[ ARC forum 2 ]
Written by Paul B. at 05 Sep 2002 00:40:59: The Good, the Bad, and the ugly.
As an answer to: Re: Progress... written by jonjon at 04 Sep 2002 23:05:56:
> do u know anybody who got hurt doing this?
He doesn't. Nobody does. Certainly, there is no website that anyone can point to that details in any believable detail (that is, apart from an unidentified poster saying "I was injured" and nothing else to justify the claim), any injury from stretching, or using a device with the intent and purpose to stretch. If there were, they'd post it, wouldn't they?
There was one post much earlier in this forum, way back in the archives, where one fellow did try something like a rubber cork as a stretching device, and complained of some skin fissuring (small splits) and irritation, which of course settled down when he stopped using the object. We suspect he had some "Thrush" infection which is one of the reasons for skin irritation and tightness of the foreskin in the first place, and which therefore needs to be fixed first. Medication for this is available "OTC" (Over-the-counter at a pharmacist or drugstore - no prescription needed) in almost all countries. A doctor would be good to get an opinion from in this case, if it were not for the problem below:
> AJ has me scared.
That is how you are intended to react to his posts.
> Should I ask the doctor. I don't want him to laugh at me.
Depends - there are (surprise to say,) good doctors and there are bad doctors. Unfortunately in America in particular, and in other countries is smaller numbers, there are commercial doctors whose prime directive is to make money, and surgical procedures (such as circumcisions) generally pay well for a small effort.
A good doctor would assess your condition and explain the options. If you proposed an option with which he was unfamiliar, such as stretching or the use of Betamethasone ointment (better than cream), (s)he would sit back and think about it a while, and having understood the concept, work out with you a plan to make it work, possibly agreeing to research it (such as reading this forum if you gave the URL) and get back to you.
A bad doctor would laugh at such ideas, tell you they don't work (which would immediately tell you they were incompetent - since they had no idea what they were criticising), and that the only treatment was surgery.
So you certainly don't want the doctor to laugh at you, because that would mean (in this respect only - many doctors have a fine and friendly sense of humour) he was treating you - same as all his patients - as an idiot. That would be your hint (unless he apologised) to find a good doctor instead, and never go back.
But it remains - the advice is here, but you have to realise there are people here who do want to hurt you, so pick and choose.