How do I care for the circumcision site?

Your doctor or hospital nurse will instruct you on caring for the circumcision site. For a week, apply a protective lubricant over the site every time you change baby's diaper. For about a week, the circumcised site goes through the typical healing process. Initially, it is swollen, then a yellow scab appears. The swelling and the scab resolve by one week. Be sure your doctor informs you how to tell if the circumcision site becomes infected. Surprisingly, circumcision sites rarely become infected, but here are signs to call your doctor: The entire penis is red, warm, and swollen, and the surgical site is draining pus. A yellow, nondraining scab is normal during healing. The decision is yours. As you can see from the previous discussion, there is no compelling reason for circumcision. If you are looking to your doctor to be your son's foreskin attorney, you may still be left undecided. Even the American Academy of Pediatrics is off and on again about the foreskin. In 1983, the AAP issued an opinion that "routine circumcision is medically unnecessary." Because of recent and controversial studies among uncircumcised males, this large and respected body of pediatricians is now reconsidering its opinion. There will be more studies, more opinions, and I would guess that years down the road the fate of the foreskin will still be uncertain.