This can only be done by the parents gently retracting the foreskin as far as it will easily go and washing under it at every bath time. It is true that no force should be used so as to avoid tearing the thin skin of the foreskin, but this doesn't preclude gentle retraction. Early gentle retraction also helps to break down adhesions. There is no harm, however, in parents waiting until after a boy is a year old before starting this gentle retraction at bath time. Phimosis cannot be diagnosed in an infant.
Phimosis is the condition in which the opening in the tip of the foreskin is too small.
It has nothing to do with the presence or absence of preputial adhesions. In infants it is too small if urine cannot be passed freely. Any ballooning of the foreskin during urination indicates that the opening is too small to allow proper voiding. When the opening is too small, a back pressure is created by the trapped urine. Not only is this painful for the child but it puts a strain on the young bladder and sometimes back to the kidneys.