At what age does the head develop in boys? When do boys' heads open and what problems are possible? At what age does the head of the genital organ open in boys?

In every family where a boy is born, parents have a question: how to care for the baby’s genitals. Unfortunately, many doctors (including surgeons, to whom children are usually brought for routine examinations) today recommend that mothers retract the foreskin for “better” hygiene. And some, especially diligent doctors simply create chaos, forcibly opening the head of little boys at the age of one, one and a half, two, sometimes without even asking permission from mom and dad... Friends, such things cannot be done!

If the child is healthy, if he has normal urination and there are no problems, under no circumstances should you reach into his wee and touch anything there. Nature has taken care of little boys: the foreskin ideally protects the vulnerable head from infection, in 1999 male children out of 2000 the head opens on its own, without any intervention, by the age of 15-17, and inflammation and other troubles associated with the child’s genital organ are, as As a rule, it is the work of illiterate doctors and parents who follow ridiculous advice about the “hygiene” of boys.

When my son was born, I honestly had no idea that in modern society boys “have” any special hygiene. I am very grateful to my friend Ira, the mother of a son older than mine, who saved my baby from big problems. Irina once told me how her son, aged, it seems, one year, a doctor at a routine appointment, without permission or warning, in front of his parents, forcibly (this happened in a second) opened the head of the boy’s penis, literally “tearing” the foreskin. A drop of blood came out from the child, the baby cried terribly (it’s hard to even imagine!), but the doctor explained his behavior by saying that opening the head would help avoid big problems in the future (infection, phimosis and, accordingly, surgery).

Unfortunately, Ira’s story is not the only one. This is what another friend of mine said about her son.

Lilia, mother of two boys:

The eldest son was one and a half years old when the urologist opened his head. Before this, we ourselves had never revealed anything to the child - while bathing in warm water, we simply washed the pussy, slightly stretching the skin, nothing more. But during the consultation, the doctor convinced us of the need to open the head, scared us with a possible infection, problems with urination and even surgery in the future. We agreed. Everything happened pretty quickly. There was a lot of screaming! For a whole month my son didn’t let anyone near him, I couldn’t even wash him. On the doctor’s advice, we gave the baby chamomile baths for the first few weeks so that everything would heal well. Thank God, time passed and everything was forgotten.

But after everything we went through with our first child, my husband and I decided not to reveal anything to the second boy. I studied information on the Internet on this topic, read forums and foreign sources. They wrote there that by a certain age the head opens on its own in most boys, and only in rare cases does the child actually need surgery. Yes, we still have fears about possible infections and problems (which the urologist was afraid of back then), but time will tell whether we are right now or not. The only thing we do is ask our son, when he bathes, to pull the skin on his own and wash his puss well.

Personal experience:

I personally twice stopped the hand of pediatricians who were reaching for my son’s genitals (when he was 2 and 9 months old). I don’t know what exactly they wanted to do, but I said that I don’t allow them to touch my child. Of course, the doctors were extremely unhappy and assured me that I must definitely retract my foreskin and take special care of my pussy. Fortunately, I knew then what the consequences of interfering with the natural process could be. The program “Hygiene of Boys” by the famous Ukrainian doctor Yevgeny Komarovsky helped me a lot to establish my position on this issue. I recommend it for viewing to mothers of all boys and pregnant women expecting the birth of a son! Below I will quote some of the doctor’s words to save you time and convey the essence.

Evgeniy Komarovsky, pediatrician:

Do I need to take care of a boy's penis? What hygiene procedures are necessary? The wiener is designed in such a way that it provides self-isolation (there is a foreskin that protects the head, and it produces a special lubricant, smegma, which has a bactericidal effect). Nothing gets there from the outside. Apart from external washing with soap (and thoroughly rinsing off the soap after that), you don’t need to do anything else with the pisyun - these are generally accepted official medical recommendations for uncircumcised boys (if the child has been circumcised, the head actually needs special care). If the boy has no problems with urination, there is no need to touch this organ!

Paradox: if a mother doesn’t wash her puss, then the child has fewer problems. Because if unwashed soap remains between the foreskin and the glans, there may be chemical burns there and problems may begin.

