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Conditions

Phimosis

Tight foreskin

A tight foreskin is most commonly diagnosed at an early age, as 95% of 16-17 years olds should be able to retract their foreskins fully. Its medical term is ‘phimosis’ and this comes from the Greek world for ‘muzzle’, which means that men’s constant references to their ‘weapon’ might not be far from the truth…

A man should be able to retract his foreskin over the head of his penis, but if he can’t this can have a discomforting effect when having sex, and can lead to hygiene issues as it becomes difficult to clean the penis effectively. Treatment of the condition has most commonly been circumcision, but this has recently been replaced by use of a topical steroid cream, which when applied for 4-6 weeks can often reduce the constriction of the skin enough to fit the foreskin over the head. There are also ways to permanently stretch the skin, either manually or through use of embedded balloons. If these methods are not affective, then it is possible to have surgery called Preputioplasty, where a dorsal slit is made to relieve the tension, without having to remove the whole foreskin.

If your child has a painful penis he may be suffering from paraphimosis, to find out more check the condition guide for parents on Embarrassing Bodies: Kids website.

Comments and Questions

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Please note: Unfortunately Channel 4 cannot respond to individual inquiries. If you have any concerns, you can check out NHS Choices, but ultimately it is always best to check with a health professional.

hi iam 2i and durig sex the piece of skin that is attached to my foreskin snaped and it was bleedin for a min what will i do is is all right





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Im 13 and i have 2 problems, 1, when erected my penis curves to the left 2, there is a piece of skin stopping me from pulling my foreskin all the way back on one side





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my husband has split his foreskin and it is very painful he doesn't want to go to the doctors but he has suffered for 6 weeks now he is 34 and this is not the first time this has happened he had it when he was younger will he have to have surgery? or is there an over the counter cream he can get





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Hi Claire, Iv come on this website today to work out something that sounds similar to your husbands story, Im 18 and have never had a problem with my genetal region before but when having sex two weeks ago i got this nasty ripping pain and noticed there was blood, i had been drinking alcohol so my blood was flowing more than it should have but where my foreskin had come back it left a little ripp :S the only conclusion we came to was that we might have been too agressive and the foreskin could have gone back too far so over the past two weeks i havent had any sexual intercorse and it seemed to heal fine, just a bit uncomfortable at first, then last night we thought we'd give it a go (Oraly) but for some reson it's done it again and now im sat here on the laptop trying to work out if maybe the forskins too tight even though i can pull it back but where the ripp is i can't pull that area now so im in a bit of a panic and im not sure what is wrong, but from what iv read in your post i think it could be similar and dont know that if i can get it sorted then it might not occure again when im older ? have you found anything more out yet that could maybe help me, also thank you for your time taken to read this, andy x

hi ....ive had this condition for years ,,,, bit embarassed if anything to get it sorted ...it is very uncomfortable during sex but its ok if a condom is used ,,ive broke up with two girlfriends because of this ,,,,dont really know where i would go to sort this ....local gp just didnt seem right so who would i see ??????





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hi, i am 15 and i can not pull my forskin back. i can only pull it back like 3-4 cm but it dont go right back. when i get donwn 3-4cm it starts to hurt. what do i need to do.? please help





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im 20 years old and my forskin is to tight to pull back i can go half way then i fell like im goin to rip it should i use the cream use are on abou or head to my gp any comment would be usefull





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im 15 and i can pull my foreskin back however when i do it when erect it is quite sore, also when my foreskin is back it can be quite sore when i touch the bottom of my head





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My foreskin doesn't retract when my penis is erect. When flacid it's fine and I can clean and everything fine. I've put off going to the doctor for years. I'm now 25 and have bitten the bullet and booked an appointment which i attended last week. She gave me Lidocaine cream but didn't tell me what to do with it really. I've been applying it and forcing my foreskin back when erect. The cream deadens any feeling and takes any pain away but i'm scared of tearing it as it looks very tight. I've looked all over the internet and can't see a mention of Lidocaine in relation to phimosis. Every site seems to talk about using steroid cream. Have I been prescribed the correct cream? Please help.





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My penis has not fully developed yet and I am 15. I find it hard and painful to pull my foreskin over the head of my penis when erected, although when flaccid it is easy and painless. Normal?





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hi i am 13 and i cant evan pull back my foreskin over the head or see the head. it is very tight but not that painfull. will i need to go to the docters to get this problem sorted? i have not yet told my parents as i am abit embarrised? please help.





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It looks like no one else has asked this question, so please fill in the rest of your details below.





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