Care of intact, foreskinned boys: Difference between revisions

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'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' provides parents with basic information on the care of [[intact]] boys.
'''{{FULLPAGENAME}}''' provides parents with basic information on the care of [[intact]] boys.
==Introduction==
After many decades of excision of the [[foreskin]] at birth, American and Canadian healthcare providers lost the knowledge of how to care for the normal, [[intact]], [[foreskinned]] boy's [[penis]].<ref name="bollinger2007">{{REFjournal
|last=Bollinger
|init=D
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|title=The Penis-Care Information Gap: Preventing Improper Care of Intact Boys
|url=https://www.academia.edu/6394928/The_Penis_Care_Information_Gap_Preventing_Improper_Care_of_Intact_Boys?email_work_card=thumbnail&li=0
|journal=Thymos The Journal of Boyhood Studies
|date=2007
|season=fall
|volume=1
|issue=2
|pages=205-19
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2024-11-07
}}</ref> Therefore, it has been necessary to establish an educational program for both parents and physicians on the normal care of the [[intact]] [[penis]].<ref name="bollinger2007"/>
Sadly, many health care providers promote harmful infant [[circumcision]] because they profit from it's performance. Parents of [[intact]] boys in the [[United States]] have an additional responsibility of protecting their [[intact]], [[foreskinned]] son from harmful, painful [[Forced foreskin retraction| premature forcible foreskin retraction]] (PFFR) by ignorant doctors and nurses.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/for-parents/help-with-forcible-foreskin-retraction/
|title=Wrongful Foreskin Retraction
|last=Anonymous
|first=
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Doctors Opposing Circumcision
|date=1916
|accessdate=2024-06-27
}}</ref>
[[Intact America]] (2024) provides a comprehensive guidance for parents to aid in the protection of their [[intact]] sons from harm in America's heath care establishments.<ref name="Kristel2024-12-23">{{REFweb
|url=https://intactamerica.org/protecting-intact-boys-from-harm/
|title=Where Circumcision Advocates Strike: Protecting Intact Boys From Harm
|last=Alissa
|first=Kristel
|init=K
|author-link=Kristel Alissa
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-12-23
|accessdate=2024-12-23
}}</ref>
===Infant penile anatomy===
When boys are born, the preputial sac is sealed shut by a [[synechia]] called the ''balanopreputial lamina'',<ref name="deibart1933">{{REFjournal
|last=Deibart
|init=GA
|title=The separation of the prepuce in the human penis
|journal=Anat Rec
|date=1933
|volume=57
|issue=
|pages=387-99
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/deibert/
|quote=
|DOI=https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.1090570409
|accessdate=2023-05-23
}}</ref> so it cannot be [[Infection| infected]]. The preputial sac will remain closed for a variable number of years and the [[foreskin]] cannot be retracted without severe injury and pain.
The preputial sac is lined with [[mucosa]] as is appropriate for an internal organ where moisture is present.<ref name="cold-taylor1999">{{ColdCJ TaylorJR 1999}}</ref> [[Urine]] and other sources of moisture are not harmful to it.


Newborn [[intact]] boys are easier to care for than [[circumcised]] boys because intact boys do not have an open surgical wound,<ref>{{REFweb
Newborn [[intact]] boys are easier to care for than [[circumcised]] boys because intact boys do not have an open surgical wound,<ref>{{REFweb
Line 17: Line 75:
  |date=2022-08-08
  |date=2022-08-08
  |accessdate=2024-10-24
  |accessdate=2024-10-24
}}</ref> and because [[intact]], non-traumatized boys are easier to [[Breastfeeding| breastfeed]]. [[Foreskinned]] boys are likely to enjoy better health because of the [[immunological and protective function of the foreskin]].<ref name="fleiss-hodges-vanhowe1998"/>
}}</ref> and because [[intact]], non-traumatized boys are easier to [[Breastfeeding| breastfeed]]. [[Foreskinned]] boys are likely to enjoy better health because of the [[immunological and protective function of the foreskin]].<ref>{{REFjournal
 
