[ ARC forum 2 ]
Written by Geoff B at 02 Jul 2004 14:34:02: Re: Some more phimosis/stretching questions...
As an answer to: Some more phimosis/stretching questions... written by Sam at 30 Jun 2004 18:53:19:
Have you tried the Betamethasone 1% ointment yet? It's prescription only but it helps.
Here is an extract from some stretching instructions>
ANATOMY
The penis has a number of structures that you should know about before you start. The head of the penis is called the glans. The groove round the edge of the glans is called the sulcus. The foreskin is also called the prepuce. It is attached under the pee hole or meatus by a y-shaped piece of skin called the fraenulum or frenulum (US spelling). The fraenulum is similar in structure to the one under the tongue and has an important sexual function. The fraenular band is the tight bit at the foreskin opening that is being stretched in this case. There are plenty of web pages that explain penile anatomy. Here are a few:- http://www.cirp.org/pages/anat/ http://net.indra.com/~shredder/intact/anatomy/ http://www.noharmm.org/anatomy.htm. Be warned the last two links have photos and the last even a moving image.PHIMOSIS
Phimosis or tight foreskin may be mild or severe. Some men can retract their foreskin easily when their penis is flaccid (soft) but experience difficulty when erect. Others describe “pin hole phimosis” where the opening is so tight that they can only see a tiny bit of their glans even when they pull back their foreskin as far as they can.
Stretching has been used to cure even severe phimosis.WHY BOTHER TO STRETCH
Although some men manage to have reasonably normal sex lives with phimosis there are some disadvantages to having a non-retractable foreskin.
Firstly it is hard to clean and may smell. The body produces a natural, white, cheesy substance called smegma that collects under the foreskin and in the folds of female genitalia. Smegma is a natural lubricant and usually does no harm. But it is susceptible to infections that can cause pain and/or odours. This can be a real turn off for a sexual partner. Infections can also cause pain and eventually scarring of the foreskin.
Secondly having sex with the foreskin forward reduces sexual sensations, especially when wearing a condom as well.
Thirdly many men with tight foreskins complain that sex without a condom is painful as the foreskin may be forced back during sex causing painful over-stretching of the foreskin opening.BETAMETHASONE
You can ask your doctor to prescribe Betamethasone 1% ointment. A tiny amount of this ointment can be applied to the tight part of the foreskin, ie. the opening of the foreskin when it is in the forward position. It will speed up the stretching process but won’t do anything on its own, without the stretching exercises. Stretching will still work without the ointment, just more slowly.STRETCHING TECHNIQUE ONE
If the foreskin is very tight the simplest method is to pull back on the skin (easiest with an erection) so that the opening feels tight and a bit uncomfortable without real pain. Hold that for a few minutes and repeat a few times. Do this a couple of times a day. You will find that soaking in a warm bath will make the skin softer and easier to stretch. If the opening becomes sore, or develops splits, stop for a few days and let things heal up. Going at it too fast will only slow things down in the end.
The major disadvantage with this method occurs when some stretching has been achieved or if the phimosis was mild to begin with. Once the opening is big enough to just fit over the rim of the glans when erect the foreskin is at risk of getting stuck behind it. If this happens a condition know as paraphimosis may develop.
This is why stretching technique two is probably better once the foreskin opening is big enough to make it almost possible to slide the foreskin back over the glans.PARAPHIMOSIS
Paraphimosis occurs when the foreskin gets stuck behind the glans of an erect penis, trapping the blood that causes the erection in the glans and causing swelling of the foreskin itself. If the foreskin becomes stuck squeeze the head of the penis firmly to force the blood out and try and ease the foreskin forward. Perhaps soaking in the bath or using an oil-based lotion will make this easier. If after many tries you still can’t do this see a doctor or go to a hospital emergency room fast. This is not a common problem but you should be warned of the danger.STRETCHING TECHNIQUE TWO
The second stretching technique can be best illustrated by this photograph http://www.foreskin.org/46-33-03.jpg. You can either grab each side of the foreskin opening and gently pull on each side of the opening, as shown in the photograph or, even better, insert the ends of two fingers, even the little fingers and pull them gently apart. Stretch the opening in this way until it feels uncomfortably stretched but not actually painful. Hold and repeat as for method one. Once again this is best done after soaking in a warm bath.
ANOTHER TECHNIQUE
Another technique that some people have used successfully involves inserting a SMOOTH cylindrical object into the opening, just large enough to stretch without pain and leaving it in there throughout the day and/or night. As the opening stretches you swap the object for ones of increased diameter. It's a very efficient way of stretching but many guys say it is too uncomfortable on their sensitive glans so I rarely recommend it nowadays. Objects I have seen posts about using are bits of dowel of increasing diameters, sanded smooth and plastic objects such as pen tops, ending up with a 35mm film canister with the bottom cut out and smoothed off. With the last you can apparently wear it all day and even pee through it. I would have the cut edge facing outwards. This method may sound strange but as long as the objects are smooth and not too big you can't harm yourself and it has the advantage of stretching all the time. You may need to hold them in place with surgical tape.
Cheers,
Geoff