Is It Okay For My Infant Boy To Never Had An Erection And A History Of UTI?

Posted on Fri, 5 Aug 2011

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Fri, 5 Aug 2011 Answered on

Sun, 27 May 2012 Last reviewed on

Question : Is it normal for my 18 month old boy, uncircumcised boy to have NEVER (ever) had an erection (never up, never hard)? He plays and explores with it at diaper changes, but nothing.He has had repeated uti's as a young baby (6 months and under), but solved now. Doctor says foreskin is loose and not a problem at his last checkup. Am i worrying for nothing?

Answered by Dr. Tulasi Raman.P (5 hours later)

Hi,

Thanks for writing your query to us.

Erection of penis is a process largely connected psychologically. So mental maturity is more important and then physical maturity which is attained in the puberty.

So until a child gets to understand anything about sexual behaviour, even if he plays with his penis he is not going to get an erection. Physical arousal is sometimes possible but without mental association it is rare before puberty. In males it is governed by GnRH(Brain) and Testosterone (Testis).

There are very few male children who would have missed an UTI in his lifetime before 10 years (mildor moderate or severe). And UTI or hydronephrosis is unrelated to sexual maturity.

Hence it is a gradual and natural process which varies widely in time and individuality. No need to worry.

I do appreciate your concern for your son. I hope I have answered your query clearly.
If you have any more queries, feel free to write to me. I will be available to answer.

Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad