# swollen penis when peeing?



## PlayaMama (Apr 1, 2007)

hey all,

here's a little background to the situation. about a month ago my ds complained that his penis hurt. i looked at it, it was fine, figured it wasn't too big of a deal, i'll let him nap maybe he pinched it in his diaper or something. after nap time he woke up screaming that it "very, very hurt" and since we were visiting family in california we went to the er. five hours later it has swollen up to double it's normal size and he's screaming and crying every time he pees.

they give us antibiotics and some pain meds we go home do the bath the next morning and gradually it starts to shrink back to normal. he passes some smegma and pus that day. penis looks normal but ds still screams while peeing that it hurts.

a week later after antibiotics are done we take him to a pediatric urologist in reno because he is STILL







: screaming every time he pees. the urologist says, "he needs to be circumcized because continued infection can cause scar tissue to build up and then i will be trying to fix that when he's twelve."

he follows with, "i consider male circumcision at birth to be genital mutilation and just as bad as female genital mutilation and i would never do one. i'm the one that has to try and repair the four year old's penis that is disfigured from a circumcision done at birth and i think it's one of the cruelest things a parent can do to a child BUT in some cases it need to be done and this is one of those."

so, we go home, schedule the circ and then decide we'll have to wait until my insurance kicks in at work because we don't have the money. everything is fine now, no more crying, penis doesn't hurt, we decide to not to the circ.

BUT my ds penis swells up to double or more it's regular size when peeing and i'm wondering if there is a bit of scarring in there that is restricting his urine flow and if we should think about considering the circ. it's not just the foreskin swelling, it's the entire penis and it gets huge! my husband says it doesn't happen to him and i don't remember this happening before the incident i talked about before.

any advice or links? i couldn't find anything. thanks thanks thanks!!


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## Rockies5 (May 17, 2005)

Strange. Can you get a second or thrid opinion from a different doc?

the two can be totally unrelated (past infection, current "ballooning")

My youngest seems to have more skin then penis at this point and it fills up whenever he pees. Looks strange, but it's normal for some of them.

Totally understandable that after your first expereince you would want to look into this further whenever anything seems odd with him.


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## Doodlebugsmom (Aug 1, 2002)

My ds's penis does seem to get a good bit larger when he pees. The foreskin balloons, but the whole penis gets larger too. I've always thought he gets a little bit of an erection from fumbling around with it getting ready to pee. He's never complained of any type of pain at all, so I haven't really thought too much about it. As long as your ds isn't in pain, I wouldn't worry about it getting bigger when he pees.


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## guestmama9908 (Jan 23, 2007)

I can give you a different perspective here:

My DS is circed.







His Penis gets HUGE when he pees too. The whole penis gets about twice its normal size when he pees. I think that may be just a normal little boy thing.


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## hubris (Mar 8, 2003)

It does sound like maybe he had an infection before, although that's NOT a reason to circ.

But now...is it possible that he's just getting an erection when he has to pee? That happens to my sons a lot, and it's very normal. Sometimes my 4y/o even complains that his penis is stiff or hurts, and it usually means that he *really* has to pee but isn't figuring it out for some reason (like he's half asleep or too busy playing).

Ballooning of the foreskin can happen during urination when the foreskin starts loosening, and that can look strange, too.

It sounds like your doc is halfway educated and needs somebody to lead him the rest of the way down the path.


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## PlayaMama (Apr 1, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *CalenandEllasmomma* 
I can give you a different perspective here:

My DS is circed.







His Penis gets HUGE when he pees too. The whole penis gets about twice its normal size when he pees. I think that may be just a normal little boy thing.

oh, this is awesome. i think also that maybe because we're potty training now i notice it more. sorry you're sad about the circ but glad you're able to give me this advice!!!

thanks to the other mamas too. it seems like maybe it's just normal and we'll see how it goes.


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## MCatLvrMom2A&X (Nov 18, 2004)

What you are describing with the swelling is called ballooning and it is 100% normal. It means that he has started or completed the separation process but the sphincter at the end is still tight. That is also 100% normal.

As for what the Dr told you about him needing circ he was 100% wrong. For infection you treat it with abx just like you would with a girl. My ds just went thru a infection and it was horrible but the abx cleared it right up and I never once considered circ nor did any one say that he should be







:

The only reasons for circ are gangrene, frostbite, cancer or unrepairable trauma. As you can imagine those things are few and far between. I am so glad you didn't have your ds circed since it would have been a needless surgery.

The pain while peeing after the infection was gone sounds like seperation trauma. This happens in many boys when the foreskin starts to seperate from the glans there is usually a little raw spot that will burn when the urine touches it. This will usually resolve within 24-48 hours with no treatment other than nice soaks in a bath with no soap.

Why cant these Dr's see that cutting of parts is not the answer????







If it was a girl they sure wouldn't be saying oh we gotta cut that off because of scar tissue







:







:

I am going to get some links for you on ballooning. BRB


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## MCatLvrMom2A&X (Nov 18, 2004)

Here are the links
http://www.cirp.org/library/hygiene/

Quote:

*The separation of the foreskin from the glans penis* Ballooning of the prepuce while urinating cannot occur until separation is underway. The occurence of ballooning indicates that separation has started.15 Babu et al. have proven that ballooning does not interfere with urination.21 Ballooning is a normal developmental stage and is not a cause for concern and does not require treatment.16 20 A child temporarily may report some discomfort or pain while urinating during this period. This occurs because the ballooning may tear at any residual connection to the glans. The discomfort will stop when separation is complete. The foreskin may still not be retractable at this point because the opening is still narrow. With increased growth and maturity, the ballooning will end when opening of the foreskin widens.

http://www.norm-uk.org/circumcision_...reatments.html

Quote:

*Ballooning of the Foreskin* Ballooning of the foreskin while urinating can be a normal phase of development during childhood. It is not an indication for circumcision. Ballooning is a temporary phenomenon that arises when the foreskin begins to separate from the glans. It speeds the process of separation and disappears when the process is complete.
Because a boys penis is small sometimes it appears that the whole penis will swell from base to tip when urinating but in reality it is only the foreskin doing so. In any case please dont even consider circing your son. If he has trouble with a tight foreskin later on when he is older in his teens or adult there are very simple streatching that he can do with or without the use of a steroid cream that will lossen things right up with no cutting involved.

The rule is if he can pee thru it it is fine. At your sons age this seems to be a pretty common thing to happen. A combination of seperation and them messing with it introducing bacteria causing infection.


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## Quirky (Jun 18, 2002)

Keep in mind too that ballooning really shows how much of the penis the foreskin really is -- it's not just a little bit at the tip but goes a LONG way back. So normal ballooning can make the penis look quite a bit bigger when peeing!

That urologist is full of it. Male genital mutilation is mutilation at any age, especially for a problem that doesn't need to be solved with amputation of the most sensitive part of the penis. Truly, there is nothing your son needs less right now (or at any point, absent frostbite, gangrene, or cancer) than a circumcision.


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## PlayaMama (Apr 1, 2007)

thanks for the links and information! my husband has been pushing for some information about this and wanting to "consider all the options". it's nice to have some things to show him that indicate this is normal. we have such a lack of understanding about what a circumcized penis is supposed to do! bleh! glad i found this forum!


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## MCatLvrMom2A&X (Nov 18, 2004)

I am so glad you did as well. It is a great sorce of information.


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