[ ARC forum 2 ]
Written by Charles II at 19 Dec 2001 22:10:16: Yes, Mark. LOTS Go Through Same Thing
As an answer to: Has anyone been through this? written by Mark at 05 Dec 2001 22:57:01:
Yes, Mark, lots and lots of uncircumcised guys go through the same thing. If the foreskin is left unflexed, unexercised, unused --pick your own term for unretracted -- for a prolonged period of time, problems often develop. Sometimes these problems do not become apparent until the onset of puberty, at which time new secretions begin to irritate the penis. Frequent cleaning to remove them is important, often necessary.
In your case, this hygiene is impeded because the penis is growing but the foreskin is not. Now the penis is too large for the opening at the tip of the foreskin. This is called phimosis.
If the restriction is due to the foreskin being stuck to the penis head, rather than the opening too small, this is not phimosis but is called skin adhesions. Adhesions are normal during infancy, but usually seperate by age 3-5. If they do not do so by age 10, you are now in the one-percent group of boys with -abnormal- adhesions. Some kind of treatment -is- required.
But do not confuse the frenum/frenulum with an adhesion. The frenum, a web like stretch of skin attaching the bottom of the pee hole slit to the bottom of the foreskin, is normal. It should not prevent full retraction of the foreskin to expose the head completely.
The hypersensitivity of the head that you experience may be the result of irritations to the skin because you are not able to clean properly and often enough, -or- it could be the result of lack of exposure to normal environment. Imagine if you put socks and shoes on your feet and never took them off for fifteen years. Your feet would probably feel the same as your penis head does now.
There is only one solution, and that is to get the foreskin to retract freely so that it does not choke the penis even slightly. Whether this can be accomplished without circumcision is a separate matter, but it must be accomplished one way or another. Only then can you clean it properly and expose the head often enough to get it accustomed to exposure and lose the hypersensitivity. How long will that take? Some guys have achieved a healthy pleasant feeling in less than a couple of weeks, with constant or permanent foreskin retraction. Retracted less often, it will take longer. Proceed at your own pace.