If you are soon to be a new parent and have made the decision to circumcise or aren’t sure if you should circumcise your son then check out this website… “Circumcision-Decision Maker” http://circumcisiondecisionmaker.com/ This website will give you the facts about
- Circumcision and Infant Ethics
- Circumcision procedure- before, during and after
- Foreskin care, development and washing method
If circumcision is the right decision for your family then below are instructions on proper circumcision care. Pediatricians differ in their opinion on circumcision care. Ask your pediatrician what he suggests. Sometimes when you arrive home from the hospital you can have information overload and forget some of the instructions. This list is just a friendly reminder.
Circumcision Care: After your son’s circumcision there will be either a visible incision or a plastibell, which is a small plastic ring.
Keep it clean: at every diaper change; you will need to clean the area with warm water. Soap is not necessary. If you were given a peri-bottle at the hospital this is an excellent way to apply the water. Try to avoid getting the umbilical stump wet while cleaning.
Keep it covered — or not: Pediatricians have mixed feelings about whether or not to put some sort of dressing over a healing penis, so ask what your doctor’s preference is. If you’ve been advised to, then most likely you’ll be told to smear a little petroleum jelly on the tip of your baby’s penis before wrapping a little gauze around it or putting a bandage on it (so the dressing doesn’t stick to the skin). And if your doctor’s inclination is not to use a dressing, then you’ll be told to dab on a bit of petroleum jelly after every diaper change for the first day or so, just to keep your baby’s diaper from rubbing against his circumcised penis. If your doctor sent you home with an antibiotic ointment you will want to use this as directed.
Keep an eye on it: to make sure it’s healing properly. It’s okay if the tip of your baby’s circumcised penis is a little red. Yellowish oozing is also perfectly normal; it just means that the body is sending healing fluids to the area. Even a tiny bit of blood on your newborn’s diaper is fine. But if your baby has any of the following symptoms, let your pediatrician know right away; they could mean infection or some other problem:
- Swelling
- Bleeding (other than just a drop or two)
- Foul smelling discharge
- Difficulty urinating
- Fever
- Black or blue discoloration
- Crusty, fluid-filled sores
It takes about ten days for the scab over an incision to fall off, and about the same amount of time or a little longer for the plastibell to fall off. Be sure not to pull on the plastibell as it can cause soreness and bleeding. After the scab or plastibell falls off, no further care is needed outside of normal good hygiene. If the plastibell does not fall off after two weeks, contact your health care provider.