What should new parents know about caring for the external genitalia?
Taking care of the sensitive area is something that stresses new parents. The situation becomes even worse when listening to the various pieces of advice from those around them. These usually vary, “don’t touch the area”, “you have to clean it thoroughly”. The truth lies somewhere in the middle.
Parents should clean the area from the first days of their child’s birth, so it is recommended:
- Frequent diaper change.
- At each diaper change, thoroughly remove feces from the area.
- Washing with lukewarm water and a mild children’s soap with a neutral Ph.
- In boys the foreskin “the foreskin” should be gently pushed back and cleaned without force. You don’t need soap every time you change your penis, usually once a day, during his bath is enough.
- For girls wash from front to back.
In boys, the foreskin is attached to the glans at birth. This is normal and is called balanoposthitis adhesions, which usually resolve on their own by the age of 4.
What are balanoposthitis adhesions?
Balanoposthitis adhesions are a normal condition that all boys are born with. They are a normal tissue that causes the glans of the penis (head) to adhere to the inner petal of the foreskin (i.e. the skin that covers the glans).
They usually resolve on their own, without medical intervention, by the age of 4, mainly due to the child’s normal nighttime erections and daily washing of the area.
However, there are cases that may persist until adolescence and cause problems.
The normal foreskin does not require special care, nor is it necessary to pull it back with force. All that is needed is gently washing the area, with a slight pull back, without force, during the child’s bath with simple baby soap. Forcibly pulling the foreskin back should be avoided to avoid causing injuries, bleeding, inflammation or psychological trauma.
What is labial fusion?
Labial fusion is usually observed in little girls and is the condition in which the labia minora of the vagina are joined together. The cause of labia minora is most likely the age-related lack of estrogen, combined with the friction of the sensitive area with irritating substances (urine, feces, creams, baby wipes), which lead to the labia minora sticking together during the healing process from the mild irritation. In other cases, it may occur after inflammation in the area.
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