and see that it looks tight. What else should we be looking for?
Omniscient1• in reply to
'Not very intact friendly'?? Are you American?
• in reply toOmniscient1
Yes we are in the US. We mentioned to his doctor that he was unable to retract last year and he was quick to suggest circumcision.
Omniscient1• in reply to
Just for general advice. They're not so quick with the knife here.
nhs.uk/conditions/circumcis...
That's the NHS for you. They officially reject circumcision, even when there is clear evidence of a medical need, purely to save money as they have been consisently underfunded right from the start.
Independent doctors here (the UK) are not 'scalpel happy' but know the pros and cons and recommend accordingly.
Steroids?nhs.uk/conditions/circumcis....
• in reply toOmniscient1
Thank you! These links are very helpful.
Age 11 seems too soon to be looking at options like steroid creams and stretching. I'd wait at least two more years. It's simply not usually a problem not to be able to retract at that age.
Most cases of phimosis resolve without any surgical actions. Looks like you have gotten some good resources here. The only thing I would add is to look into something called Phimocure.
A boy's foreskin should be freely retractable (whether flaccid or erect) by the age of 8 if not sooner. By 11 retractability is vital for proper daily hygiene.
Phimosis (that's the medical name for a non-retractable foreskin) WILL NOT cure itself and may become worse as the lad passes into puberty.
Some doctors (and the anti-circumcision faction) recommend steroid creams and stretching exercises. These rarely work even after many months of embarrassing trying and such gains as may be made are often rapidly lost once the cream and exercises are ceased.
The only sure, immediate and guaranteed permanent cure for phimosis is circumcision.
It is better that the boy is circumcised now rather than having it forced on him during puberty by the pain of erections.
In your opinion........
Others reading this should be aware that you are not medically qualified and therefore your assertions are based on personal beliefs. You mention 'the anti-circumcision faction' but your numerous posts on here indicate that you are pro-circumcision, so others should bear this in mind.
The Guidance for Posting here state that posts should not be prescriptive or give guidance but rather should be based on personal experience, so clearly yours contravenes the site rules. Since obviously you would like readers to take your advice perhaps you could confirm whether you are circumcised or not and if so, when and why?
Sorry, but that's just 100% wrong. It's actually normal not to be able to retract at age 8, it usually fixes itself without any treatment, and most doctors in the UK wouldn't even consider circumcision at that age with no other symptoms.
This paper quotes several studies about retraction:
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...
Øster, Kayaba et al, Morales Concepción et al, Agarwal et al, and Ko et al all have demonstrated that the development of preputial retraction is a very gradual and variable event that occurs between birth and the completion of puberty. Moreover, Thorvaldsen and Meyhoff carried out a survey in Denmark and reported that the mean age of first foreskin retraction is 10.4 years.
I was ten before I could retract, and my son was around the same age, but it simply wasn't a problem.
Good morning ! With all due respect, your explanation is false and reflects a purely partisan pro-circumcision view. Here in Europe, doctors, who are no worse than in the USA, only practice circumcision as a very last resort, and therefore rarely. All other methods are tried before performing mutilation on the boy's penis. Circumcision is mutilation whether we like it or not, since we remove a natural part of the body provided by Nature. Contrary to what you claim, treatment with steroid creams and gentle, gradual stretching works perfectly well in most cases of phimosis except for those that are exceptionally tight.
It should be noted here that the penis of an uncircumcised child between 0 and 10/12 years old is naturally affected by a slight phimosis, which gradually disappears with daily cleaning of the penis, but also with the child's natural actions. who more or less consciously touches his penis regularly. Furthermore, at birth there are natural adhesions between the internal surface of the foreskin and the mucous surface of the glans, which also disappear little by little naturally over time until the start of puberty.
So let's stop wanting at all costs to impose circumcisions on children whose bodies belong to them! And to them alone. No one has the right to mutilate others, out of simple conviction. This is an attack on human rights. Subsequently, if the boy, upon reaching the age of majority, decides to be circumcised, then OK, no worries, it will be HIS conscious choice as an adult.
In young boys, in most cases, widening and softening exercises aided by corticosteroid creams resolve cases of phimosis, not in a rare manner as you state, but quite often on the contrary. Are things so different between the sexes of European and American little boys?
Very respectfully
The rate of success in medical studies is well over 80%. No doubt, the remainder didn’t follow the guidelines. Mother nature’s rules work.
You are correct.
Circumcision is destructive and should be avoided in all cases except cancer. In minors, there is no medical condition except hypospadias in which it is indicated.
