Re: Maybe Not Paraphimosis

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Written by R J Knight at 25 Aug 2000 19:02:27:

As an answer to: Maybe Not Paraphimosis written by Charles II at 25 Aug 2000 04:23:35:

Certainly you don't have paraphimosis because that is a condition in which a very tight ring of scar tissue in the foreskin cuts off circulation to the glans when the ring is pushed back behind the glans, and in serious cases can threaten the glans with gangrene. Your condition on the other hand is perfectly normal, and you share it with thousands of other men and boys. It just results from having a foreskin that is naturally short, so it doesn't cover the entire glans. There is certainly no cause for worry on your part, and every reason just to relax and enjoy it (which your girlfriend may do, too)! Some doctors have called it "autocircumcision" and the "circumcisionoid" condition, and when I was in the army the guys called it being "skinned back," but I'm not sure it deserves a name: it's just at one end of the normal bell curve encompassing natural variation, where most guys have just enough skin to cover the glans and others (at the other end of the curve) have extra skin that overhangs the end of the penis. End of lecture! Seriously, you're lucky and have no worries. Cheers, RJK.
>>hi. I think I have paraphimosis my foreskin is behind the gland of my penis all the time. It will stretch over the gland but it retracts behind the gland if let go. I am wondering if this is normal, do many people have this condition or is it something not to be worried about? please write!
>MR RESPONSE: It may not be paraphimosis, which is a condition requiring medical or other treatment due to the foreskin being so tight that it chokes the penis and causes pain or swelling. A foreskin that is merely snug and comfortable in its retracted position, or short enough to want to, is ideal and in no need of treatment. Mine and others I know have been fully retracted permanently since about puberty, and we wouldn't want it any other way. Lucky you.