[ ARC forum 2 ]

Not as bad as it looks.

Written by Paul B. at 18 Feb 2003 14:02:44:

As an answer to: severe problem, i think written by scared at 18 Feb 2003 12:02:37:

I can most certainly see why you would be scared about your situation.

Cancer would be very unlikely indeed at your age, or indeed the other, more severe problems.

A fair guess at the situation, is that the difficulty retracting your foreskin has favoured the development of a chronic Candida( Albicans, also referred to as "thrush") infection which has the effects you describe - pale areas (possibly with reddish spots or even white spots which when scraped, are red underneath) with the skin becoming fragile, inelastic and splitting.

It would be not unreasonable to start on the OTC ("over-the-counter") antifungal treatment; Clotrimazole (Canesten/ Clonea/ Lotremin) or Miconazole (Daktarin). These are creams (you can just as easily use the forms which are sold for vaginal use in women - the area is after all, very similar and they get this problem quite often) which you apply once or twice a day.

One other warning - you should absolutely not use soap - or any form of antiseptic - to clean under your foreskin. If you have been doing so, this could actually have caused the whole problem, with or without "thrush"!

Obviously if the skin is fragile, masturbation may well cause bleeding as well as soreness.

You indicate that you come from Europe. A doctor in your area would likely be much safer to visit, than one in America, or even Britain, as they have a bad habit of advising circumcision for such problems. (Australia too - I happen to have a current copy of the Medical Journal of Australia here, just arrived, which has three articles on circumcision and its too-frequent performance, including an editorial.) He or she would indicate the best treatment for either "thrush" or a different skin condition, including most likely a steroid cream (or perhaps ointment) to reverse the skin shrinkage that has made it tighter and uncomfortable.

If your doctor felt it necessary to refer you to a specialist for this, you do not want to see a urologist, as they generally deal only with circumcision. The proper specialist, is a dermatologist - a skin specialist.

Your masturbation method is quite popular with those who have difficulty pulling their foreskin back, indeed many who are circumcised would envy you of that method - it is quite convenient in many ways. Nevertheless, you are quite right that if you had made a point at a much younger age, of pulling the foreskin back - in masturbation or otherwise - it would have "learned" to retract much more easily and you might not have encountered this current situation.

The eventual goal certainly is for you to be able to pull the foreskin back fully and with ease - which should be achievable with treatment of the skin condition and use of the steroids (if the anti-fungals don't bring it to heel surprisingly quickly). You might however need to use the antifungal from time to time in the future - a small price to pay for comfort.


Answers: