[ ARC forum 2 ]

Re: stretching

Written by Geoff B at 30 Jul 2004 15:08:43:

As an answer to: stretching written by craig g at 26 Jul 2004 23:31:36:

>theres a lot of "talk" on here about "stretching" could you please explain on how to actually do this. i suffer from phimosis.
>regards
SKIN STRETCHING AS A CURE FOR PHIMOSIS

INTRODUCTION
Many young men come to internet sites seeking help for tight foreskin problems. Often doctors have told them that they “must” be circumcised. There are other ways of dealing with this problem and circumcision should only be used as a last resort in a very small number of cases, not as a first option treatment. I and others, on various health boards have guided many young men to a cure using simple stretching exercises.
Stretching will usually cure the problem in a shorter time than it would take to fully recover from a circumcision. It leaves the patient with their entire penis, preserving about 15 square inches of elastic, nerve-rich, erogenous tissue and of course, saves the patient from the pain and discomfort of surgery. The foreskin has a unique gliding action used by most males to masturbate with and its lubricating action has been claimed to make sex smoother and more enjoyable for female partners too. The foreskin is worth preserving. If stretching should fail a dorsal slit or a circumcision can be done at any time. Should stretching not work all that is lost is a little time and effort. If the stretching is done properly and regularly and not too fast then most men seem to succeed.

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.

SENSITIVITY
As you stretch and are able to expose more of the glans you may find that it is very sensitive or even painful to touch. You will find it less painful the more you expose and use it and gradually the over-sensitivity will lessen, until all you feel is pleasure. A gentle way to start touching the head is by using the shower spray. Also use water-based lubricant when touching the head directly and this should be more comfortable.

SMEGMA BUILD UP
As you stretch and are able to expose more of the head you may discover a build up of smegma. This may even contain hard lumps that are hard to remove. Soften them with a light vegetable oil or a non-scented, oily cream such as sorbolene or vitamin E cream. The smegma and softening agent can then be removed with a mild non-scented soap followed by a thorough rinse with plain water. A number of applications over a period of time may be necessary before the build up is cleaned away. Once it is then simple rinsing with plain water every day is enough to keep most penises clean and fresh. Some men can use soap daily but others find it upsets the natural balance and can actually cause infections or irritation.

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 do much harm to yourself and it has the advantage of stretching all the time. You may need to hold them in place with surgical tape.

TIGHT FRAENULUM
Sometimes the cause of difficulty in retracting the foreskin is not a tight foreskin opening but a short fraenulum (frenulum), also known as fraenulum breve. This can also be stretched though it is sometimes more difficult to do this. You can grab the underside of the foreskin opening and pull out away from your body until you feel the fraenulum stretching, as in this picture http://www.foreskin.org/46-33-04.jpg. Or if your foreskin opening is large enough you can pull back on the foreskin until you feel the fraenulum stretching. Hold and repeat as in the foreskin opening stretching methods.
If the fraenulum can’t be stretched then an alternative to circumcision is a frenuloplasty. It is a simple operation that does not remove any tissue but fixes the problem with minimal healing time.

KEEP AT IT
I have sometimes seen posts from men despairing at their lot in having a tight foreskin. Have patience and keep at it. Often a really despairing post is followed by an “Oh boy! It just retracted over the head!” post. As I said at the beginning, even though the stretching process may take some weeks or even months this is probably faster than it would take you to fully heal from a circumcision.
Also keep stretching for a while once you get to the diameter of foreskin opening you want. If you stop too soon it is possible for things to tighten up again. So just keep doing the exercises for a week or two after everything is loose enough to work properly.
Best of luck,
Geoff


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