[ ARC forum 2 ]

Re: phimosis

Written by IA at 06 Jan 2004 19:15:09:

As an answer to: Re: phimosis written by halfclip at 04 Jan 2004 03:15:57:

Dear Halfclip,
I like what you have to say. I've read so much that I am so confused. It's my understanding that between the age of 3 to 5 most boys should have a retractable foreskin. In your first e-mail you suggested that with proper education perhaps we should wait til my boy is about 10 or 11. If you were my son, is that what you would prefer? Or would you prefer for me to have the surgery now (at age 5) so you wouldn't have to deal with it later? Or do you think that the chance of the foreskin stretching is worth the wait?
I'm not sure what your situation was, I'm assuming you've kinda been were my son may be in the future.Based on your experience, I would like to know what you would have preferred.

>>Yes, then why cut if the foreskin will loosen anyway?
>The foreskin MAY loosen. There is no garantee it will.
>By age of 5, most *should* have a retractable foreskin. Sometimes it may or may not loosen later.
>If the kid has a long foreskin, the opening will have no motivation to widen since it will be perfectly comfortable continuing to cover all of head during erections.
>Also, don't discount puberty. If you start puberty with a foreskin that isn't very loose, and don't masturbate the right way, then growth of your penis will likely cause a phimosis. (see Beauges).
>My take on this is that past age 5, a tight foreskin needs some coaxing to loosen. And that requires proper education of the kid and hope he takes it seriously. Unfortunatly, most boys don't realise the importance of their penis until they start to masturbate. By the time, parents have much less control over their son.
>However, if you've consistently shown your son how to stretch his foreskin safely, perhaps when he does realise his deficiency, he will start to stretch his (sicnn he'll rememeber what you had told him).


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