What is phimosis? This is a situation where exposure of the head is not possible. Phimosis can be physiological (i.e. normal) - this is the inability of a boy to expose the head of the penis before the end of puberty, i.e. phimosis is the norm for boys under 15 years old! Pathological phimosis, i.e. the disease is the inability to expose the head in boys over 15 years of age (or at a younger age, if, for example, at the age of 10 the head opened calmly, but at 11 it no longer did).

In utero, the baby's foreskin is tightly fused to the head. When a boy is born, the head of his penis cannot be seen in principle. When can she be seen? Physiological phimosis goes away on its own: in newborns - in 4% of cases, up to 1 year - in 50%, up to 3 years - in 90%, in 5-7 years - in 92%, in 12-13 years - in 97% , at 14-17 years old - in 99% of cases. Only one percent of all boys cannot open their head by the age of 17. In 95% of these boys, phimosis is treated with effective ointments, in the rest - with stretching and other manipulations, and only 1 boy in 2000 will need the help of a surgeon. Today, 10 percent of male children resort to surgical intervention - this is a terrible statistic!

Let's summarize: what kind of care is needed for a boy's pussy? Only a nightly hygienic bath (external washing with warm water and soap). There is no need to wash your child with soap during the day. Do not touch the foreskin if nothing bothers the child! The likelihood of problems with the genital organ increases when you start climbing there.

Does it make sense to circumcise a child? If you do not take into account religious considerations, then circumcising a healthy person for medical reasons does not make sense. There is no evidence that this is an effective hygiene measure. The foreskin has a protective function and plays an important role in the immune system.

What causes problems with a boy’s genitals? Poor quality diapers, household chemicals, soap getting between the foreskin and the glans. If the child’s insides are red and itchy, pull the foreskin up (do not pull it, just pull it up), insert a 10-15 ml syringe without a needle and rinse the inside with clean warm water.

When should you see a doctor to treat urinary tract? In three cases: if urination is difficult, if urination is painful, if there are signs of inflammation (pain, swelling, redness). In this case, it is better to contact not a surgeon, but a good family doctor and pediatrician, because It is these specialists who know which ointment is more effective in treating inflammation.

Be healthy and protect your boys from unreasonable doctors!

Do little boys need to “open their heads”, and at what age is it best to do this? was last modified: October 2nd, 2014 by admin

The narrowing of the foreskin causes the inability to open the head of the penis (phimosis). The disease can be congenital or acquired. By the time of puberty, phimosis goes away on its own. Indications for surgery are the inability to have sexual intercourse or the presence of complications. Phimosis makes it difficult to carry out hygiene procedures. Bacteria, gland secretions and urine residues accumulate under the skin. Inflammation develops, which threatens the formation of balanoposthitis.

Why doesn't the head of the penis open?

Phimosis is a disease in men in which it does not reveal itself. The disease can be congenital or acquired. The hereditary factor has a great influence on the formation of phimosis. Physiological phimosis occurs in newborns. It goes away on its own at puberty.

Stages of phimosis in which it is impossible to open the head of the penis:

1. Exposure is achieved with little effort.
2. The penis is exposed when relaxed, but does not open when excited.
3. A relaxed penis opens with difficulty.
4. The head is not exposed, there are problems with urine flow.

Connective tissue and do not have a sufficient amount of the component responsible for the elasticity of the tissue. Because of this, people with phimosis develop a condition that is easily injured during sexual intercourse.

Reasons for the formation of phimosis:

genetic predisposition;
previous STDs;
physical injuries;
chronic inflammation of the foreskin.

During puberty, phimosis occurs as a consequence of uneven development of the foreskin. Microscopic cracks appear on the skin, which scar as the tissue heals. An increase in such microtraumas and scars leads to a narrowing of the foreskin, which forms phimosis.

Possible injury

The presence of pathology of the foreskin significantly complicates hygiene. Balanoposthitis develops, accompanied by infection. In this case, an urgent dissection of the foreskin is prescribed, followed by suturing.

