Keep it clean Stick with sponge baths until your baby's penis is healed and the umbilical cord drops off. You'll want to avoid getting the area wet in a bath before then (though clearly it will get damp when he pees, which is not a problem as long as you change diapers as needed).
Bathing. It's best to avoid full-body bathing until the second day after surgery, but sponge bathing is fine. After the second day, you can bathe your baby or toddler as normal; with newborns, you should wait until the umbilical cord has fallen off, at about two weeks. Avoid very warm water.
It's best to avoid full-body bathing until the second day after surgery, but sponge baths are fine. After the second day, you can shower or bathe as normal, but don't scrub the incision site — just let the soapy warm water run over the incision and pat it dry.
Your child should avoid long baths or swimming for three weeks after surgery. It is normal for the circumcision site to become very swollen after surgery and can take up to three months to completely settle.
caring for a circumcised penis
Gently clean with warm water — do not use diaper wipes. Soapy water can be used if needed. If there is a dressing on the surgery site, put a new one on (with petroleum jelly) every time you change a diaper for the first day or two.
At first, the incision (cut) will be red and the glans (head of the penis) will look like it has been scraped. The area may be tender, but this will lessen over the first couple of days. The penis may also have some redness and swelling and have some yellow pus on the head in particular for up to a couple of weeks.
As the circumcision heals, you will probably see a red "bloody" scab; more likely you will see a white to yellow to gray "wet scab" - this is not pus - it is a normal healing process. Do not mistakenly wipe it off - it will take the penis longer to heal if you remove it!
Pat the cut (incision) dry. You may also take short baths if you wish. Avoid strenuous activities, such as bicycle riding, jogging, weight lifting, or aerobic exercise, for 4 weeks or until your doctor says it is okay. You can return to work and normal activities, including driving, when you are comfortable doing them.
Circumcision care
Always wash your hands before and after touching the circumcision area. Gently wash your baby's penis with plain, warm water after each diaper change, and pat it dry. Do not use soap. Don't use hydrogen peroxide or alcohol.
You should remain relatively inactive the first 72 hours following surgery. We do encourage walking around for a few minutes every two hours to maintain good circulation, but otherwise, no activity.
You should avoid getting the area wet for the first 3 days, you can then take a shower bath but do not bath for 3 weeks.
The wound heals in 5 to 7 days. If the ring is plastic, a piece of suture is tied tightly around the foreskin. This pushes the tissue into a groove in the plastic over the head of the penis. Within 5 to 7 days, the plastic covering the penis falls free, leaving a completely healed circumcision.
Wash the area daily with warm water and pat it dry. Don't use hydrogen peroxide or alcohol, which can slow healing. You may cover the area with a thin layer of petroleum jelly, such as Vaseline, and gauze bandage if it weeps or rubs against clothing. Change the bandage every day.
Urine will not hurt the circumcision and should not cause pain since surgery was not performed on the area where the urine comes out. Urine is sterile and does not cause infections. It is not unusual to see a small amount of bleeding from the incision for the first day or two.
Recovery from circumcision takes about eight to 10 days. While the penis heals, it may look swollen and red. You may see a yellow film at the tip.
Excessive Foreskin Removed
In most cases the denuded area will epithelialize spontaneously and give a satisfactory end result, but the inital appearance can be quite distressing to both parents and practitioner.
It may be more comfortable to wear loose clothing – or no clothing at all – on his bottom half for a few days after the operation. Passing urine while in the bath or shower may also be more comfortable. He should be able to return to school or nursery about a week after the operation.
After the Procedure
It is common for your baby to be sleepy after circumcision. Be sure to wake him to eat if he sleeps longer than 2 to 3 hours since the last feeding. To soothe your baby after circumcision: Swaddle him and hold him close.
It may have a yellow ooze over it which is part of normal healing. Don't wipe it away. Use a Vaseline and gauze bandage every diaper change for 1-to-2 days.
Again, most circumcisions heal well within 10 days. After this, the penis shouldn't require any extra-special care. That being said, you should always clean poop off of the penis, especially from the tip, to minimize your son's risk of a UTI.
If your child has adhesions, dead skin cells and oil can get trapped under the skin and create a white discharge called smegma. Though this looks like pus, it is not an infection.
This usually occurs because too much skin was left behind during the original circumcision (incomplete circumcision/redundant foreskin). The extra skin covers the head of the penis, and it can cause mild adhesions or completely cover the penis to the point where it no longer looks circumcised.
When a circumcision is done, tissue which would normally be intact is split. Unless proper care is taken, the epithelium of the inner prepuce at the point where the foreskin was removed can reattach to the epithelium of the glans.
Your child's glans may have off-white or yellowish patches in the first few days after surgery. These are a type of scab and are completely normal. Two or three days after the circumcision, the skin may look green and yellow. This is a sign of normal healing, not pus.
After the circumcision, you will need to take steps to care for your baby's penis until it heals. This includes cleaning the area with plain water at least once daily, and whenever the area becomes dirty after a bowel movement. Allow the area to dry, and then apply petroleum jelly liberally to prevent irritation.