Circumcision Care Questions?

Switzerland · January 2014

I live in Europe and the majority do not circumcise where I am. I don't know how much info I am going to get on the care after the procedure is done. I have read on line that it seems to be the norm to just put a drop of vaseline on the tip of the penis then tent it with a gauze pad before re-diapering the baby.

Did you only use vaseline? If not, what did you use?

Any advice is appreciated.

[Deleted User] · January 2014

We just used Vaseline for the first 3 days each time we changed the diaper. That's it. It healed very quickly on its own.

msiskind · January 2014

We were told to alternate between A&D ointment and bacitracin and then cover it with gauze. We did that for about 5 days.

spiffy7 · January 2014

We did a healthy amount of Vaseline and the gauze tent. (If you go this route, it's much easier to put the Vaseline on the gauze and then tent it over the tip. Less hassle that way).

EmR22 · January 2014

We had a plastibell and did not have to do any care for it. No Vaseline or gauze needed. So I would find out what type/method they are doing first.

cocopuff09120 · January 2014

Our nurses told us not to put the Vaseline directly on the penis because you shouldn't touch it. Instead we put it on the gauze, rubbed the gauze against itself to spread it out, and then made the tent

mysticl · January 2014

We were told to put vaseline on the diaper where it would touch the penis. No gauze.

mbafall09 · January 2014

We just used Vaseline.

cocopuff09120 · January 2014

Yes to the sponge bath. Do not touch it with anything other than the gauze or diaper with Vaseline! The dry cloth is a no no according to my pedi and ask of the nurses at the hospital.

CaitS07 · January 2014

Vaseline directly on the diaper and we used my PP water bottle filled with warm water to rinse the area instead of using wipes.

megs1409 · January 2014

cocopuff09120 said:
Our nurses told us not to put the Vaseline directly on the penis because you shouldn't touch it. Instead we put it on the gauze, rubbed the gauze against itself to spread it out, and then made the tent

This exactly.

aanzelmo1 · January 2014

We used TONS of Vaseline. Enough to cover the entire gauze pad. We had a little bit of a horror story. The day we were leaving the hospital Dominic was circumcised. Fallowing his circumcision the nurse came in to show us after care. She put the Vaseline down the middle of the gauze pad, layed it over his penis and put on a fresh diaper and done. Easy enough right ? Well we left the hospital a couple hours later and it was time to change his diaper. Let's just say the gauze had shifted because there wasn't enough Vaseline and the gauze was completely stuck to his circumcision. When I say stuck I mean stuck. Well after an hour of a crying baby and trying different methods to pull away the gauze from his already raw penis it came off. So that being said glob that Vaseline over the entire gauze pad to prevent this from happenings !!!! You'll be happy you did.

cocopuff09120 · January 2014

Poor little guy! Just a tip if anyone else has that experience; our nurse told us to drip some water on the gauze to loosen it if it got stuck like that. I never had to, but it sounds like it would work well!

lmcgt · January 2014

We were told just Vaseline "ice cream cone" and not to touch. No gauze or anything needed. The ice cream cone deal I didn't get at first but they meant use a TON of it! Find the kind in the squeeze tube sold usually in the baby section and slather it up and good to go.

briepileggi · January 2014

We also used Vaseline only, no gauze. We were putting it on the front of the diaper so it didn't stick, but I would recommend putting it directly on the penis instead. When it is spread on the diaper, the diaper can no longer absorb urine, so I was getting peed on 4-5 times each night!

daniandbri · January 2014

Like everyone above lots of vaseline.

Also we cleaned with a warm rag at changes, no wipes as they will sting. Also you want to make sure you're pulling the skin back at changes so you don't end up with re-adhesion issues.

Frannavaldez9399 · January 2014

We had the plastibell, and were told to apply bacitracin at every diaper change. Took a few days shy of three weeks to fall off, but we never had any problems.

maddi1186 · January 2014

Like many others, we used Vaseline...BUT, we also were told that it was helpful to put Vaseline on the diaper to cut down some of the rubbing. Once we stopped with the gauze we did that for a few days.

lp0 · January 2014

It's a good idea to continue with the Vaseline for at least the first year to avoid skin adhesion. No one told me about this and poor DS had the remaining foreskin attach to the head of his penis. I had to apply a warm compress to it at each diaper change and gently pull it back for a few days and it eventually separated. It didn't seem to hurt him and it got a little red (I used neosporin for a couple days) then it was fine.

I spoke to a pediatric urologist when it happened (because of course I freaked out) and he said it's pretty common if you don't use Vaseline. He recommended at every diaper change for a year to pull back any remaining foreskin and applying a glob of Vaseline under the head of the penis. That should avoid it.

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