Trying to open the head can lead to complications. These include:

1. Paraphimosis - narrowing of the foreskin with pinching of the penis. The skin is pulled back with difficulty, but the head does not close back. The complication develops in patients at stages 2-3 of the disease. Compression of blood vessels leads to increasing swelling of the organ. The head becomes sharply painful to the touch, the skin turns blue. If the situation is not resolved, then after some time tissue death occurs.
2. Formation of synechiae. Develops at stages 3 and 4. The foreskin becomes inactive, and the head is painful to open. Adhesions appear between the skin and the head. Over time, the areas of fusion increase, and the head completely adheres to the skin. The formation of synechiae itself does not cause unpleasant symptoms. An attempt to expose the head will result in severe pain. During accidental rupture of adhesions, a small amount of blood is released.

Men with paraphimosis require urgent medical attention. They are prescribed emergency surgery, since organ necrosis occurs within 1-2 hours from the moment the complication develops.

Phimosis in children

Physiological phimosis occurs in approximately 95% of all newborns. There is no point in attempting to expose the penis, since the risk of paraphimosis is high. However, the closed head forms a kind of bag in which bacteria accumulate, which makes hygiene much more difficult.

Actually physiological phimosis will not cause any discomfort. The disease requires medical attention if symptoms are present:

change in the color of the skin of the organ;
the presence of inflammatory reactions;
the child strains when urinating;
the baby's anxiety, the presence of pain.

In the area of the glans penis there are glands that produce a protective substance. This secretion is called smegma. It must be washed off regularly, otherwise inflammation will develop. If there is a significant accumulation of it, the child will feel itching. If the boy is an adult, then he needs to explain the need for hygiene in such a situation.

Pediatrician Komarovsky claims that surgery for physiological phimosis should be postponed until puberty. In the absence of complications, the formed synechiae separate independently by 12-14 years.

What to do if the head does not open?

The disease is regarded as progressive if the head opened, but after a while it stopped. In the absence of complications, the permissible age for surgery is 7 years. If there is stage 1-2 of the disease, a conservative method of treatment is prescribed. it is much more difficult in adulthood, after 16 years, as the skin loses its elasticity.

Conservative method of treating phimosis:

Methodology	Tactics
Use of corticosteroid drugs	Prescribed drugs in the form of ointments: Clobetasol, Betamethasone, Budesonide . The use of corticosteroids leads to an increase in the elasticity of the foreskin. Drugs reduce swelling, relieve inflammation, stop or inhibit the development of phimosis
Mechanical stretching of the foreskin	The procedure is carried out at home. Stretching is best combined with the use of corticosteroid drugs. It is allowed to stretch the foreskin if there is 1-2 degrees of phimosis. On average, stretching lasts for a year. The procedure should be performed 1 hour a day. Stretching must be done carefully to prevent the formation of paraphimosis.

The surgical treatment method is prescribed at stages 3-4 of the disease, when it is impossible to open the head even in a relaxed state. Circumcision of the foreskin is best done at a young age. In children, the circulatory system of the skin is insufficiently developed. Therefore, the recovery period is much shorter than for an adult man.

When a baby appears in the family, his parents eventually begin to worry about the age at which the head of the penis opens in boys. We will give you the answer to this question and explain why it is so important to reveal it.

If the head cannot be completely exposed, it means that the baby has phimosis, that is, a decrease in the opening in the foreskin. Such a narrowing can be either congenital or acquired. Almost always, after the birth of a boy, his head is physiologically difficult to open. This is how nature intended it, and parents do not need to push back the baby’s foreskin. In a newborn, its skin usually completely covers the head, while towards the tip it gathers into a fold. In addition, the delicate skin can grow together with the head via synechiae (special closures). These delicate adhesions make it difficult to bring the head out. This is physiological phimosis. Only an extremely small number of babies have an open head at birth or in the first year of life.

At what age does it open in boys? Over time (around the age of six), it will open on its own. If this does not happen, you should visit a pediatric urologist or surgeon with the child, who will perform the procedure using instruments. When the head does not fully open, this may indicate that the baby has certain diseases, such as scleroderma, balanoposthitis, etc. It is likely that the child has the child has had a trauma to the penis, which can also cause phimosis.

