Start stretching exercises on the foreskin, usually best by pulling the foreskin back until it feels tight (but not painful), and holding it back under tension for 10 minutes – usually after a bath or shower twice a day.
Treatments for a tight foreskin
If your or your child's foreskin is causing problems, treatments include: steroid creams or gels (topical steroids) to help soften the foreskin. antibiotics if the foreskin or head of the penis is infected.
In adults, phimosis is caused by infection, inflammation, a skin condition or a Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI). It can also be caused by an injury to the penis.
You can use your fingers to stretch the foreskin, that is if your fingers can fit inside the foreskin. Place your fingers back to back on either side of the foreskin, gently stretch the skin by pulling in opposite directions, then relax and repeat. Your fingers must be clean while doing these stretching exercises.
Although a tight foreskin does not always lead to serious medical complications, it may cause symptoms such as redness, pain, and inflammation. Symptoms like these can interfere with normal urination and a person's sex life.
Steroid creams for phimosis
This makes it easier to retract the foreskin without experiencing severe pain or discomfort. Just apply the cream or ointment in the area around the head of the penis twice or thrice a day. After using the ointment for about 2 weeks, gradually and gently try to retract the foreskin.
What are the main treatments? A doctor can manually retract the foreskin under local or general anaesthesia. You may also be shown how to gradually retract the foreskin after a bath, using petroleum jelly (Vaseline) or some other form of lubrication. But if the problem persists, circumcision may be necessary.
In most men, phimosis is not a serious problem and will not require treatment. However, it is not expected to improve on its own. As noted above, paraphimosis is sometimes a medical emergency, and the penis may become permanently damaged if you do not seek immediate medical attention.
Gently pull the skin on the shaft of the penis backward towards the stomach. This will make the foreskin open up. You will be able to see part of the glans. The glans is the tip of the penis.
Steroid creams – these may help to soften the skin and make it easier to stretch the foreskin.
Pathologic, or true, phimosis has several different etiologies. The most common cause is infection, such as posthitis, balanitis, or a combination of the two (balanoposthitis). Diabetes mellitus may predispose to such infections. Adult circumcision is most commonly performed to correct phimosis.
Paraphimosis happens when the foreskin gets stuck behind the head of the penis. It can't be pulled back down into a normal position. Paraphimosis can happen to any uncircumcised penis. It is most common in younger and older people.
Smegma. If you do not wash your penis every day, a cheesy-looking substance called smegma can build up. Smegma is a natural lubricant that keeps the penis moist. It's found on the head of the penis and under the foreskin.
Physiologic phimosis: Children are born with tight foreskin at birth and separation occurs naturally over time. Phimosis is normal for the uncircumcised infant/child and usually resolves around 5-7 years of age, however the child may be older.
In this conservative (non-surgical) treatment approach, a steroid cream is applied to the tip of the foreskin twice a day over a period of four to eight weeks. The steroid cream makes it easier to stretch the skin. After two weeks, the child or his parents can start trying to gradually stretch the foreskin once a day.
Phimosis makes sexual intercourse uncomfortable, but does not interfere with a man's fertility. Therefore a man can definitely make a woman pregnant despite having phimosis.
Phimosis isn't usually a problem unless it causes symptoms. These include: redness. soreness.
Patients with phimosis rarely require any emergency intervention and should be referred to a urologist on an outpatient basis prior to development of irreversible penile damage. A paraphimosis is a urologic emergency and needs to be attended to immediately.
Applying soft white paraffin ointment (Vaseline® ointment) under the foreskin helps to heal genital skin. Try to avoid contact with irritants of the genital skin.
Conclusions: Pain is mild to moderate after circumcision in adults under general anesthesia with an intraoperative penile block. Severe pain is rare and mostly related to complications.
Eventually, the foreskin should be retracted far enough during urination to see the meatus (the hole where the urine comes from). This prevents urine from building up beneath the foreskin and possibly causing an infection. As long as the foreskin doesn't easily retract, only the outside needs to be cleaned.