|last=Fleiss
|first=
|init=PM
|author-link=Paul M. Fleiss
|last2=Hodges
|first2=
|init2=FM
|author2-link=Frederick M. Hodges
|last3=Van Howe
|first3=
|init3=RS
|author3-link=Robert S. Van Howe
|etal=no
|title=Immunological functions of the human prepuce
|trans-title=
|journal=Sex Trans Inf
|date=1998-10
|volume=74
|issue=5
|pages=364-7
|url=https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1758142/pdf/v074p00364.pdf
|archived=
|quote=
|pubmedID=10195034
|pubmedCID=1758142
|DOI=10.1136/sti.74.5.364
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2024-12-23
}}</ref>
The [[foreskin]] has the duty of protecting the [[glans penis]] and [[meatus]] from physical [[trauma]] and [[infection]], so boys are born with a [[foreskin]] that does not retract.<ref name="agarwal2005">{{REFjournal
The [[foreskin]] has the duty of protecting the [[glans penis]] and [[meatus]] from physical [[trauma]] and [[infection]], so boys are born with a [[foreskin]] that does not retract.<ref name="agarwal2005">{{REFjournal
  |last=Agarwal
  |last=Agarwal
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  |accessdate=2024-06-26
  |accessdate=2024-06-26
}}</ref> There are two reasons that the foreskin of infant boys does not retract:
}}</ref> There are two reasons that the foreskin of infant boys does not retract:
* The tip of the foreskin is too narrow to pass over the [[glans penis]].
* The tip of the foreskin is too narrow to pass over the [[glans penis]].
* The inner layer of foreskin is fused with the underlying glans penis by a [[synechia]].
* The inner layer of foreskin is fused with the underlying glans penis by a [[synechia]].


These developmental conditions are normal and expected in infancy and childhood.
These developmental conditions are normal and expected in infancy and childhood. The foreskin must cover the [[meatus]] to protect it from the ammonia which forms in wet diapers.<ref name="brennemann1921">{{REFjournal
 
  |last=Brennemann
[[Forced foreskin retraction]] is harmful and must be avoided.
==Introduction==
After many decades of excision of the [[foreskin]] at birth, American and Canadian healthcare providers lost the knowledge of how to care for the normal, [[intact]], [[foreskinned]] boy's [[penis]].<ref name="bollinger2007">{{REFjournal
  |last=Bollinger
|init=D
|author-link=Dan Bollinger
|title=The Penis-Care Information Gap: Preventing Improper Care of Intact Boys
|url=https://www.academia.edu/6394928/The_Penis_Care_Information_Gap_Preventing_Improper_Care_of_Intact_Boys?email_work_card=thumbnail&li=0
|journal=Thymos The Journal of Boyhood Studies
|date=2007
|season=fall
|volume=1
|issue=2
|pages=205-19
|format=PDF
|accessdate=2024-11-07
}}</ref> Therefore, it has been necessary to establish an educational program for both parents and physicians on the normal care of the [[intact]] [[penis]].<ref name="bollinger2007" />
 
Sadly, many health care providers promote harmful infant [[circumcision]] because they profit from it's performance. Parents of [[intact]] boys in the [[United States]] have an additional responsibility of protecting their [[intact]], [[foreskinned]] son from harmful, painful [[Forced foreskin retraction| premature forcible foreskin retraction]] (PFFR) by ignorant doctors and nurses.<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/for-parents/help-with-forcible-foreskin-retraction/
|title=Wrongful Foreskin Retraction
|last=Anonymous
  |first=
  |first=
  |init=
  |init=J
  |author-link=
  |author-link=
  |publisher=Doctors Opposing Circumcision
  |etal=no
  |date=1916
|title=The Ulcerated Meatus in the Circumcised Child
  |accessdate=2024-06-27
|trans-title=
}}</ref>
|journal=Am J Dis Child
  |date=1921
|volume=21
|issue=
|pages=28-47
|url=https://www.cirp.org/library/complications/brennemann1/
|archived=
|quote=An ulcerated meatus in the circumcised child only is a frequent symptom.
  |accessdate=2025-01-01
}}</ref> If the foreskin does not cover and protect the meatus, then the ammonia will likely attack the meatus and cause [[meatitis]] and [[meatal stenosis]].


[[Intact America]] (2024) provides a comprehensive guidance for parents to aid in the protection of their [[intact]] sons from harm in America's heath care establishments.<ref name="Kristel2024-12-23">{{REFweb
[[Forced foreskin retraction]] is harmful and must be avoided.
|url=https://intactamerica.org/protecting-intact-boys-from-harm/
|title=Where Circumcision Advocates Strike: Protecting Intact Boys From Harm
|last=Kristel
|first=Alissa
|init=
|author-link=
|publisher=Intact America
|date=2024-12-23
|accessdate=2024-12-23
}}</ref>


==Discussion==
==Discussion==
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}}</ref>
}}</ref>


