| Circumcised & Uncircumcised Penis Care |
| Circumcision is a surgical procedure to remove the foreskin covering the end of the penis. |
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| Circumcision |
| How is circumcision performed? |
| Circumcision is often performed in the hospital by the obstetrician. The procedure is only performed on healthy babies. Because the procedure is painful, it is recommended that some kind of numbing agent is used. Such as numbing creme or local anesthetic. Although there are risks with anesthesia, these are generally considered safe. There are several ways to perform circumcision. Some methods use a temporary clamp and others use a plastic bell that stays on the penis for a certain length of time. Each method requires seperating the foreskin from the penis cutting a small slit and placing a clamp on the foreskin to stop the bleeding. The foreskin can then be cut and removed. |
| Providing care after circumcision |
| Circumcisions performed by qualified physicians rarely have complications and problems that do occur are usually not serious. The main complications are bleeding or infection. To reduce the risk, try to keep the area clean and follow the instuctions given by the doctor. |
| - There may be gauze which can usually be removed at the first diaper change. The doctor may suggest replacing with clean gauze. -The head of the penis may be raw and red - There may be a small amount of blood at first or yellow-colored discharge. This is normal healing - Your baby may have discomfort with diaper changes the first few days. - Keep the penis clean with soap and water - Cicrumcisions usually heal with in 1 or 2 weeks |
| Your baby may be fussy after the procedure. Cuddling him close or breast feeding may help comfort him. Usually after the penis has healed, there is no special care need of the penis |
| Health Concerns |
| - Problems with the penis, such as irratation can occur with or without circumcision. - There is no difference in hygine as long as taken care of properly - There may or may not be a difference in sexual sensation - There is an increased risk of Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) in uncircumcised men and boys - Newborn circumcision does provide some protection from cancer of the penis |
| Scientific studies have shown that there are medical benifits for circumcision, but not enough to recommend it for all newborn boys. |
| Uncircumcised Penis Care |
| A newborn boy usually has foreskin tightly fitted over the head of the penis. As long as the baby is able to pass urine through the hole, there is no problem. It is only necessary to clean the outside of the foreskin during a bath. As the baby grows, the foreskin will loosen and be able to be retracted (moved back) which can take weeks or months. Your baby's doctor will check this during checkups and will show you how to retract the skin for cleaning. The foreskin should never be forcibly retracted or allowed to stay retracted for long periods of time. That could result in loss of blood flow and pain, possibly injury. In some children the foreskin can not be retracted causing a condition called phimosis. This condition may require circumcision later in childhood. |