Such a pathology can lead to swelling of the foreskin due to the accumulation of smegma in it. It is still possible for the foreskin to develop (sometimes even to the point of critical retention of urine output) and increase in size. If you find such signs in your baby, you should immediately go to the doctor, as such symptoms can lead to ureterohydronephrosis without appropriate treatment. Phimosis can also cause the development of malignant neoplasm of the penis.

That is why it is extremely important for parents to know at what age a boy’s head opens. You should not miss the time to consult a doctor in a timely manner and under no circumstances try to open it yourself, as the likelihood of injury to the child’s penis and infection increases.

After examination and in the absence of concomitant ailments, such as balanoposthitis, the doctor sets the time for the operation. Yes, it is carried out mainly surgically. There are several types of surgical intervention. It is the prerogative of the doctor - which one to choose. And it depends on the specific case.

With a disease such as phimosis, there are complications. The penis can have the head (balanoposthitis), or only the head (balanitis). Sometimes it becomes pinched (paraphimosis). An infection may occur in the urinary tract or cancer may develop. Sometimes phimosis is accompanied by acute or chronic urinary retention, which can lead to the development of renal failure and ureterohydronephrosis in the child.

Parents should monitor the health of their baby and be sure to know at what age boys’ heads open in order to consult a doctor in time and prevent the occurrence of serious illnesses.

Often, after the birth of a son, young mothers are interested in: at what age does the head of the penis normally open? Should I help her open up? If the answer to the second question is obvious, then the first is not so simple.

The fact is that the age at which the head appears in children and the foreskin begins to move freely is individual for each child. This depends both on the congenital size of the foreskin and on the age at which the boy begins puberty and intensive growth of the penis.

Boys' intimate hygiene differs from girls' hygiene, and many mothers have many questions about opening the head of the penis

Physiological phimosis

The head of the penis is covered by the foreskin - the prepuce. Contrary to popular belief, it has many useful features. The main thing is to protect the urethra from contamination and infection. The foreskin is mobile, it reduces friction during sexual intercourse. This piece of tissue is well innervated, which enhances the man’s response to stimulation during sex.

In newborns, the prepuce is fused to the head with special skin adhesions - synechiae, which prevent its movement. This is called physiological phimosis. It performs a protective function.

Many mothers, having discovered that the child’s head does not open, begin to panic, considering this a dangerous pathology. In most cases, physiological phimosis does not require treatment and goes away on its own. You should only consult a doctor if your baby has problems with urination.

At what age do boys develop a head?

The age at which a boy's head opens depends on many factors. According to statistics, a few months after birth, dilatation occurs in only 5% of boys, and after a year - in 20%.

If at the age of 5 the foreskin has not yet opened, then you can start to worry. At this age, you can already take your child to a urologist.

Why are there delays in opening the head?

Contrary to popular belief, the size of a boy’s penis does not in any way affect the risk of developing pathology. A large head always corresponds to a large foreskin, which normally does not interfere with opening. Let's consider several factors:

Perhaps the disease is associated with insufficient connective tissue in the body. In this case, we can talk about genetic predisposition.
The appearance of phimosis can be facilitated by non-compliance with personal hygiene rules, leading to inflammation of the tissues of the glans penis - balanitis. This causes scarring of the foreskin, causing its ring to narrow and become too small. This leads to an atrophic type of phimosis. It is especially pronounced in adolescence, when the size of the penis grows.
The risk of balanitis and other inflammations increases with diabetes. This happens because the sugar contained in the urine of diabetics serves as a good breeding ground for bacteria. Such patients should especially carefully observe the rules of personal hygiene.
The hypertrophic form of the disease appears due to congenital enlargement of the foreskin. The prepuce hangs down, resembling a trunk in appearance. It is so large that the penis cannot open completely. In addition, this type of disease causes urination problems.

Careless personal hygiene can lead to balanitis, which in turn leads to phimosis

Do I need to open the head of the penis myself?

