Penis Hygiene

Talking about the penis may make your cheeks red, make you cough, cause you to turn your head away, or feel uncomfortable. However, taking care of your penis hygiene is nothing to shy away from. If you aren’t taking proper care of that most important part of the body, it could lead to serious problems as you get older.

At the beginning of life, an uncircumcised penis is very easily taken care of. No special care needs to be considered at all. Gently washing the penis with soap and water during normal bathing is all it needs. It is very important not to try to force the foreskin back, as at this time it is literally fused to the glans. If a health care professional tries to ‘sell’ you on circumcising your child’s penis due to the extreme care that will be required if you don’t, that health care professional is misinformed. This attachment between the foreskin and glans will separate when the child is older, occurring as early as age 5 to after age 10.

A circumcised penis, however, does need some special care. Once circumcision occurs, the whole end of your child’s penis is literally an open wound needing attention. A parent of a circumcised child needs to watch carefully that the skin does not begin to “bridge” between the shaft skin left and the glans. Bleeding should also be watched for with a circumcised penis. During diaper changes, Vaseline should be applied so that parts of the wound do not stick together. Then, until the penis is completely healed, health care practitioners and parents need to watch for penile adhesions. Skin on the penis cannot be retracted for 10 to 14 days after a circumcision, but after that healing is complete, parents must be sure to retract the skin everyday so that the base of the glans can be cleaned and any debris and smegma removed. All circumcised penis care should be shown to new parents by health care professionals, so that the penis heals correctly and a recircumcision does not become necessary.

As your child gets older, teach proper hygiene! This will totally cover the care of the penis. Cleanliness is an important part of health, including the health of the penis. Proper hygiene habits will cover penis care for a circumcised boy. Teenage boys who are uncircumcised should be taught how to retract the foreskin of the penis. Once the foreskin is retracted, complete cleansing can take place. After cleaning, thorough drying of the area should be performed. After the uncircumcised penis is cleansed, be sure to draw the foreskin back up over the head of the penis. If left after cleansing, the foreskin can constrict and cause swelling and pain, leading to a trip to a medical professional.

Other than cleanliness, a male’s penis should be taken care of through ordinary medical checks. During regular, yearly physicals, the penis should be examined to rule out any problems, like infections or diseases. If a male notices anything unordinary on or around his penis, a doctor should be consulted to rule out a serious medical problem. There are ways adult males can exercise the penis, as well, to allow for more enjoyable sexual experiences. These exercises should be done in conjunction with a proper diet and regular physical activity to keep the rest of your body at its fittest.

Keeping the penis healthy is a learned habit…it doesn’t just come naturally. Be sure to teach your male children good penis care from an early age to keep it healthy and problem free.