This is when phimosis occurs due to inflammation, scarring or infection. When the foreskin is pulled back it can start bleeding and result in further scarring. This can become a vicious cycle leading to worsening tightness of the foreskin.
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.
This can be done by pressing your penis with a hand or by wrapping your penis in a tight bandage. After the swelling has gone away, your doctor should be able to pull the foreskin back down. If the foreskin remains stuck, your doctor might need to make a small cut in the trapped foreskin to loosen it.
A tight foreskin is not usually a problem, unless there are symptoms such as: swelling and tenderness. pain when peeing or a weak flow of pee. blood in urine.
Stretching of a diseased foreskin is best avoided. There is no scientific evidence that it produces a cure and it can actually precipitate further tearing and scarring. This may worsen a phimosis which then requires surgical treatment later in life. Forcible retraction of the foreskin in children should be avoided.
Gently retracting the foreskin over time can help resolve phimosis and steroid creams can also be effective1 in softening the skin and making it easier to move back and forth.
Solution for phimosis
Maintaining good hygiene of the penis is very important if you are suffering from phimosis. Good hygiene practices help wash off the dirt and sweat and help in preventing the growth of microbes. The glans and the foreskin should be washed and dried gently.
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.
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.
Phimosis is normal for the uncircumcised infant/child and usually resolves around 5-7 years of age, however the child may be older.
Risks. If you have phimosis, you are more likely to get penile cancer. If left untreated, it can lead to increased swelling, and in extreme cases, gangrene, and eventually the loss of your penis.
Phimosis is where the foreskin is too tight to be pulled back over the head of the penis (glans). Phimosis is normal in babies and toddlers. It isn't usually a problem unless it causes the symptoms described. Take your child to your GP if they have these symptoms.
Based on state of the foreskin, phimosis is categorised in order of increasing severity as normal, “cracking,” scarred, and balanitis xerotica obliterans [33, 34].
Phimosis usually goes away on its own within the first few years of a child's life. If it causes problems – for instance, when urinating (peeing) – it may need to be treated. Using a special cream is often enough. Surgery is only rarely needed.
As boys age, their foreskin becomes progressively easier to retract over the glans. By adulthood, physiological phimosis affects between 1 in 200 and just over 1 in 8 men1.
If you cannot retract the foreskin to expose the glans, you can try to relieve the tightness by stretching the foreskin gently. Stretching involves rubbing the foreskin and pulling it back with fingers as far as it moves easily without causing pain.
What could have caused my tight foreskin? In children, a tight foreskin is usually congenital but, in adults, it is often due to a scarring disease known as balanitis xerotica obliterans (BXO, sometimes called lichen sclerosus).
Male babies are born with a tight foreskin as it is attached to the penis head. Uncircumcised boys will usually develop retractable foreskins by the time they reach their teens. In adults, phimosis is caused by infection, inflammation, a skin condition or a Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI).
In adults, sexually transmitted infections or balanitis can be associated with phimosis. Cleaning the foreskin is important to prevent infection. It is a good idea to wash the foreskin with mild soap or warm salty water when you take a shower or bath. This will help to keep the foreskin clean.
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.
Phimosis is not an urgent condition unless there is associated pain, infection, ballooning of the foreskin when urinating or painful urination. Treatment may be required if discomfort persists.