4 Year Old DS Penis smells

[LearningAboutBoyStuff]

He is just 4.

Is this because we don't retract it when we clean him? DH is circumcised so he doesn't know if it is meant to be retracted to be cleaned. I tentatively had a look to see if I can do it and I was afraid of hurting him. I have googled and it seems to be conflicted, yes and no.

But, it is probably because it needs a proper clean? Sounds daft not knowing, but with DH not ever needing to clean it, and me neither! And being with DH for 15 years.

So, can I? Should I? How do I? retract his foreskin to clean? How do I clean? Just normal rinse when he is in the bath? I would like to teach him to do it himself in time, so guessing this is the time.

[LearningAboutBoyStuff]

oh and regarding the smell, will cleaning it simply get rid of it, or does the smell mean there is an infection that needs checking out by the GP?

[LearningAboutBoyStuff]

He has a bath every other day, dries himself properly following a wee/poo, so his normal hygiene is good.

[GlitzAndGiggles]

I've read before that you need to gently pull back the foreskin to clean. I don't have a DS so not much help sorry!

[stooshe]

Retract the remaining foreskin and you will see why your son's penis smells. Just a normal rinse in the bath and tell him that this is part of his bathing routine from now on. My cousin's little'un, back in the day had this problem. He isn't circumcised, but you get the drift. No smegma (the cheesey stuff that is found in female and male nether regions, if not bathed regularly) has been seen again. Like washing the neck, any area with folds is to be taken extra care of in case of "build up".
Of course if my advice yields no rewards, then go to the G.P and seek his/her advice. Good luck!

[poshme]

Yes retract- my DS has sore penis & took to doc (aged about 4) and doc said yes retract gently and only as far as is comfortable. DS now does himself in bath and swooshes water past (doesn't like to as he says its too sensitive).

[LearningAboutBoyStuff]

a lot of what I am reading talks about being able to gently retract, but when I have tentatively tried it has not really moved, but I have also not really tried more than a tiny bit as also read if it is forced I could cause damage, and that it can naturally retract any time between 2-5 years onwards, so don't know if I am being too gentle.

I had not considered it too much, except now he is starting to be a bit smelly and he has noticed it himself today 'why does my willy smell?'

[LearningAboutBoyStuff]

ok great, I shall give him a bath, and we shall have a look and see, and if it works we shall, as you say make this part of his normal washing routine from now on.

[MrsCliveStanden]

Does it hurt/blow up like a balloon when he goes to the toilet? Is it very red? If so, sounds like an infection. Nt sure where you live, if you can buy betadine over the counter in the pharmacy, if so try some penis baths with that for a few days to see if it helps clear it up, otherwise gp.

[ilovepowerhoop]

you are not supposed to retract it, direct him how to do it himself but he may not be able to for several years yet. Retracting forcibly can cause scarring so I would leave it alone

[LearningAboutBoyStuff]

It is not red, swollen or sore. He goes to the loo fine and there are no problems with it that I can see other than a -pretty strong-- whiff when he takes his pants off. Which is most of the time as he likes to be a naked 4yr old at home.

[LearningAboutBoyStuff]

ok, while sitting here writing this, he has been playing with it more than usual. I just asked him if it was sore. he said yes. I asked him if it hurt when he goes for a wee. 'a bit' he says.

Maybe I should just have a quick chat with GP tomorrow, won't hurt.

[ilovepowerhoop]

www.fathermag.com/health/boy-care/boy-care.shtml

[LearningAboutBoyStuff]

It's definitely not red. I had a look to see if I could move the skin gently back and I couldn't and he said 'ouch'. I asked if it hurt when I did that and he said yes. So maybe an infection after all? But, he has not complained about any pain now or before now without prompting or without me touching, so guess it's not something he has had for long...

[LearningAboutBoyStuff]

thanks for that link, it seems that his foreskin is not ready to be retracted as it's not moving anyway, not freely enough for me to progress it, so I shall leave it and talk to the doctor.

[Erebus]

DS2 came to within an inch of circumcision due to a problem foreskin! He's now 12 but when he was 3 or 4, he got a lot of problems with smells, which then became 'sticky stuff' and had several (3 or 4?) infections in his foreskin.

Dh took the matter in hand, so to speak, after an occasion where we had to soak DS's pants off as the sticky stuff has dried and welded his 'manhood' to the fabric. This (the fact he had enough discharge to dry and stick) sounds like we are derelict parents, but we're not! It came on over the space of a day and the first we knew was a reluctance to strip for a bath. So DH encouraged DS to gently retract his foreskin and to waft warm bath water over it. The discharge was gone in a day or so (we dabbed savlon on the tip post-bath), and we've had no issues since. Even now when DS2, facing adolescence is playing fast and loose with hygiene, I say 'Have you bathed properly? Did you use soap? Did you do your 'zones'?' (face, armpits, rear and groin)? But with an emphasis on 'undercarriage'! He recalls the unpleasantness of his foreskin problems so is careful to wash properly now!