It may or may not separate. I am a Registered Nurse-Urology (retired), I do suggest bringing him to a urologist. My wife’s brother had phimosis, he was circumcised age 5. By your son’s age, he should be able to retract his foreskin. I hope I helped
Sorry, but that's just wrong. It's actually very unusual to be able to retract at age 5, and most doctor in the UK wouldn't even consider circumcision at that age with no other symptoms.
This paper quotes several studies about retraction:
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...
Øster, Kayaba et al, Morales Concepción et al, Agarwal et al, and Ko et al all have demonstrated that the development of preputial retraction is a very gradual and variable event that occurs between birth and the completion of puberty. Moreover, Thorvaldsen and Meyhoff carried out a survey in Denmark and reported that the mean age of first foreskin retraction is 10.4 years.
It is unethical to diagnose phimosis in a five year old boy. Many boys still have adherent foreskins well into their teen, and they are normal.
It seems unlikely that there's a real problem here to be honest, but if it's very painful or lasts longer than a few days, I'd see a doctor. If you see a doctor whose first recommendation is circumcision, then I'd find another doctor. This site has a list of intact-friendly doctors:
Surgery is a last resort here in the UK, and would normally only be tried for older males, and then only if stretching and steroid creams don't work. Preputioplasty would usually be recommended before circumcision.
FWIW, I was ten before I could retract, and erections were sometimes painful before then, but it wasn't a big deal and all fixed itself. I'd be really angry about it if I'd been circumcised.
ml66uk : Very good answers, and the situation is exactly the same in France as in the United Kingdom. doctors only resort to circumcision as a last resort in extremely tight cases of phimosis. A little boy cannot foreskin back normally 5 years old; This is normal: it is very rarely a case of true phimosis; most of the time it involves natural adhesions of the internal surface of the foreskin to the mucous surface of the glans. These gradually disappear on their own with time and cleaning. In addition, we also very often ignore another cause which is not phimosis, but the condition of too short frenulum, which can also prevent the foreskin from moving back. Frenulum breve can also be treated with progressive lengthening exercises using corticosteroid creams. Here again, if it is really too short, there is no need to resort to circumcision: a simple frenuloplasty can be performed.
Hi erin,
Its clearly one for you but a urologist is probably the only person that will tell you if its clinically indicated or not.
Like many or most here, ive just had it done in adulthood and, based on my own experience i would never do it again (not that i have a choice) and I wouldnt recommend it for anything other than clinical reasons.
If your wee boy does have phimosis, my inclination would be for him to get it done sooner rather than later, but that dosent necessarily mean now; perhaps in a few years.
What i will also say is that i had always been aware of my tight foreskin even at your lads age and obviously never got it dealt with..
Indelicate to say to a mum, i know, but it is perhaps not such an issue until he becomes sexually active so it might be that he leave it a few years and takes medical advice then at which time he will be able to make an informed choice himself.
Your sons symptoms sound the same as mine were though, but as others have said, its for a urologist to diagnose (or perhaps a pead if you take him now).
Not much, if any help i guess, but just some personal experience shared.
Good luck with whatever you decide.
Ben (UK)
Thank you all for the input and help both here and in my messages. We took the advice to see a doctor. He took a look and said that some tightness when erect was normal especially in boys that grow a little more like my son does. He recommended that we keep an eye on it come back in a few months. In the mean time I will have him continue to try gently stretching it.
glad you’ve put your mind and his at rest, and no need to listen to unqualified statements saying circumcision
At age 12 my mother diagnosed me as having a tight non-retractable foreskin and took me to the doctor to have my foreskin circumcised. The doctor examined my penis and foreskin and concluded that I had phimosis. Rather then doing a circumcision he did a dilation procedure to stretch my foreskin with forceps. Though painful the doctor was able to fully retract my foreskin to expose my glans. We were sent home with instructions to fully retract my foreskin twice daily. Though uncomfortable at first my foreskin did loosen .
• in reply touncutforeskin
Interesting. I will inquire about this next time we are at the doctors. How long did it take for you to be back to normal after the procedure?
Some good advice here. I was cut as an adult and although everything is now fine, it is not a procedure I would want to repeat. Encourage the gentle stretching and try to avoid surgery if at all possible. If he wants it done when older that will be his choice, with his body. Good luck
What am I reading Why can’t your son do it himself ? Its great your son can discuss anything with you, Your doctor should have shown him.
Poor lad must be really embarrassing for him
Isn't it better for his father to show him how to do it or for his father to help him with it?I don't understand, where did the shame go? every mother when she notices that her son's penis changes and gets an erection. that penis doesn't need to look anymore. I'm not judging anyone, but the father or some other man should explain some things to that male child.
The father is in jail.
The shame went when I get woken up at 3am by a son complaining that his penis hurts. I don't really know why you are telling me "it doesn't need look anymore" because clearly it does.
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