You can also massage your foreskin while you're taking a hot bath or shower. The high water temperature helps loosen the skin and makes it easier to stretch. Combine stretching in the bath with the steroid cream method to help you fully retract your foreskin sooner.
Start stretching exercises on the foreskin, usually best by pulling the foreskin back until it feels tight (but not painful), and holding it back under tension for 10 minutes – usually after a bath or shower twice a day.
If you can't pull the foreskin back over the widest part of your penis you could have a condition called phimosis. A tight foreskin is a common complaint for men where the foreskin is excessively long, or if the skin has been torn and healing has led to the foreskin contracting.
Phimosis happens when the foreskin gets stuck in place over the glans (or head) of the penis because it's too tight. Phimosis can only affect you if you have a foreskin (if you're uncircumcised). Phimosis is a common (and relatively normal) condition in babies and young children until around 7 years old.
Over time, the foreskin will separate from the head of the penis. This is a natural process and occurs over 5 to 10 years. It slowly loosens up (retracts) a little at a time. Normal erections during childhood cause most of the change by stretching the foreskin.
You don't need to pull it back for cleaning. If your child does pull back the foreskin in the bath or shower, that's fine – but it's not needed. Once your child goes through puberty and can easily pull back the foreskin, it's good for your child to do this in the bath or shower for cleaning.
A tight foreskin is normal in babies and young boys. Most boys' foreskins do not pull back (retract) before the age of 5, but sometimes it's not possible until they're 10 or older. The end of a boy's penis may bulge or balloon when they pee, particularly if their foreskin is tight.
Balanoposthitis. This occurs when the glans and the foreskin are inflamed. This inflammation of both foreskin and glans make the foreskin tighter. Although a yeast infection known as candidiasis is often to blame, bacterial or other types of infections can also cause balanoposthitis.
Eventually, the foreskin should be retracted far enough during urination to see the meatus (the hole where the urine comes from). This prevents urine from building up beneath the foreskin and possibly causing an infection. As long as the foreskin doesn't easily retract, only the outside needs to be cleaned.
Phimosis is defined as the inability to retract the skin (foreskin or prepuce) covering the head (glans) of the penis. Phimosis may appear as a tight ring or “rubber band” of foreskin around the tip of the penis, preventing full retraction. Phimosis is divided into two forms: physiologic and pathologic.
Boys born with phimosis, and it can last through puberty. With time, the skin retracts off the head of the penis naturally. You need treatment only if it happens after your foreskin has become fully retractable.
A redundant prepuce means that there is an excess amount of foreskin – the foreskin completely covers the head of the penis when it is not erect. In some boys and men, this extra foreskin can sometimes lead to health problems if it can't be fully drawn back from the head of the penis.
Pulling your son's foreskin back too early can damage it and cause scar tissue to form. When you're able to pull the foreskin back, do so gently. Only pull it as far as it will go. Carefully wash the whole area with warm water.
But this is a very common misconception that the foreskin grows with age. But this is not true, Foreskin does not grow with age. The foreskin is a two-layered flap that covers and protects the glans penis and urinary meatus of the penis.
Adult phimosis may be caused by repeated episodes of balanitis or balanoposthitis. Such infections are commonly due to poor personal hygiene (failure to regularly clean under the foreskin). Phimosis may be a presenting symptom of early diabetes mellitus.
What are the main treatments? A doctor can manually retract the foreskin under local or general anaesthesia. You may also be shown how to gradually retract the foreskin after a bath, using petroleum jelly (Vaseline) or some other form of lubrication. But if the problem persists, circumcision may be necessary.
In adulthood, the foreskin is normally loose enough to be fully retracted. In this case, the glans (including its root) should be fully exposed. During erection, the foreskin retracts by itself, exposing the entire glans or at least part of it.
You can use your fingers to stretch the foreskin, that is if your fingers can fit inside the foreskin. Place your fingers back to back on either side of the foreskin, gently stretch the skin by pulling in opposite directions, then relax and repeat. Your fingers must be clean while doing these stretching exercises.
Most boys will be able to retract their foreskins by the time they are 5 years old, yet others will not be able to until the teen years. As a boy becomes more aware of his body, he will most likely discover how to retract his own foreskin. But foreskin retraction should never be forced.
Inflammation – sore and red foreskin. Common causes include forced retraction, irritants such as bubble baths or dirty nappies. Infection – the most common include posthitis and balanitis. Posthitis is infection of the foreskin, usually caused by fungus thriving in the hot and moist conditions.
Circumcised men take longer to reach ejaculation, which can be viewed as "an advantage, rather than a complication," writes lead researcher Temucin Senkul, a urologist with GATA Haydarpasa Training Hospital in Istanbul, Turkey.
Phimosis usually goes away on its own within the first few years of a child's life. If it causes problems – for instance, when urinating (peeing) – it may need to be treated. Using a special cream is often enough.
Phimosis of the prepuce can be treated without performing a circumcision. The most common and most effective treatment option is the local application ofcorticosteroid ointment.
Phimosis in a young child is likely to improve on its own. In adults, phimosis will not go away unless surgery is performed or an infection is treated.
You can also massage your foreskin while you're taking a hot bath or shower. The high water temperature helps loosen the skin and makes it easier to stretch. Combine stretching in the bath with the steroid cream method to help you fully retract your foreskin sooner.