It is definitely not worth making independent attempts to open the head of a child’s penis, as this can lead to injury to the penis and the boy’s psyche. It is worth sounding the alarm in cases where the child has difficulty urinating, and if there is inflammation and swelling of the foreskin.

Many mothers, having heard enough stories, begin to try to “develop” the foreskin. Such sadistic treatments can result in more severe consequences than pain and psychological trauma for the patient. The skin ring can come off the head and tighten it. The penis is well supplied with blood, so there is a danger of swelling, which can develop into necrosis.

When pulling the head, you can apply something cool to the affected organ. The cold will constrict the blood vessels, which will reduce swelling. It is also necessary to urgently contact a urologist or andrologist.

The head does not open for a long time - what to do?

Surgical intervention is performed for inflammation of the penis. In this case, there is no point in preserving the prepuce, since dirt containing pathogenic microorganisms is retained in it. The operation is simple, safe and performed fairly quickly.

There is conservative treatment for the disease. It involves the use of corticosteroid ointments and creams. These drugs relieve inflammation and help stop the pathological process. The feasibility of their use depends on what stage of development phimosis is at at the moment.

A healthy boy does not need to be circumcised (more details in the article:). The foreskin performs a protective function, protecting the urethra from dirt and infection. Removing it will not improve the child's health at all. Moreover, after circumcision, sensitivity decreases, which is why in the future the boy will receive less pleasure during sexual intercourse.

Surgery is performed only if all conservative treatment methods have not yielded positive results.

Danger of untimely opening of the head

Failure to open the head in itself is not dangerous. You should consult a doctor if your boy experiences the following symptoms:

Difficulty urinating. When you try to urinate, urine swells the foreskin, accumulating in the skin pouch, and then comes out.
Inflammation of the head. Redness, swelling, fever, and pus may occur.
The head gets pinched when you try to open it.

Children's genital hygiene

In order to prevent the occurrence of infection, hygiene of the baby’s genital organs should be observed. The head of the penis should be washed with soap. It's important not to overdo it. Until the head opens, you should not move the skin away. The washing process should consist only of washing. It is important not to overdo it, because a careless mother can damage the baby's genitals.

If a white cheesy substance accumulates between the glans and foreskin, then do not worry. The production of smegma in a child is normal and does not require additional procedures.

If there are no problems associated with the foreskin, washing the intimate area once a day is sufficient. By teaching a boy to observe the rules of genital hygiene, you will protect him from many problems in the future.

A newborn boy who is born is necessarily examined by a doctor and, of course, checks whether everything is in order with the genitals of the future man. But then their parents will have to keep an eye on them. And in order not to miss the emergence of any problems, it would be good for them to know some of the nuances of the development of their heir. For example, at what age the head of the penis opens in boys and what is behind the inability to expose it.

We will talk about this and some other problems in this article.

A little anatomy: what is the foreskin for?

Probably everyone knows that the head of the male penis is covered by the so-called foreskin (in medicine - prepuce), that is, a movable area of skin that, when the penis swells, moves away and exposes it.

Many people believe that the foreskin does not perform any functions in the body, but this is not entirely true. This is not just a two-layer “flap” of skin - it is richly innervated and supplied with blood vessels. During sexual activity, the prepuce helps respond to stimulation. And its sliding along the skin of the head of the penis additionally affects the nerve endings, which increases sexual arousal and reduces friction, creating additional comfort for partners.

So, to correctly understand at what age a boy’s head opens completely, and to prevent problems with stretching of the foreskin - this means providing a man with more vivid sensations and a lot of pleasure from sexual intercourse in the future.

In infants, the foreskin does not separate

But the functions of the prepuce are not only increasing sexual sensations. In babies, the foreskin is a serious protective barrier that protects the delicate head of the penis. It prevents contamination and infection of both the head itself and the urethra, as well as its narrowing as a result of inflammatory processes. To do this, the foreskin produces lysozymes and other substances that can destroy pathogens.

This is why almost all healthy boys are born with a condition called physiological phimosis - the skin of their foreskin cannot be retracted from the head of the penis.

