Regarding the question "Should I cut the foreskin of children?", parents come in and have a look

Debate topic: Is the foreskin cut or not?

Negative parents: The foreskin naturally turns up when they grow up

The child of parent Mr. A is also a boy, and he does not approve of circumcision. He believes that most boys' foreskins can naturally turn up when they grow up, and there is no need for their children to get a knife. "It is said that circumcision can only be used for local anesthesia, and children will be in pain, so let children suffer less."

In addition, there are also many parents of students who hold a wait-and-see attitude, and they believe, "You can wait and see. If the child's foreskin still doesn't turn up at the age of 10, you can cut it again," said one of the parents.

Orthodox parents: not cutting affects future life

However, there are many parents who insist on circumcising their children. They believe that not circumcising will affect children's future life. "In Israel, newborn babies are circumcised after birth, and we have to do the same."

Ms. B, the parent, is the representative of the approval. As soon as her child was born, Ms. B asked the doctor to perform a foreskin operation on the child. "Late pain is better than early pain, the sooner the better, otherwise if you get sick later on, it will affect your child's happiness." Ms. B and the Zhengfang family often hold this view.

No matter from the positive or negative perspective, parents are all thinking for their children!

But before deciding whether to cut the prepuce for the child, learn to judge whether the child has too long prepuce and phimosis!

Differentiation of redundant prepuce and phimosis in children

When a boy is younger than 2 years old, the foreskin tends to be relatively long, wrapping the entire penis and protecting the glans. All glans cannot be exposed freely, which is a normal phenomenon known as physiological phimosis.

After the age of 2, the foreskin and glans adhere and separate to form a soft coat. After the age of 3, the foreskin should be able to turn over to the coronal groove, and the glans can be exposed. As you age, the foreskin gradually recedes toward the penis.

However, if after the age of 3, the baby's glans cannot be exposed due to narrow foreskin openings or adhesions, it is considered phimosis;

If the glans can be fully exposed, but the foreskin still covers the glans when the penis is erect, it is considered that the foreskin is too long.

Should children's foreskin be too long and phimosis undergo surgery?

It is normal for children aged 0-3 to have an excessively long prepuce and do not require treatment; However, if the child is older than 3 years and still has a long foreskin, it is necessary to go to the hospital to make a treatment plan based on the specific situation of the child, or wait for observation or arrange surgery.

Although the foreskin can play a certain protective role in covering the penis, it is easy for the foreskin to be too long and the phimosis to hide dirt, leading to infection, inflammation, and adhesion; Chronic inflammatory stimulation within the foreskin is also a risk factor for penile cancer.

So parents still need to pay attention!

In the following cases, family members should discuss with the doctor whether to undergo foreskin surgery

Recurrent inflammation, swelling, and pain of the foreskin and glans;

Recurrent urinary tract infections, frequent urination, urgency, and pain associated with urination;

Difficulty in urination occurs, and urination is laborious. During urination, the foreskin bulges and presents a "bubble" shape;

Is the child's foreskin too long the earlier the surgery, the better?

Actually, that's not the case.

Perhaps in foreign countries, surgery has been routinely performed during the neonatal period, with the goal of reducing the risk of infection such as using paper diapers in the later stage, in addition to religious beliefs.

However, currently in China, according to the national conditions and the growth and development characteristics of Chinese people, it is still recommended to perform surgery after the age of 4. It is better to perform surgery after the age of 6 and before entering primary school to the age of 8.

Under the age of 4 years, unless there is a history of recurrent infection and inflammation of phimosis or redundant foreskin, it is recommended to undergo early surgical treatment.

The reason why it is recommended to perform surgery after the age of 6 is that children under the age of 6 have a greater sense of psychological fear and cannot cooperate well with doctors during the surgery. They struggle and cry violently during the surgery, which is likely to cause poor surgical results or even surgical failure. However, if the hand surgery is not effective or fails, it will greatly increase the difficulty of conducting a second stage surgery in the future.

reminder:

Long foreskin and phimosis are common conditions in infants and young children.

If the condition of excessive foreskin and phimosis persists as the child develops, it is best to go to the hospital and have the doctor decide whether to cut the foreskin or not based on the child's condition.

In daily life, it is important to keep the pudenda clean.