If you or your child has a tight foreskin, it will be difficult to pull it back from the end of the penis. 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.
This can take anywhere from four to eight weeks, so don't be concerned if your foreskin doesn't budge after a few days. 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.
A topical steroid ointment can be used to help soften the foreskin and make retraction easier. The ointment is massaged into the area around the glans and foreskin twice a day for several weeks. In more serious cases, circumcision or a similar surgical procedure may be necessary.
Although a tight foreskin does not always lead to serious medical complications, it may cause symptoms such as redness, pain, and inflammation. Symptoms like these can interfere with normal urination and a person's sex life.
The foreskin (also called the prepuce) is tight when babies are born, but usually gets looser by the time the child is 2 years old. During the years between ages 2 and 6, the foreskin loosens up and begins to separate from the head of their penis. Phimosis can also happen after childhood.
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. Surgery is only rarely needed.
The foreskin should be able to retract readily at all points in life after infancy. It should be able to retract to allow for full erections. Unfortunately, there are no exercises I can recommend to help with this. There is a steroid cream that can be very helpful to relax the tissue and allow for better retraction.
In children, a tight foreskin is usually congenital but, in adults, it is often due to a scarring disease known as balanitis xerotica obliterans (BXO, sometimes called lichen sclerosus).
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.
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.
The condition you have is phimosis which is tightness of foreskin prevent easy retraction. It is not usually interfering with penile growth.
If the phimosis is symptomatic, management is either medical or surgical. If asymptomatic, it can be left alone.
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.
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.
Until the foreskin fully separates, do not try to pull it back. Forcing the foreskin to retract before it is ready can cause severe pain, bleeding, and tears in the skin.
Hydrocortisone
Hydrocortisone is a corticosteroid effective in the treatment of phimosis. It is available in a variety of products including lotions, creams, ointments, and gels.
In adults, risk factors for phimosis include sexually transmitted infections. Phimosis may be caused by a skin condition, such as: Eczema: A long-term condition that causes the skin to become itchy, red, dry, and cracked. Psoriasis: This skin condition leads to patches of skin becoming red, flaky, and crusty.
If daily retraction is enough to loosen the foreskin, then pulling it back gently when bathing or urinating should be enough to keep the penis from any hygiene-related complications. Phimosis can be a serious and painful condition. However, it's treatable, and outcomes are usually very good.
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.
Causes of phimosis
The foreskin and glans of the penis are fused together as they develop and gradually separate after birth. Scarring of the foreskin from injury, infection, inflammation or skin conditions like lichen sclerosis (balanitis xerotica obliterans), can lead to phimosis.
By age 17, most boys will be able to fully retract their foreskin. Phimosis can also occur if the foreskin is forced back before it is ready. This can cause a fibrous scar to form. This can stop the foreskin from retracting in the future.
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.
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.
As a male grows up, the foreskin usually loosens and detaches from any attachment sites to the glans. In adulthood, the foreskin is normally loose enough to be fully retracted. In this case, the glans (including its root) should be fully exposed.
In children, a tight foreskin is usually congenital but, in adults, it is often due to a scarring disease known as balanitis xerotica obliterans (BXO, sometimes called lichen sclerosus).