Dr. Komarovsky on the hygiene of boys

Maintaining good hygiene is crucial for raising healthy children, but it also raises unique questions and concerns for parents of boys. Renowned pediatrician Dr. Komarovsky has offered helpful guidance on how to handle this subject with compassion and consideration. His advice helps parents teach their kids the fundamentals of hygiene while keeping things easy and stress-free for them.

The importance of instilling good hygiene habits in children at a young age is one of the main themes that Dr. Komarovsky highlights. This creates enduring habits in addition to aiding with cleanliness maintenance. He counsels parents to strike a balance between being watchful and being unduly worried, ensuring that boys feel at ease and comprehend the value of hygiene in a way that comes naturally to them.

We’ll look at a few of Dr. Komarovsky’s suggestions in this article for maintaining boys’ hygiene. These rules cover everything from daily schedules to common concerns and are intended to make life easier for parents and kids.

Features of the development of boys

The way his mother sets up hygiene routines for her young son will determine the health of the boy in the future. Furthermore, the normalcy of the entire genitourinary system is at stake, in addition to reproductive function. A boy’s penis differs greatly from an adult man’s corresponding organ. Babies’ foreskin closes tightly, covering their heads entirely or almost entirely.

There, we make smegma, a unique lubricant with antibacterial properties as its primary feature, under a trustworthy cover. If bacteria or other microorganisms get under the foreskin, this substance can kill them.

The foreskin’s tightness keeps foreign objects out, and its extreme narrowness will allow it to stretch much later when male sex hormones take effect.

This anatomical feature is known as "physiological phimosis"; it is a normal condition that nature provides for a specific age, not a diagnosis.

Medical statistics indicate that the foreskin of only 4% of newborn boys is mobile.

Around 6-7 months of age, the foreskin starts to open in every fifth male child. In half of the children, the penis opens by the time they turn a year old.

By the age of three, the foreskin starts to move and open the penis in the remaining 90% of boys. The issue of the foreskin becoming narrower and less elastic until adolescence affects very few boys.

The discussion of pathological phimosis, which necessitates treatment, should wait until a boy has fully completed his puberty. Furthermore, 1% of teenagers by the ages of 15–16 still have phimosis, according to Komarovsky, and 98% of these cases are treated with ointments and easy foreskin manipulation techniques. Therefore, there is very little chance that phimosis will require surgical intervention, and there is no reason to be afraid of this diagnosis (which, incidentally, is one that surgeons love to make for the vast majority of boys virtually from birth).

Boys should practice good hygiene, according to Dr. Komarovsky, who highlights easy yet efficient habits that support infection prevention and general health maintenance. He suggests that parents instill in their boys positive behaviors at a young age, like wearing clean, breathable underwear, regularly washing their intimate areas, and paying attention to hygiene after using the restroom. Parents can help secure their boy’s long-term comfort and well-being by integrating hygiene into his daily routine.

Do I need to open the head?

Everyone and their dog has advice to give a mother, especially one with limited experience raising children. Grandma demands that her grandson’s genitalia be exposed as soon as possible so that she can give him a daily wash. A friend suggests doing specific exercises to speed up the opening process.

Relying on common sense rather than "advisers," Doctor Komarovsky advises against touching, opening, moving, or stretching anything. Even if the advisor works as a surgeon at your children’s clinic, you shouldn’t do this.

According to medical research, children whose mothers did not touch them or forcefully open their heads have far fewer issues than children whose mothers trained and stretched their foreskins.

The only exception is if the boy experiences pain while urinating. However, in this instance, a medical professional should only open the head to determine the actual cause of the painful bladder emptying.

Rules of intimate hygiene

When a boy’s head starts to open, he should wash his penis as soon as it gets dirty, without using soap. The boy will suffer greatly from a severe chemical burn if there are still bits of unwashed toilet soap under his foreskin.

Correct genital cleaning involves washing with soapy water instead of soap and rinsing multiple times with clean, plain water.

Evgeny Komarovsky advises against attempting to wash anything under the foreskin if the penis’ head is still closed. A child can only suffer from such parental behavior. Washing the boy externally with soapy water and making sure he rinses well with clean water will be sufficient.

