Most of the time it takes between 7 to 10 days for a penis to heal. At first the tip of the penis may appear slightly swollen and red and you may notice a small amount of blood on the diaper. You may also notice a slight yellow discharge or crust after a couple of days. This is a normal part of healing.
Normal Circumcision Healing
The incision starts off red and tender. The tenderness should be much less by day 3. The scab at the incision line comes off in 7 to 10 days. If a Plastibell (plastic ring) was used, it should fall off by 14 days.
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!
There are several benefits to circumcision, including a lower risk of diseases like urinary tract infections. Older boys and men get circumcised as well. At any age, the circumcised penis usually heals within a week.
After the operation your whole penis will be swollen and look very bruised. This is a normal effect of both the injected anaesthetic and the handling it necessarily receives during the operation. These will gradually reduce over the next week or two.
The swelling gets worse for the first few days after surgery and then slowly resolves. Most of the swelling will be gone within a month but it takes up to 6 months for all of the swelling to go away. The head is often raw when the foreskin is pulled back for the circumcision.
This pain often gets better in 3 or 4 days. But it may last for up to 2 weeks.
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.
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.
Diet and Activity Following Surgery
outside of the three day window, you may walk and start to gradually add activity as your body tolerates it. soaking water of any kind (bathtub, hot tub, lake, swimming pool, etc) until the incision site is completely healed. Healing time is approximately 6 weeks.
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.
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.
It usually takes at least 10 days for your penis to heal after circumcision. You'll probably be advised to take at least 1 week off work to recover.
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.
discharge that includes pus (cloudy, yellowish/white, foul-smelling fluid) hot skin and/or spreading redness around the wound site. fever.
The foreskin is removed and stitched onto the remaining skin of the penis. Stitches that dissolve are used to close the wound. They will be absorbed by the body within 7 to 10 days. The wound may take up to 3 weeks to heal.
The area should be kept dry for 48 hours after the operation. After this, take warm baths or showers once or twice a day. Don't use bubble bath or scented soaps, as these may irritate your healing wound. Leave the penis to dry naturally after having a bath or shower.
Contact your GP or Practice Nurse for advice if:
The wound becomes very red, swollen or tender after at least four days. This may indicate infection. You have difficulty in passing urine. You have Increasing pain or pain that cannot be controlled with pain killers.
Circumcision, whereby the foreskin is removed from the penis, can cause the urethral opening to narrow, making it difficult to urinate. The condition is called meatal stenosis and the risk of developing it is 16-26 times higher in circumcised than intact boys under the age of ten.
After the anaesthetic, your child can start eating a light diet such as sandwiches, pasta, soup or jelly. Avoid fatty or junk food.
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.
Even though your baby's penis will likely start to feel better after 3 or 4 days, it may look worse. The penis often starts to look like it's getting better after about 7 to 10 days.
When a child is circumcised, sometimes the skin from the penis attaches to the head of the penis and forms adhesions. This usually occurs because too much skin was left behind during the original circumcision (incomplete circumcision/redundant foreskin).
It is prudent to apply the petroleum jelly on glans and meatal area of circumcised boys after each diaper change for 6 months post-circumcision.
Most of the time it takes between 7 to 10 days for a penis to heal. At first the tip of the penis may appear slightly swollen and red and you may notice a small amount of blood on the diaper. You may also notice a slight yellow discharge or crust after a couple of days. This is a normal part of healing.