The [[preputial mucosa]] of the [[foreskin]] is fused with the [[glans penis]] by the [[synechia]] in infancy and childhood so the [[foreskin]] cannot be retracted. No attempt to retract the foreskin should be made. Forcible retraction is traumatic and painful. Wright (1994) advised that the first person to retract the boy’s [[foreskin]] should be the boy himself.<ref name="Wright1994">{{REFjournal
The [[preputial mucosa]] of the [[foreskin]] is fused with the [[glans penis]] by the [[synechia]] in infancy and childhood so the [[foreskin]] cannot be retracted. No attempt to retract the foreskin should be made. Forcible retraction is traumatic and painful. Agawal et al. (2005) report that the [[foreskin]] separates from the [[glans penis]] without intervention.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Agawal
|first=
|init=A
|author-link=
|last2=Mohta
|first2=
|init2=A
|author2-link=
|last3=Anand
|first3=
|init3=RK
|author3-link=
|etal=no
|title=Preputial retraction in children
|trans-title=
|journal=Journal of Indian Association of Pediatric Surgeons
|location=
|date=2005
|volume=10
|issue=2
|article=
|page=
|pages=89-91
|url=https://journals.lww.com/jiap/fulltext/2005/10020/preputial_retraction_in_children.5.aspx
|archived=
|quote=Preputial nonseparation is the major cause of preputial nonretraction in the pediatric age group. Prepuce spontaneously separates from the glans as age increases and true phimosis is rare in children. Surgical intervention should be avoided for nonseparation of prepuce.
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.4103/0971-9261.16468
|doi=
|accessdate=2025-08-02
}}</ref> Wright (1994) advised that the first person to retract the boy’s [[foreskin]] should be the boy himself.<ref name="Wright1994">{{REFjournal
  |last=Wright
  |last=Wright
  |init=JE
  |init=JE
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  |date=2005
  |date=2005
  |accessdate=2019-11-14
  |accessdate=2019-11-14
}}</ref> [[Jakob Øster| Øster]] (1968) reported that some boys will not develop retractable [[foreskin]] until after puberty.<ref name="Øster1968">{{OesterJ 1968}}</ref>
}}</ref> [[Jakob Øster| Øster]] (1968) reported that some boys will not develop retractable [[foreskin]] until after [[puberty]].<ref name="Øster1968">{{OesterJ 1968}}</ref>
 
==Visiting the doctor==
After a century or more of relentless promotion of unnecessary, non medically indicated [[circumcision]], many American healthcare providers are ill-trained in the care of the natural, normal, healthy [[foreskin]] and are likely to harm the [[penis]] of a [[foreskinned]] boy by [[Forced foreskin retraction| premature forcible retraction]] of his protective non-retractile foreskin. Parents must be alert and on guard, ready to aggressively jump in to protect a boy's foreskin during the examination by the doctor.<ref name="saltalamacchia2019">{{REFweb
|url=https://www.yourwholebaby.org/common-sense
|title=What's Okay and What's Not
|last=Saltalamacchia
|first=Angela
|init=
|author-link=Angela Saltalamacchia
|publisher=Your Whole Baby
|date=2019-11-06
|accessdate=2025-04-05
}}</ref>


==Behavior of young intact boys==
==Behavior of young intact boys==
Parents observe that many young, [[intact]] boys will pull and tug on their [[foreskin]]. Some parents express concern that the boy may be hurting himself, however that is not the case. The boy would not do that if it caused him pain.<ref>{{REFweb
Many parents observe that many young, [[intact]] boys will pull and tug on their [[foreskin]]. Some parents express concern that the boy may be hurting himself, however that is not the case. The boy would not do that if it caused him pain.<ref>{{REFweb
  |url=https://www.kidshealth.org.nz/how-care-your-childs-foreskin
  |url=https://www.kidshealth.org.nz/how-care-your-childs-foreskin
  |title=How To Care For Your Child's Foreskin
  |title=How To Care For Your Child's Foreskin
Line 158: Line 267:
  |accessdate=2023-01-25
  |accessdate=2023-01-25
}}</ref>
}}</ref>
The foreskin has many [[Meissner's corpuscles]],<ref name="winkleman1956">{{REFjournal
The foreskin has many [[Meissner's corpuscles]] at birth,<ref name="winkleman1956">{{REFjournal
  |last=Winkelmann
  |last=Winkelmann
  |first=
  |first=
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  |format=PDF
  |format=PDF
  |accessdate=2023-07-12
  |accessdate=2023-07-12
}}</ref> which are specialized nerves that sense motion and [[stretching]] as pleasurable. Such behavior is normal and parents need not be concerned.
}}</ref> which are specialized nerves that sense motion and [[stretching]] as pleasurable. Such behavior is normal and common. Parents need not be concerned.


