Intact help!

[MunkyCrazy]

My 4 year old just started complaining that his penis hurt. He is constantly playing with it and is already fully retractable. The whole tip is red but he won't let any of us really look at it or touch it. We got him to put some antibiotic cream on it himself but then he wanted to wipe it right back off because he didn't like it. What do we do? Just wait until Monday and call his Ped? What can we do in the meantime because he is crying about it hurting and doesn't want to wear any underwear or anything and he keeps touching it.

[keen1981]

Well, if it were my son, I would explain that I must look in case it's an emergency. I would be sure to set my eyes on it.

He probably tore it slightly by playing too rough. My DS did the same. Nothing can be done. Yes, it's tender. It will be fine in a couple days.

But he's 4. You have the right and obligation to check his penis to be sure it's not infected. Now, some white stuff, shows as the tear heals so if you see that, don't panic.

[MunkyCrazy]

He has some SN, sensory problems and doesn't really have typical 4 year old verbal capabilities or mental understanding. He had a popcorn kernel he stuck in his ear last August and they ended up having to schedule outpatient surgery to put him out so they could pull it out. He flipped out if you even got near his ear. He flips out during hair cuts, too.

So just try to have him keep it washed with some mild soap and water and make sure he keeps at least some loose fitting boxers on? I tried to stress how important it was for him to stop touching it if he wanted it to feel better and stop hurting. I don't know how well that will work he has pretty bad impulse control.

[MunkyCrazy]

He's in bed right now, too. Maybe I can slip in and take a peek while he's sleeping. I had him retract it to see if I could see anything or if it looked like he didn't get it clean but it just looked red. Thanks for the info on the white stuff that probably would have worried me more.

[Green Decals]

At this age he doesn't need to retract it to clean it, even if he is able to fully retract it and does so regularly. Soap is quite harmful to it right now, so just stick with warm water. He could very well have irritation from cleaning it. A nice warm bath with water only will help him. I will try to find a link for you here in a minute...

[kushie tushie]

Originally Posted by Green Decals At this age he doesn't need to retract it to clean it, even if he is able to fully retract it and does so regularly. Soap is quite harmful to it right now, so just stick with warm water. He could very well have irritation from cleaning it. A nice warm bath with water only will help him. I will try to find a link for you here in a minute...

This. The soap could be irritating the sesitive skin. You could also add some baking soda to a bath and that would help with the redness. He really just needs to retract and rinse. No need for soap. Just like you dont put soap in your vagina.

Amanda . Blaming my phone for typos and crap.

[Green Decals]

http://www.drmomma.org/2010/01/phony...diagnosis.html

[Green Decals]

Originally Posted by kushie tushie This. The soap could be irritating the sesitive skin. You could also add some baking soda to a bath and that would help with the redness. He really just needs to retract and rinse. No need for soap. Just like you dont put soap in your vagina. Amanda . Blaming my phone for typos and crap.

Please read the above link, he does not need to retract to clean. Just as we don't wash the inside of a girl's vagina, the glans (head) of the penis is an internal organ. Retraction is a function for intercourse. Simply because the foreskin has separated does not mean that retraction is necessary for cleaning. Intact = do not retract - only clean what is seen. Until he hits puberty and smegma production ramps up and the opening of the foreskin has widened in response to hormones, he needs only to clean the outside, not retract.

[MunkyCrazy]

I haven't showed him how to retract and clean it so he doesn't usually. He does play with it in the bath and there's always soap in the water though. I thought it may be my fault for not making sure he cleaned it well since he is retractable at such an oddly early age (he's been fully retractable for a while, a year maybe) or that he got dirt trapped from constantly playing with it and he's almost always naked at home.

[MunkyCrazy]

Um, the link was mostly talking about not retracting foreskin because it doesn't need cleaned underneath. We have NEVER forced retraction or encouraged him to. I was very surprised when he said "look mama!" and pulled it all the way back. I know it's not healthy to force retraction and I figured we wouldn't be dealing with it for many more years but it does retract on its own now.