Penile Adhesions: How to Care for Your Child

A penile adhesion is a small band of tissue that connects the foreskin (or the ridge where the foreskin used to be) to the head of the penis.

Baby boys are usually born with adhesions under the foreskin. This is normal, and with time, the adhesions usually go away on their own.

Circumcised boys can get adhesions on the loose ridge of skin that circles the head of the penis, where the foreskin used to be. Many go away on their own, but some need a cream or small procedure to help get rid of them.

• If the health care provider prescribed a cream, use it as directed.

• Do not try to force the foreskin back. This can cause pain and bleeding. The irritation from forcing the foreskin back also can cause more adhesions later on.

• Do not try to clean any white discharge (called smegma) from the penis. It is healthy to leave the smegma where it is.

• The head of the penis is red, swollen, or painful.

• Your son has pain when urinating (peeing).

• Your son's foreskin swells up when he pees.

• Your son cannot pee.

When do adhesions in uncircumcised boys go away?  As the adhesions naturally go away, most boys can pull back their foreskin by the time they are about 5 years old. But in some boys, adhesions take longer to go away.

What is smegma? Smegma is made up mostly of dead skin cells. It can sometimes be seen coming from under the adhesions. Smegma is not an infection. It is normal and does not need any treatment.