Intact, [[foreskinned]] boys should give their (usually non-retractile) [[foreskin]] a gentle tug away from their body to get the wrinkles out prior to [[urination]], so that the [[urine]] flows out in a smooth stream.
==Urination==
===Pain during urination===
The inner foreskin is fused from birth with the [[glans penis]] by a [[synechia]]. The synechia spontaneously disintegrates to release the foreskin.<ref name="deibart1933" /> The disintegration usually occurs in childhood but will persist into adolescence in a few cases.


==Spontaneous disintegration of the synechia==
When a young boy urinates, the [[foreskin]] may [[Ballooning of the foreskin| balloon]] slightly and the pressure will tend to lift the [[foreskin]] away from the [[glans penis]],<ref name="milos2022-03-21">{{REFweb
The inner foreskin is fused from birth with the [[glans penis]] by a [[synechia]]. The synechia spontaneously disintegrates to release the foreskin.<ref name="deibart1933">{{REFjournal
|last=Deibart
|init=GA
|title=The separation of the prepuce in the human penis
|journal=Anat Rec
|date=1933-11
|volume=57
|issue=
|pages=387-99
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/deibert/
|quote=
|pubmedID=
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.1090570409
|accessdate=2023-08-16
}}</ref> The disintegration usually occurs in childhood but will persist into adolescence in a few cases.
 
When a young boy urinates, the [[foreskin]] may [[Ballooning of the foreskin| balloon]] slightly and the pressure will tend to lift the [[foreskin]] away from the [[glans penis]].<ref name="milos2022-03-21">{{REFweb
  |url=https://intactamerica.org/ask-marilyn-let-the-balloon-go/
  |url=https://intactamerica.org/ask-marilyn-let-the-balloon-go/
  |title=Ask Marilyn – Let the Balloon Go!
  |title=Ask Marilyn – Let the Balloon Go!
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  |date=2022-03-21
  |date=2022-03-21
  |accessdate=2024-10-24
  |accessdate=2024-10-24
}}</ref>
}}</ref> causing some temporary pain.


Some [[intact]] boys will report pain when they urinate during the period in which separation is occurring.<ref name="milos2022-09-26">{{REFweb
Some [[intact]] boys will report pain when they urinate during the period in which separation is occurring.<ref name="milos2022-09-26">{{REFweb
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  |accessdate=2023-08-15
  |accessdate=2023-08-15
}}</ref> It does not require a visit to a doctor or any kind of care.
}}</ref> It does not require a visit to a doctor or any kind of care.
===Control of urination===
Some parents complain because their [[intact]] son cannot control where the stream of [[urine]] goes. ''Some'' adult [[intact]] men report that tugging on their [[foreskin]] to get the wrinkles out before starting to urinate helps to get a smooth, controllable stream.
If an [[intact]] boy gives his [[foreskin]] a gentle tug to get the wrinkles out before he starts to urinate, this ''may'' help to get a splatter-free urination.


==Mayo Clinic information should be rejected==
==Mayo Clinic information should be rejected==
Mayo Clinic provides information on the care of [[foreskinned]] boys. This advice is ''not'' recommended. The language indicates Midwestern [[bias]] against [[intact]] boys, a lack of understanding of the [[Immunological and protective function of the foreskin| immmunological and protective functions]], and lack of current information on [[Development of retractable foreskin| development of foreskin retraction]].
Mayo Clinic provides information on the care of [[foreskinned]] boys. This advice is ''not'' recommended. The language indicates Midwestern [[bias]] against [[intact]] boys, a lack of understanding of the [[Immunological and protective function of the foreskin| immmunological and protective functions]], and lack of current information on [[Development of retractable foreskin| development of foreskin retraction]].
==Care at daycare centers==
==Care at daycare centers==
Parents must ''not'' assume that the staff of a daycare facility know how to care for [[intact]], [[foreskinned]] boys. In America it is most likely that the staff of a daycare center will not know the proper care of [[foreskinned]] boys,<ref>{{REFweb
Parents must ''not'' assume that the staff of a daycare facility know how to care for [[intact]], [[foreskinned]] boys. In America it is most likely that the staff of a daycare center will not know the proper care of [[foreskinned]] boys,<ref name="ashford2024">{{REFweb
  |url=https://intactamerica.org/the-daycare-risk-for-intact-uncircumcised-babies-and-boys-forcible-foreskin-retraction/
  |url=https://intactamerica.org/the-daycare-risk-for-intact-uncircumcised-babies-and-boys-forcible-foreskin-retraction/
  |title=The Daycare Risk for Intact, Uncircumcised Babies and Boys: Forcible Foreskin Retraction
  |title=The Daycare Risk for Intact, Uncircumcised Babies and Boys: Forcible Foreskin Retraction
Line 254: Line 351:
}}</ref> which may place your [[foreskinned]] son at risk of [[forced foreskin retraction]].
}}</ref> which may place your [[foreskinned]] son at risk of [[forced foreskin retraction]].


