This site discusses phimosis in its specific forms of phimotic ring, frenulum breve, adhesions or skinbridges. During erection these conditions inhibit the relationship between foreskin and glans. This functionally restricts the erection, and thus has an effect on the sexuality. With our culture's attitudes on health care, it would be appropriate to encourage early prevention.

Jan 2021 : Please read the new summary.

phimosis in women

Written by troy at 16 Jun 2007 18:02:25:

thank you for the input.and i hope you are well Robin.i answered the other questions because i want to help people.i have another question.this site and many others are dedicated to male phimosis.but i have seen few devoted to female phimosis.from what i have studied about 10% of males will get phimosis but 25% of females will get phimosis and 99% of males wil get treated for it and 99% of females will not.why are females ignored? from what i have read females are more likely to get infections which cause phimosis.most women that have phimosis are ignored and the treatments for it are not researched.men have many options,women do not.would a z-plasty help women?what about topical steroids?.can you start a site to help women?these are links to more information.


https://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=000160EE-E53A-1C67-B882809EC588ED9F&ref=sciam

https://www.clitoralunhooding.com/

https://www.circlist.com/femalecirc/femalecirc.html

Answer written by Robin at 20 Jul 2007 17:14:08:

Hi Troy,

Thanks again ... You ask an interesing question ... This could involve a long answer ... its the sort of question which gets me thinking new ideas hours after writing my answer ... then not being online this is rather frustrating as I have to wait the next few weeks till I get to a terminal etc etc ... (lets hope that by this winter I shall be living in a normal house/flat with a normal internet connection)

Anyway - I noticed the first medical study on this point in medline from around 2003 ... this is the very first study on the subject ... I only read the abstract ... what was very interesting is that this first study presented the case for phimosis influencing the sexulaity of a woman!! ... you may recognise I have researched the studies on male phimosis right back to 1920 and there are only rare mentions of phimosis inhibiting the male sexuality ...

Lets clear up a statistical point you say "about 10% of males will get phimosis" - actually not correct, this figure is obtained in spot checks.
I quote myself from my anthropological analysis origins.html
"I discuss all the available statistical reports. These show between 2.4% and 14%,. however most show that in careful spot checks at least 8% young men have problems of retraction in the non-erect state. This figure does not assess the frequency of erectile problems, infections, or frenulum breve. In addition, this figure is given for only one point of time in life, it does not represent how many men have problems with phimosis during their entire lives."

If we include old age phimosis (due to skin shrinkage in old age) probably around 90% will get phimosis at some time!! ---- (the same might apply to women) ...
also Id like to point out that before my site was online, men didnt have many options at all - the anti circs advised stretching and steroids and the pro circs obviously circumcision ...

I suppose the central answer to your question is that even the clitoris was not generally recognised until recently ... and even female sexuality is relatively new - up till the early 1900s females werent really creditted with their own sexual wishes etc. ...

I could think a page on my site on this subject was appropriate .. including your links .... however I am male and I feel the main subject is a subject for a female ... but, if you wanna help me and the world then please could you put together a page on female phimosis - (simply post it here I can copy it) - (check out this study I mentioned at medline - go to www.male-initiation.net/medicus for a simple link into medline ... when you get there do a search and then ask for the citation report this is probably the most helpful).

I will have a few problems finding out where to fit it into my index pages, but Im sure there will be a good place somewhere?? (could you suggest anywhere?)

hummm so thats all that occurs to me at present

cheers and keep on going on

Robin

The prevalence of phimosis of the clitoris in women presenting to the sexual dysfunction clinic: lack of correlation to disorders of desire, arousal and orgasm.

Munarriz R, Talakoub L, Kuohung W, Gioia M, Hoag L, Flaherty E, Min K, Choi S, Goldstein I.

Center for Sexual Medicine, Department of Urology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachus etts, USA. r_munarriz@hotmail.com

Physical examination of the genitalia was performed during an evaluation of women with sexual health problems. Cephalad displacement of the right and left labia minora enables full retraction of the clitoral prepuce and complete exposure of the glans clitoris, under normal circumstances. We defined clitoral examination as abnormal when the cephalad force resulted in varying degrees of incomplete foreskin retraction and limited exposure of the glans clitoris. The pathophysiology is likely to be secondary to recurrent vulvar dermal infections of blunt trauma changing prepucial elasticity. Clitoral phimosis, a previously undiagnosed physical finding, was identified in 22% of the women. Other than its link to sexual pain, the clinical significance of this finding, in particular the relation to diminished sensitivity and impaired orgasmic capability, is unclear at this time.