Neck Exposure, or Causes of Phimosis

The condition when it is impossible to make an exposure of the head of the penis, doctors call phimosis. This situation can be both congenital, and bear the acquired character. It is important to start tracking its development right after the birth of the baby.

Extreme flesh in infants is often inactive (it is tight and tightly attached to the surface of the penis). According to different authors, from 40 to 90% of all newborn boys have congenital physiological phimosis. Normally, this condition should disappear within the first 12 months of life, although it sometimes remains until adolescence.

As the body develops, the skin between the head of the penis and the foreskin coarsens (doctors call this process "cornification of the epithelium"), which makes it possible to perform a natural exposure of the head. A fundamentally different situation occurs with acquired phimosis. Due to non-observance of personal hygiene (including in children and even newborns) or sexual infection, inflammation of the foreskin develops (the so-called balanoposthitis), leading to its gluing and constriction. Phimosis can also cause injury or systemic connective tissue diseases.

Symptoms

If there is a phimosis, its symptoms will be completely unambiguous: it is impossible to perform the exposure of the head, there is straining with urination, the urine is excreted by a thin, weak stream or drops. With the development of inflammation there will be pain and itching in the foreskin and head of the penis, the body temperature may well rise and the inguinal lymph nodes may increase . And in neglected situations there will also be a selection of pus.

Dangerous situations

Parents are important to understand that congenital phimosis in combination with impaired personal hygiene can quickly lead to inflammation, and then turn into an acquired, permanent form. This situation - the way to violations in the genital area (up to infertility) and a source of constant infection of the bladder and kidneys. Since ancient times, in order to prevent this condition in boys, circumcision was performed. Complication of phimosis is paraphimosis, or pinching of the head. In children, this is rare, since this unpleasant situation develops during sexual intercourse. Narrowed flesh, like a hammer, pulls the penis, causing circulatory disorders. Like any ischemia, paraphimosis can have very deplorable consequences. To eliminate it, you should immediately consult a doctor.

What to do and how to treat

First - to observe hygiene, to teach the boy to be clean from the youngest age. Secondly - to monitor the situation, while taking a bath, gently, without violence, to carry out the exposure of the head, not necessarily completely. Do not allow inflammation, and if it appeared, you can make special baths, and it is better to consult a pediatrician. In a hospital, phimosis is eliminated either with the help of a special procedure (under anesthesia, the head is taken out of the prepuce and a special antiseptic treatment is performed) or surgically.

If there are violations of urination, purulent discharge or paraphimosis, contact a doctor immediately. Remember that any doubts about the health of your child - this is also an excuse for medical advice, do not be afraid to be reinsured.