Confused about washing 'under' the foreskin or not. Naivety

i have a two year old boy and i never cleaned under his foreskin.. my doctor never told me to or anyone else.... he pulled it back the other day and now he says it hurts..... i was wondering when i should clean under there and if i haven't would it be infected?. should i take him to the doctor, or just leave it?

Hi, I am 14 and it really hurts to touch the head of my penis. Is there anything I can do about this? I believe I have some smegma but I cannot clean it out as it hurts to touch.

Hi Johnnyboy:

The main reason to wash one's penis is to prevent the accumulation of HPV which can cause cancer in the elderly. One gets HPV through sexual intercourse with an infected person.

If your foreskin does not retract, then you have a condition called "phimosis" which is not unusual in young males. You simply need to stretch your foreskin to make it retract.


It is really easy to clean your foreskin without retracting it. Here are two ways:

1. Urine is a sterile substance when it leaves the body so it is an excellent washing agent. Pinch the tip of your foreskin shut when you pee. Let the urine fill up your foreskin. You will see your foreskin balloon because of the urine inside. Then release the tip and all of the urine inside your foreskin will come gushing out and clean out whatever is inside. This is best done in the shower as it tends to be messy.

2. Get a rubber bulb ear syringe from a drug store, pharmacy, or chemist’s shop. These are designed to squirt warm water into ear canals to clean them out. They also work great for cleaning out foreskins. Fill the ear syringe with warm (not hot) water and then insert the tip of the syringe into your foreskin. Then squeeze the bulb and a jet of warm water will squirt into your foreskin and clean out whatever is inside.

Hi Soul Walker:

Long foreskins are both normal and desirable.

The long foreskin provides superior protection to the head of the penis. Moreover, the ancient Greeks considered a long, tapering foreskin to be a sign of male beauty. The long tip is called the akroposthion.

The long foreskin may improve the sexual experience because of its superior gliding action.

Washing under the foreskin is not necessary in childhood.

If you can't pull your foreskin back then you can wash it without retracting.


It is really easy to clean your foreskin without retracting it. Here are two ways:

1. Urine is a sterile substance when it leaves the body so it is an excellent washing agent. Pinch the tip of your foreskin shut when you pee. Let the urine fill up your foreskin. You will see your foreskin balloon because of the urine inside. Then release the tip and all of the urine inside your foreskin will come gushing out and clean out whatever is inside. This is best done in the shower as it tends to be messy.

2. Get a rubber bulb ear syringe from a drug store, pharmacy, or chemist’s shop. These are designed to squirt warm water into ear canals to clean them out. They also work great for cleaning out foreskins. Fill the ear syringe with warm (not hot) water and then insert the tip of the syringe into your foreskin. Then squeeze the bulb and a jet of warm water will squirt into your foreskin and clean out whatever is inside.

You do NOT need to go to a urologist. You are normal for your age 14. You do NOT need an operation. You can stretch your foreskin to make it retract if you want to.


A few men live their entire lives with a non-retractable foreskin. They can masturbate, have penetrative sex, get married, and father children with a foreskin that does not retract. However, most men prefer to make their foreskin retractable.

Almost all boys are born with a foreskin that does not retract. This is normal. It takes years for the ability to retract to develop. Some adolescents still have foreskins that have tips that are too narrow to pass back over the penis head. These foreskins may be gently stretched over a period of time to cause them to widen.

You are normal for your age. Your foreskin is still developing. You can help it develop by stretching it.

When your penis is erect, gently pull your foreskin back against the head of the penis. As the head attempts to pass through the foreskin it will stretch the skin a little. Do this every day and in a few weeks or months your foreskin will widen and you will be able to retract your foreskin. Do NOT force retraction.

It works by tissue expansion. Stretching skin induces “mitosis” which is a word that means “division of cells”. New skin cells are formed and the skin expands. The increase in size is permanent. Be patient and let mitosis do its work.

The important thing is to put the skin under tension every day so that it will grow wider.

Peter:

Smegma is harmless so do not worry about it. If you want to clean it do one of these:


1. Urine is a sterile substance when it leaves the body so it is an excellent washing agent. Pinch the tip of your foreskin shut when you pee. Let the urine fill up your foreskin. You will see your foreskin balloon because of the urine inside. Then release the tip and all of the urine inside your foreskin will come gushing out and clean out whatever is inside. This is best done in the shower as it tends to be messy.

2. Get a rubber bulb ear syringe from a drug store, pharmacy, or chemist’s shop. These are designed to squirt warm water into ear canals to clean them out. They also work great for cleaning out foreskins. Fill the ear syringe with warm (not hot) water and then insert the tip of the syringe into your foreskin. Then squeeze the bulb and a jet of warm water will squirt into your foreskin and clean out whatever is inside.

Uncircumcised, and very active athletically. I produce copious amounts of smegma, and had to wash under my foreskin twice a day to get rid of the cheese

I don't ever recall washing my foreskin. I'm 15 now and I barely or almost never get any sort of discomfort or pain coming from my penis. I sort of stopped caring about it and never do it, because it is really cringey and that if I'm not being bothered by anything, then why should I tamper with it? And I get that if I stay in this sort of mindset I'll most likely be at a high risk for some sort of infection, but as of right now I'm feeling perfectly normal.

Leave it alone. In children you don’t clean under it— if he pulls it back in the water that is good enough to rinse it off. Dr should not pull it back or stick anything under it.