Hello, a bit of background. I am 28 years old and still a virgin. I suspect i have a case of phimosis as it is difficult to retract my foreskin behind my glans when erect. Not impossible but need to do it very gently. In a flacid or semi erect state i have no issues retracting the foreskin although there is a feeling of tightness around the shaft after it has been retracted.
I've been searching online for causes and treatment (i've been doing stretching this past week in the bath and using coconut oil) and i have come to learn about balanitis and yeast infection in men. Due to the current COVID-19 context i am not really able to go see a urologist so i am asking here in hopes someone might be able to help. When fully erect there are also these small red bumps on my glans which lead me to believe i may have candida (i will admit in my younger year my hygiene has not been ideal and due to a lack of sexual education in my country i only found out recently that you are actually supposed to retract the foreskin to clean the glans as well).
I've attached pictures of my penis in both flacid and erect state, hopefully someone will be able to point me in the right direction to fixing this issue if it exists. Here's hoping everything is just in my head though and i am freaking out over nothing.
Bump
Dear Someguy,
The photos, especially the second and third, suggest you have a circumferential ring of preputial tightness consistent with lichen sclerosis (look it up on DermnetNZ or just Google). You don’t have phimosis as such- that’s where you can’t even manage to pull the foreskin back. Stretching exercises don’t work for adults, IMHO.
Instead, you’ll need a prescription of STRONG corticosteroid cream (e.g. Dermovate) under supervision of a urologist or dermatologist with experience managing the condition. There’s a good chance this will help mild/moderately severe cases, but in more advanced cases then the only long-term solution would be circumcision. Don’t bother with hydrocortisone cream- it’s not strong enough.
Can’t comment on the red spots (not visible in photos), but you are correct in saying that candida can cause it.
Rgds,
Adhari.
I would persist with trying the stretching for at least 6 to 8 months - there are good online resources that detail what you need to do. I cannot post external web site addresses on here so below are the two search terms you need to use.
Best time to do stretches are during a bath or a warm shower. Treat them like starting any physical exercise, start real easy and build that amount you do, the level of pressure you use, and the amount of time the stretch is held, over a period of months, rather than trying to do everything within a matter of days or even weeks
If you want any further guidance simply update your Forum Post here …
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- a Phimosis Journey
- wiki - How - 3 Ways to do - Phimosis Stretching