According to Evgeny Komarovsky, parents’ primary psychological issues arise when it comes to providing intimate care for their son. This is an odd assertion. Doing something, especially opening and washing, is easier for parents to do than doing nothing at all.

The parents’ conscience will be clear in the event of inflammation because they took care of! Or adults will undoubtedly start to hold themselves responsible for the inflammation because it was their fault in the first place. According to the doctor, parents should get rid of these psychological attitudes as soon as possible because it will make it easier for everyone to live without them, including the son.

Frequency of procedures

Whether to use baby soap every time and how often to wash their son are concerns shared by all mothers. According to Evgeny Komarovsky, washing a child with a soap solution once a day during a lengthy evening bath suffices; there’s no need for soapy water every time. The child should be given regular water baths during the day as needed. If the child is still wearing diapers, this need arises after every bowel movement. It also happens once every three to four hours when changing a wet and full diaper.

It is not necessary for a child who uses a potty or toilet to wash their private parts during the day. It is sufficient to take an evening bath and wash your penis externally with soapy water.

Care after circumcision

A boy who has had his circumcision requires more meticulous attention to hygiene. The lack of a foreskin, which shields the head from excrement and urine particles, is a compelling argument against sticking to wet wipes and a single wash. Such a child should be bathed following each bathroom visit.

The perspective of global medicine on circumcision has shifted in recent years. We are not discussing manipulation of religion here. In the past, medical professionals believed that circumcision improved health. The WHO has now formally declared that none of the previously highlighted advantages of this operation have been validated. Circumcision is no longer regarded as a necessary medical procedure.

Possible problems

Should fungal pathogens and certain bacteria penetrate, the child may exhibit foreskin redness and swelling, as well as yellowish or purulent discharge. This illness could indicate balanoposthitis or posthitis. In this instance, you should use a non-needle syringe to wash the child with a weak potassium permanganate solution and lubricate the inflamed foreskin with an antibiotic ointment, such as "Levomekol."

If your son experiences pain when writing and the penis shows no signs of inflammation, you should get in touch with a urologist or nephrologist who can prescribe medication for cystitis. If your child has blood impurities in the urine or a white or bloody discharge in addition to painful urination, you should take them to the same doctors. Urethritis could be indicated by this. Intimate hygiene has unique considerations when dealing with these diseases; the doctor will discuss these with you during the visit, taking into account the specific child’s pathology.

A chemical burn from soap residue under the foreskin may be the cause of the child’s foreskin pain and intense burning sensation a few hours after bathing. Warm water should be used to thoroughly and promptly wash the genitalia.

Paraphimosis is another dangerous condition. It happens when a mother moves her foreskin downward and becomes incapable of raising it back up after listening to "good" advice on how to train and move it. In this instance, the penis’s head is visible and is restrained from below by the foreskin. Because necrosis of the penis’s head results in the amputation of the entire penis, this carries a risk of the organ dying.

When a person has paraphimosis, Komarovsky suggests administering first aid right away. Applying something cold to the penis right away is advised, along with giving the head a firm hand squeeze. Following such an impact, the head shrinks, the swelling goes down fast, and the foreskin can be put back in place.

If you tried to help yourself and it didn’t work, you should call for an ambulance instead of trying again.

Rules of general hygiene for boys

Boys and girls should practice general hygiene in similar ways. Regarding infants, these are routine actions:

• Washing, cleaning the nose, ears;
• Daily bathing;
• Treatment of the umbilical wound (until it dries).

Dr. Komarovsky stresses that it’s critical to instill good hygiene practices in boys at a young age. Maintaining good hygiene not only helps to avoid infections and pain, but it also lays the groundwork for long-term health.

It is important for parents to teach their sons the fundamentals of personal hygiene, particularly with regard to washing their intimate areas, and to instill this habit as a daily routine. It’s critical to use gentle, age-appropriate products and to impart correct and consistent self-cleaning skills to boys.

Parents who incorporate good hygiene practices into their everyday lives can assist their sons in growing self-esteem and a positive body image. It takes a relaxed atmosphere and open communication to empower boys to take care of their personal hygiene without feeling ashamed.

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