Mothers, having discovered this, begin to worry and find out at what age boys’ heads open, fearing that something is wrong with their man. But they should not worry, and if the baby urinates normally, and during this process the foreskin does not swell, becoming like a ball, then there are no obvious problems.

What determines at what age the head of the penis opens in boys?

We already remember that the foreskin has two layers. From birth, its inner leaf is fused with the head of the penis by delicate adhesions, which in medicine are called synechiae.

Do not try to roughly push back the baby’s foreskin and break the adhesions, this can lead to scarring and, as a result, the development of paraphimosis. As your boy gets older, the ring of flesh will become wider and wider, and the prepuce will gradually be able to separate from the head, causing it to open more and more.

But remember that for each male child this happens at different times and depends on many associated factors. So there is simply no single answer to the question of at what age the head opens in boys, although approximately we can say that in many children this happens by the age of 4, although the process can last even up to 11-15 years, and, mind you, this will also be the norm!

How to determine that the inability to open the head is pathological

Pathological phimosis, unlike physiological one, does not go away on its own and therefore requires consultation with a surgeon. Signs that something is wrong with your baby’s genitals are inflammation, for example: redness of the glans (balanitis), inflammation of the prepuce (posthitis), swelling, pain and difficulty urinating.

In order to distinguish pathological phimosis from physiological one, one should definitely pay attention to the state of the prepuce. In the first case, it is scarred, and this is the most important sign of such a problem, which requires consultation with a specialist.

Parents need to remember that to get rid of it it is absolutely not necessary to immediately remove the foreskin. There are many conservative treatment methods that lead to excellent results. Whether it is worth resorting to the help of a surgeon can only be decided during the treatment of pathological phimosis.

Separately about hygiene

For mothers who try to wash their child as cleanly as possible, doctors strongly advise not to overdo it. In a baby, until the moment when the foreskin can be separated, the process of caring for the genitals is only external washing and nothing more. Don't pull the skin, you can only do harm.

By the way, if a cheesy white substance called baby smegma begins to collect between the skin of the prepuce and the head, do not worry and try your best to wash it off. Children's smegma, unlike adults, is a normal manifestation of metabolic processes and does not require special hygiene procedures, except for daily routine washing.

Is surgery necessary for phimosis?

In response to the question of whether it is necessary to treat phimosis with circumcision and at what age the head opens in boys, E. O. Komarovsky claims that only one boy out of 2000 requires actual surgical intervention! Since, according to modern research, phimosis can become pathological only if there is an infection under the prepuce, chronic injury to the foreskin and, as a result, scars that do not allow the skin to stretch.

Remember this and do not rush to agree to surgery until you are sure that more loyal methods of treating pathological phimosis do not work.

But physiological phimosis is not a disease, and mothers should just be patient and wait for the head to open. This may be the norm for both a three-year-old child and a 15-year-old teenager.

Help in case of paraphimosis

Sometimes, having listened to convincing advice from not very competent doctors or acquaintances about the age at which a boy’s head opens (photos of “abnormal” organs are sometimes scary), mothers begin to “develop” the foreskin of their babies, pulling it back. This sometimes leads to frightening results: the flesh slips off the glans and tightens it at the coronal groove of the penis, which can lead to instant swelling (this phenomenon is called paraphimosis). If you do not help the child, the situation will become dangerous, even to the point of necrosis of the head.

No need to get lost!

Squeeze the head with your hand.
Apply something cold to it.

Compression and cold will cause the head to shrink and you will be able to put the prepuce in place. In 90% of cases, such quick actions help, but if this does not happen, urgently take your baby to the surgeon!

So, at what age do boys' heads open?

Elena Malysheva, the host of a health program, and many other doctors from the pages of the media convince that phimosis is, in any case, a problem that needs to be urgently gotten rid of and, of course, by circumcision.

Yes, this is a problem, but, we repeat, only in a situation where the child experiences changes in the condition and functioning of the penis. In all other cases, phimosis is a physiological phenomenon that does not require any correction; you just need to perform the necessary regular hygiene procedures, namely, washing with baby soap.

And then, as the penis grows, its head will gradually open, and the question that torments all parents will finally receive an answer given by nature itself.