==Video==
== Videos ==
<br>
=== Proper care of intact aka uncircumcised boys ===
<youtube>rpN13irwvGk</youtube>
<youtube>rpN13irwvGk</youtube>
<br>
=== Proper Care of the Intact Penis ===
<youtube>?v=dqexM8uqDes&list=PLAWLXIFlrYdr0cuWb81Qy155NqXh0bnnP&index=3</youtube>
<youtube>?v=dqexM8uqDes&list=PLAWLXIFlrYdr0cuWb81Qy155NqXh0bnnP&index=3</youtube>
{{SEEALSO}}
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Angela Saltalamacchia]]
* [[Ballooning of the foreskin]]
* [[Ballooning of the foreskin]]
* [[Catheterization of intact boys]]
* [[Catheterization of intact boys]]
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* [[DoNoHarm.report]]
* [[DoNoHarm.report]]
* [[Forced foreskin retraction]]
* [[Forced foreskin retraction]]
* [[Fusions and adhesions]]
* [[Immunological and protective function of the foreskin]]
* [[Immunological and protective function of the foreskin]]
* [[Intact-friendly]]
* [[Intact-friendly]]
Line 403: Line 503:
}}
}}
* {{REFweb
* {{REFweb
  |url=//www.yourwholebaby.org/basic-intact-care
  |url=https://www.yourwholebaby.org/basic-intact-care
  |title=https:Basic Care (Intact Penis)
  |title=Basic Care (Intact Penis)
  |publisher=Your Whole Baby
  |publisher=Your Whole Baby
  |website=
  |website=
Line 411: Line 511:
  |format=
  |format=
  |quote=
  |quote=
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://www.yourwholebaby.org/smegma/
|title=Smegma Pearls
|publisher=Your Whole Baby
|date=
|accessdate=2024-08-24
}}
}}
* {{REFweb
* {{REFweb
Line 433: Line 526:
  |title=Ask Marilyn – Bath Time Turns a Boy’s Foreskin Red
  |title=Ask Marilyn – Bath Time Turns a Boy’s Foreskin Red
  |last=Milos
  |last=Milos
  |first=Marilyn
  |first=Marilyn Fayre
  |init=
  |init=MF
  |author-link=Marilyn Fayre Milos
  |author-link=Marilyn Fayre Milos
  |publisher=Intact America
  |publisher=Intact America
Line 444: Line 537:
  |title=Ask Marilyn – Circumcised vs Uncircumcised Babies: How Do You Care for One or the Other?
  |title=Ask Marilyn – Circumcised vs Uncircumcised Babies: How Do You Care for One or the Other?
  |last=Milos
  |last=Milos
  |first=Marilyn
  |first=Marilyn Fayre
  |init=
  |init=MF
  |author-link=Marilyn Fayre Milos
  |author-link=Marilyn Fayre Milos
  |publisher=Intact America
  |publisher=Intact America
Line 477: Line 570:
  |last=Garrett
  |last=Garrett
  |first=Connor
  |first=Connor
  |init=
  |init=C
  |author-link=Connor Judson Garrett
  |author-link=Connor Judson Garrett
  |publisher=Intact America
  |publisher=Intact America
  |date=2024-03-09
  |date=2024-03-09
  |accessdate=2024-03-10
  |accessdate=2024-03-10
}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://4skin-health.alderhey.nhs.uk/children/
|title=What is a foreskin?
|last=Kenny
|first=Simon
|init=S
|author-link=Simon Kenny
|publisher=United Kingdom National Health Service
|accessdate=2025-02-21
}}
}}


{{REF}}
{{REF}}


[[Category:Education]]
[[Category:Education]]
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[[Category:Film about circumcision and intactivism]]
[[Category:Film about circumcision and intactivism]]
[[Category:Parental information]]
[[Category:Parental information]]
[[Category:Penis]]
[[Category:Teen]]


[[Category:From IntactWiki]]
[[Category:From IntactWiki]]


[[de:{{FULLPAGENAME}}]]
[[de:Pflege intakter Jungen mit Vorhaut]]