Parents with uncircumcised boys, have you ever used betamethasone DP cream?

I took my 4 year old to an urologist because his pediatrician didn%26#039;t think his foreskin was retracting properly. The urologist said my son had phimosis and told me to use betamethasone cream to loosen the foreskin. Has anyone else ever had this problem or used this cream? What were the results?





I don%26#039;t think there is a problem with his foreskin. Everything I have read has said the foreskin will retract all the way when he is older. I%26#039;m worried the pediatrician hurt him when she was pulling on it. I told her to stop because you aren%26#039;t supposed to force the skin down. I told the urologist that I didn%26#039;t think there was a problem and he went on and on about problems and complications and how if I don%26#039;t do something terrible things will happen. I am already looking for another urologist because he said that if the cream doesn%26#039;t work, he would have to do a circumcision. I think a second opinion is needed. Please, only parents with uncircumcised boys answer.|||Foreskins aren%26#039;t meant to be retractable at age 4, and in fact phimosis/non-retractable not caused by disease even after puberty may be a variation of normal, it is certainly considered so by some. My husband has a non-retractable foreskin, it doesn%26#039;t bother him and I have come to accept it. If it doesn%26#039;t cause him pain, UTIs, infertility, etc then what his penis does is what it does. It may be that he would be better off having it treated (with creams and exercise, not circumcision) but ultimately I could be wrong.





http://www.cirp.org/library/normal/aap/


Eventually, sometimes as long as 5, 10, or more years after birth, full separation occurs and the foreskin may then be pushed back away from the glans toward the abdomen. This is called foreskin retraction. The foreskin may retract spontaneously with erections which occur normally from birth on and even occur in fetal life. Also, all children ``discover%26#039;%26#039; their genitals as they become more aware of their bodies and may retract the foreskin themselves. If the foreskin does not seem to retract easily early in life, it is important to realize that this is not abnormal and that it should eventually do so.





Foreskin Retraction: As noted, the foreskin and glans develop as one tissue. Separation will evolve over time. It should not be forced. When will separation occur? Each child is different. Separation may occur before birth; this is rare. It may take a few days, weeks, months, or even years. This is normal. Although many foreskins will retract by age 5, there is no need for concern even after a longer period. [1984 version only: No harm will come in leaving the foreskin alone.] Some boys do not attain full retractability of the foreskin until adolescence.








http://www.cirp.org/library/normal/aap19鈥?/a>


What is foreskin retraction?





Foreskin retraction occurs when the foreskin can be pulled away from the glans toward the abdomen. This process happens on its own. When it happens is different for every child. Most boys will be able to retract their foreskins by the time that they are 18 years old.





http://www.medem.com/medlb/article_detai鈥?/a>


Most boys will be able to retract their foreskins by the time they are 5 years old, yet others will not be able to until the teenage years. As a boy becomes more aware of his body, he will most likely discover how to retract his own foreskin. But foreskin retraction should never be forced. Until separation occurs, do not try to pull the foreskin back 鈥?especially an infant%26#039;s. Forcing the foreskin to retract before it is ready may severely harm the penis and cause pain, bleeding and tears in the skin.





http://www.lpch.org/diseasehealthinfo/he鈥?/a>


In an uncircumcised boy, the foreskin will begin to separate from the glans, or the tip of the penis. This happens naturally while the male is an infant. This is called foreskin retraction. Foreskin retraction may happen immediately after birth, or it may take several years. Most foreskins can be fully retracted by the time the male is 18 years old. Retraction of the foreskin, or pulling the foreskin back from the tip of the penis, should not be forced. If the foreskin is forced to retract, it may result in bleeding and discomfort.





http://www.askdrsears.com/faq/az3.asp


Uncircumcised infants do not need any special care for their penis. I call it %26quot;the un-care of the intact penis%26quot;. You should completely leave it alone. You should NOT forcibly retract it, EVER. And you should not allow anyone else to do so either. This causes considerable trauma, both physically and emotionally. Forcible retraction can lead to soreness and infection of the foreskin.





Why all the controversy? Rarely, an intact foreskin will remain tight and unretractable into adulthood. This can interfere with urination. If this occurs, it can be corrected with a minor surgical procedure. Years ago, doctors thought that we should therefore forcibly retract the penis during infancy so that this rare problem won%26#039;t occur. If it was not retractable by a few years of age, it should be forcibly retracted. Now we know that the trauma of doing so far outweighs any benefits.





The pain and trauma just isn%26#039;t worth it. Virtually all foreskins will loosen up and retract just by the child normally exploring this body part.





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forcible_re鈥?/a>


At birth, the foreskin is usually still fused with the glans. As childhood progresses the foreskin and the glans gradually separate, a process that may not be complete until the age of 17. A Danish survey reported that average age of first foreskin retraction in Denmark is 10.4 years. Marques reported that 1% of boys cannot retract their foreskins by age 14.[3] [4] [5] [6]





In children, the foreskin covers the glans completely but in adults this need not be so. In a German study, Schoeberlein found that about 50% of young men had full coverage of the glans, 42% had partial coverage, and in the remaining 8%, the glans was uncovered. After adjusting for circumcision, he stated that in 4% of the young men the foreskin had spontaneously atrophied (shrunk).





About 2% of males have a non-retractile foreskin throughout life, although this does not necessarily mean it is a pathological phimosis. Wright emphasizes that the first person to retract the boy鈥檚 foreskin should be the boy himself.[7]|||Yeah i would do the second opinion. Both my boys are uncut and their foreskin doesn%26#039;t come back yet but the Dr said starting at age 3 they should be taught how to start slowly moving it back themselves to clean but not to force. They will be about 13 or so before it really goes back. I haven%26#039;t used that cream on my boys because there is nothing wrong with them, the foreskin doesn%26#039;t go back at age 4. I hope you find another Dr because that one obviously just prefers circumcisions.|||my son is 3 and uncircumsized and his grandmother is a doctor, she says as long as u keep it clean and it is taken care of then he should be fine, she also told me that it should periodically be pulled back in order to help it stretch some, my sons is very tight. the head of his penis always turns purple almost immediately when its pulled back. but she also said it should retract on its own as he gets older. good luck to you|||I don%26#039;t have a son who%26#039;s uncircumsised yet, but i%26#039;m 34wks pregnant w a boy, who after doing alot of research, i%26#039;ve decided not to circumscise...i just wanted to add that from what i%26#039;ve read, their foreskin will retract on its own when it%26#039;s ready and it shouldn%26#039;t be forced. Trying to pull it will hurt it. I agree that you should seek a second opinion, maybe from someone who has more experience w intact boys.|||you know what these drs. are full of it..there is nothing wrong with not having your children circumcised...and yes the skin will retract alot when they get older...my husband wasn%26#039;t circumcised either and his forskin retracted alot on its own and he didn%26#039;t have to use a cream or anything...if you have anymore doubts about it then get a 2nd opinion,but i wouldn%26#039;t go back to either one of those drs.|||I would definitely go in for a second opinion. You are right, the foreskin should never be forcibly retracted!! It will separate and retract on it%26#039;s own time table.





I have never had personal experience with betamethasone cream...but I think if it were me I would go find a second opinion before I treated my son in any way.