# Foreskin tear



## Neldavi (Jun 28, 2005)

I just changed ds's diaper and the end of his foreskin was a little red so I pulled it back a little to check it out (he's been retractable for a while, and has had one infection and some other irritated episodes before) and he has a tear close to where the foreskin and penis meet maybe as long as the width of my pinky nail







. There was even a little blood coming out of it. Does this sort of thing just happen? Should I do anything? Topical antibiotic to prevent infection, maybe? Should I worry?


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## Frankly Speaking (May 24, 2002)

This would lead me to believe he has not been completely retractile. That is that the opening has loosened but that there are still some remaining normal adhesions and one of those tore. Absent any other problem, just leave it alone and it will heal quite well.

If the redness persists or you have another episode, get the doctor to do a culture so you can absolutely identify the pathogen or eliminate the existance of one. Sometimes an infection will show up and seemingly dissappear only to come back a short time later. Most people believe they are two different infections (even doctors) when they are the same one. If it is an infection and you do get a prescription, come here and post what the culture found and the name of the drug prescribed and we will tell you if the medication is appropriate for what he has. We have seen cases where the doctor prescribed medications that were totally inappropriate apparently to make a circumcision inevitable. We don't want that for your son!

If your son is still in diapers, you shouldn't be pulling back on the foreskin. Please read the sticky at the top of the forum titled "Warning for Parents of Intact Sons."

Frank


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## Neldavi (Jun 28, 2005)

Hmm, Ok. Thanks for your reply. I read the sticky and now I feel really bad for messing with his foreskin at all. I knew you weren't supposed to *forcibly* retract it, but I thought that as long as I was very gentle and only moving it as far as it would naturally go with a feather-light touch it was Ok to check out what was going on under there.

Is the idea that even the most gentle manipulation might cause little microscopic tears and it's not worth the risk? I understand the fingernail analogy, I'll go with that ...

How do I tell if there's an actual infection? Just persistant redness that lasts for a while?


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## Frankly Speaking (May 24, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sarahverlinda*
Hmm, Ok. Thanks for your reply. I read the sticky and now I feel really bad for messing with his foreskin at all. I knew you weren't supposed to *forcibly* retract it, but I thought that as long as I was very gentle and only moving it as far as it would naturally go with a feather-light touch it was Ok to check out what was going on under there.

Yes, a featherlite touch is probably Ok but you just never know how much is too much.

Quote:

Is the idea that even the most gentle manipulation might cause little microscopic tears and it's not worth the risk? I understand the fingernail analogy, I'll go with that ...
Basically, that's it. You don't need to look under fingernails and you don't need to look under foreskins. The foreskin is a very sensitive structure, much like the lips and anything that is going on inside will very quickly show up on the outside. All diagnoses can be done from the outside. Think of a daughter who has an infection. Would you be opening up her vagina to look? That's really the way you have to look at it.

Quote:

How do I tell if there's an actual infection? Just persistant redness that lasts for a while?
Yes. If the redness lasts more that 3 days with no noticeable improvement or if he has recurrent bouts and there is no other explaination, it would be appropriate to take him to the doctors office for a culture. You should insist on a culture because otherwise, the doctor is only guessing and any medications are a hit or miss. You don't want that. You want a correct diagnosis the first time and the correct medication the first time and the only way to get that is with a culture. Your son does not need to be retracted for this and don't allow it. The doctor only needs to swab around the foreskin opening on the outside to get a sufficient sample.

Frank


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