Hi guys, I’m a week into my recovery after circumcision. I’m 25 and had phimosis/balanitis.
The sensitivity and swelling have gone down loads which I’m happy to see. However it looks like 2 stitches have come out prematurely (possibly due to erections during the night)
The area is very tender and appears to be oozing, I’ve been given antibiotics for infection by the doctors but they didn’t mention restitching or if it would affect the healing process of my wound. As well as this, all my other stitches remain caked in scabs, no where seems to be clear about cleaning. My advice sheet says to keep it dry and clean but that doesn’t make much sense to me, surely it must be soaked/bathed in order to cleanse?
As it stands I can’t wear any boxers because of the newly tender area, I’m due back at work in a week and can’t see it healing enough in time.
Any help/advice would be great, my local health service is pretty rubbish!
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HellothereGG
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I cleaned mine twice daily with salt water and applied Vaseline after each wash. Healed well and no issues. I too was worried for a couple of weeks but it’s fine now.
Congratulations - you have made it through the first week! From the experience of guys here, popping a few stitches seems fairly normal and the medical advice is to seek help if there is swelling/bleeding that does not reduce, bad odour or you have a temperature.The antibiotics will ensure you don't come down with an infection and as Cockerspanieldog said, bathing the wounded soldier (gently swishing around/soaking) in a mug of cool boiled salted water is the recommended cleaning method (1 teaspoon of salt)...as it promotes healing despite the sting. Dry with sterile swab/clean towel.
I understand that at this point the outer healing is taking place and from week 2 onwards the inner healing starts. It can take up to a year for the "cosmetic look" to settle down down so patience is needed.
Recently guys have also been recommending using a groin protector (as used in cricket and contact sports) due to head sensitivity...in conjuction with our ol' mate vaseline. The "cup" just sits over the groin and is held in place by briefs or trunks. It works for some as a way to get around without pain.
Post circ many guys find that seamless microfibre/synthetic pants help reduce motion friction.
I think you will find with salt baths and vaselining up, the healing will accelerate in week 2. If not, it may be wise to see your surgeon again or your GP for advice.
Best of luck Mate. Week by week things will improve.
Completely agree with Timthemoth I 'dipped' in salt water solution. Salt prevents infection and encourages healing. I wore tight underwear and kept it upright as I found it only hurt when moved about. You will get oozing, and whitish hard areas where stitches are. Not infected but part of healing. I had some small bleeding and stitch disruptions too mostly from overnight erections stressing it all. I am now 3 months in and couldn't be happier with the neatness of the cut line and lack of scarring. Just a slight bit of sensitivity remains so no rough handling for a while!
Reading these posts has been a great help to me. There’s little information given out by the NHS with regards to aftercare and urology take weeks to get you booked in😫
From your experience how long was the gland hypersensitive for? And do you have any advice for acclimatising it a little easier?
It was sensitive for a good 3-4 weeks but slowly reduced. At 3.5 months I'm still sensitive behind the glans where the join is and my frenulum so I can't be too rough with it. Vaseline helped prevent rubbing
Lastly, did you have scabs around the stitches/incision? If so how did you go about them? I feel like mine are ready to come off but been told not to pick them and to let them come naturally. Is there anything you did to speed that process up?
I want to be able to start wearing boxers again but the scabs are stopping me from doing this by getting caught and causing quite discomfort.
I didn't have much scabbing no. It went whitish and hard for a time around the wound, then the stitches dissolved. However, I was advised not to pick at any scabs or try to remove stitches. I found my daily swill in salt water great for washing away the final remnants of the stitches.
I've just reached week two on day 8 of my circumcision journey. Week one was rough... all new feelings, the pain, worrying, having to slow down, etc.
I had to go see my doctor yesterday for some bleeding (very minor) at the frenulum. The stitch is still intact and he wasn't worried. As an aside, I was interested to learn that that even if as many as a few stitches burst at the same time it's better to just let them heal rather than surgically intervene.
He has given me a five-day course of antibiotics to keep the area clean, but was otherwise told it was all healing nicely. I mean, it still looks outrageous with scabs and swelling, but apparently "that's what they look like at this stage".
My only question to the wider group at this stage is the swelling... did it make your penis hang down painfully when you tried to go for a wee? And since when was my penis so damn heavy?!
Heya, how's it going? I'm on day 15 of recovery now and in a much better place. My main issue now is that there are a few tender patches on my scar line with stringy stitches hanging out - more because it just looks a bit grim rather than hurt at all, I just whack some vaseline on them to stop them catching on my pants. But, I've been having pretty strong night time erections that no longer hurt very much and I got to see what I'll be dealing with once the healing is done, so now I'm feeling encouraged to keep going through the tough monotonous time waiting for it to heal.
I’m 3 weeks in with 2 stitches left but now the lip at the bottom of my glans appears to sting when touched. It was sensitive before this but now it’s more of a pain than just discomfort.
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Circumcision Post op two weeks
Day 17 Post Circumcision 
Circumcision line 10 days after conventional circumcision
7 week post op
