Phimosis - Cannot Retract Penis Foreskin

Question: I cannot pull my penis foreskin back! I have not seen the head of my penis at all. I can only see the skin covered around it. How can I resolve this situation?

Answer: You have a condition called Phimosis. Phimosis is a condition where the foreskin does not completely retract from the head of the penis. You can see an erect penis with Phimosis below:

A fully erect penis should normally have its foreskin completely pulled back and the head must be visible. The foreskin can also be manually pulled back to make the penis head fully visible. Below, you can see a normal erect penis:

When a (male) child is born, the foreskin will completely cover the glans (head) to protect the sensitive tissue from external factors that can be detrimental. However, in about 95% of the cases, the foreskin will be pulled back before the boy reaches adolescence. Research suggests that another 4% of boys will experience foreskin retraction before they reach 18.

Causes:

1. Uncommon masturbation habits: Masturbation techniques such as rubbing the penis against a pillow, while lying face down.
2. Congenital Phimosis
3. Forcible pulling back of the foreskin, causing an injury.
4. Inflammation of glans penis (called balanitis)
5. In diabetics, this can happen due to the glucose in urine causing infection.
6. Poor hygiene.

Treatment:

When a young boy before reaching adolescence, he need not be treated for Phimosis, as the foreskin will usually retract before he reaches 18. However, in certain cases, the boy may experience difficulty in passing urine or have irritation or discomfort because of this. If this happens, then it should be treated right away.

Phimosis treatment is of 2 types:

1. Surgical Treatment
2. Non Surgical Treatment.

Surgical treatment is the most reliable, one time solution for this condition. Though there are many types of surgeries (dorsal slit, ventral slit, etc), Circumcision is the highly recommended process.

Circumcision is a very simple process of surgically removing the foreskin that is covering the head of the penis. Circumcision is a safe, effective method of curing Phimosis.

Circumcision Step 1:

Circumcision Step 2:

Circumcision Step 3:

Non Surgical Methods:

1. Topical Cream: Many topical creams are available in the market. These creams are primarily steroids that contain a substance called Betamethasone (sometimes combined with dipropionate). This cream has to be applied on the narrow area of the foreskin for 1-2 months and your foreskin may retract.
2. Masturbation Habits: If you have uncommon masturbation habits such as rubbing your penis against a pillow, you can change it. If you masturbate using your hand by moving it up and down over your penis, you can cure phimosis.
3. Stretching: Stretching the foreskin manually using your hands. You must do this slowly and patiently. You should do it everyday and if pain occurs, you must stop for the day. Manual stretching of the foreskin may also cure phimosis.