Is a doctor allowed to pull back your foreskin during a medical exam?

First of all, it is your body and your foreskin. If you do not want the doctor to retract (pull back) your foreskin, then he is not "allowed," period, end of story. A better question would be, "Is retraction necessary during a medical exam?" The answer to this question depends on your age and why you are visiting the doctor for an exam.

If the person being examined is an adult, he can retract his own foreskin if he agrees that the doctor needs to examine the glans (head of the penis).

If the person being examined is an infant, baby, or child, then most likely the foreskin is fused to the glans, the same way your fingernail is fused to the nail bed. This is the natural, normal state of a male at birth and until separation occurs naturally. If a doctor or anyone else retracts the foreskin before it has separated naturally, it is the same physiologically as ripping the fingernail off the bed. Because the foreskin is fused to the glans, there is no reason to "clean" underneath, just as we don't expect doctors or parents to lift their children's fingernails and clean underneath. In time, the foreskin in virtually all males will naturally separate from the glans as the male matures. There is no set age by which this must be done.

There is no reason for anyone to retract a foreskin that has not separated naturally, and the owner of the penis should in all cases be the one who retracts when the time comes.

Common reasons doctors believe that the foreskin of an infant, baby, or child should be retracted and why they are wrong:

1. To "break adhesions." This is WRONG because the foreskin is SUPPOSED to be fused to the glans in males until separation occurs naturally. The natural attach points are called "synechiae," not adhesions. Adhesions occur when the fused foreskin is forcefully retracted, leaving small tears in the skin that can become infected and create scar tissue. The scar tissue can create attach points when this has occurred, and these attach points are called adhesions. Adhesions do not form naturally, and retracting CAUSES adhesions.

2. To "clean underneath." There is no reason to clean underneath a fused foreskin, just as there is no need to clean underneath the nail bed of the fingernail. It is fused. There is nothing that needs to be cleaned out. Swishing the outside of the penis in the bath or rinsing in the shower will sufficiently clean it before the male can fully retract.

3. To "visualize the meatus." The urethral meatus is the opening of the urethra, from which the male urinates. In a small percentage of boys, the meatus will be further up along the shaft, instead of at the "tip" of the penis. This condition is called hypospadias and has no relation to whether a boy is intact or has been circumcised. Many doctors mistakenly believe they must retract to check for hypospasias; however, the tip of the penis can be examined WITHOUT retracting the foreskin. If the boy is able to urinate normally and/or the meatus can be seen at the tip of the penis, there is no problem with the location of the meatus, and there is no reason to retract.

4. To check for "phimosis." True phimosis is when a POST-pubescent man is unable to retract his foreskin AND it is causing him discomfort. A small percentage of men have foreskins that do not retract. As long as this does not cause him discomfort during sexual activity, it is no problem. If the adult male desires to have a retractable foreskin, he can use a steroidal cream in combination with manual stretching of the foreskin, which will cause his foreskin to retract in 90% of cases. Circumcision in these non-retractable adult males is a very invasive procedure that should NOT be considered before other, less-invasive options have been exhausted. Phimosis is NOT a condition that occurs in pre-pubescent males. Foreskins are SUPPOSED to be tightly adhered to the glans until separation occurs naturally.