Becoming a parent requires knowing the anatomy of your child perfectly and knowing how to take care of him, including his private parts. To avoid making mistakes and to teach him good hygiene, here is everything there is to know about the care of the foreskin.

The foreskin is a small skin that covers the tip of the penis and serves to protect this ultra-sensitive area of ​​the boy’s anatomy. During the first weeks of your child’s life, the foreskin is stuck to the glans (that is, the end of the penis) by what are called adhesions. Then, little by little, the latter will be reduced, until they disappear and allow complete mobility to this skin. It is therefore from the age of 3 or 4 that the foreskin is completely mobile and can slide without any resistance. But, in some, it takes much longer for these adhesions to disappear. Rest assured, before your child’s adolescence, this is not at all worrying.

To offer good hygiene to your child and teach him the basic rules concerning his private parts, there are several main rules to practice from the first months. But not all doctors and specialists agree on the same method. Some advise not to touch it, while for others, it is necessary to move the foreskin gently. The only thing that is therefore essential and that echoes the speeches of all these professionals, is that you should never force the removal of this small skin to wash your boy’s penis at the risk of causing various problems: bleeding, tearing , or even embarrassing and painful worries at the moment that could have repercussions in his adult life.

But for those who observe the beginning of retraction of the foreskin, start to show the child how, for example, at the time of the bath, he can very gently pull his foreskin back without ever forcing it. You can then help him wash the visible part of the acorn simply with a little water, then, remember to always return it to its original place. Subsequently, when the child grows, teach him to perform this gesture alone and to clean this part of his anatomy with a little water to eliminate the impurities and accumulated residues. Soaps and scented shower gels should be avoided as much as possible, which could attack this very sensitive area and weaken it.

On every square inch of our body, thousands of cells are dying and constantly renewing themselves. They are gradually eliminated by the friction of our clothes and through our showers. But those present on the surface of the glans, accumulate under the foreskin and are therefore not eliminated. In children whose small skin is not yet ready to be peeled off, a white substance appears and seems to come out of the glans. This is called smegma. A mixture of dead cells and secretions naturally formed by the glans, this mass is completely normal and does not necessarily have to be eliminated. On the contrary, it would act as a lubricant for the glans and would facilitate the mobility of the foreskin. So you can wipe off this substance, but in no case should you try to remove the one that is under the foreskin and therefore is inaccessible.

On the other hand, in the presence of pain during urination (evacuation of urine), swelling of the foreskin, redness or itching of these parts of the body, it is better to obtain a medical opinion and therefore consult a specialist without delay. Finally, if the foreskin does not retract at all, even well after the child turns 3, the child may have phimosis. Too tight, the foreskin closes over the glans and increases the risk of inflammation, so it is essential to talk to a doctor.

The care of the foreskin should not worry moms, it is simple and will come naturally to the child. So do not try to want to manage these actions at all costs but rather teach the little one to do them independently. And to minimize the risk of irritation, remember to direct the sex of the newborn down before closing the diaper, the skin of the belly is also very fragile in the baby.