Foreskin problem

[ABYZ]

Hi. I'm 17 and my foreskin is still attached to my head is there a way I can detach it or do I need to go to the doctors

[Hidden]

Hey mate, just to give you my background, I'm 23 and underwent circumcision two months ago.

You may have come across a lot of articles that claim you can manually detach the foreskin from the glans (head), but my advice as well as any sane person's advice is to not attempt to do anything too radical yourself. The odds are if the foreskin is not retractile by the age of 17, that there is some issue, and medical intervention or surgical intervention is needed.

Go and see the doctor, the last thing you want to do is serious damage to a very sensitive part of your body!

[ABYZ in reply to Hidden]

Thanks, also could you get cream or antibiotics to detach it or does it have to be circumcised

[Hidden in reply to ABYZ]

To be honest, it depends on the severity.

The condition that you have (and I used to have) is called 'phimosis'.

If you have mild phimosis, so there is some retraction down the glans is possible, then a steroid cream may be prescribed to you by the GP. Antibiotics wouldn't be given to you unless there were signs of bacterial infection.

If your phimosis is more severe such that retraction is impossible or painful, or if your banjo string is short and tight, then surgery would be the mainstay.

In my case, I needed surgery, and there were two options. One option was called a frenuloplasty, which basically involves surgery on the banjo string to 'cut some slack' and hopefully that would allow your foreskin to retract fully. The other option was a full, traditional circumcision. The surgeon advised me that if I went for the first option, then it may work, but odds are I would need steroid cream for long-term use as well, and may need a circumcision at a later date.

He recommended that the best plan in my case (my banjo string was tight and my foreskin ditto) that a circumcision is the most predictable and effective option. Both surgeries are done with you put to sleep, and being put to sleep carries risks. He therefore mentioned that a circumcision would be ideal in my case.

I've fully healed, and really wish I had the operation done sooner! If you have any more questions, let me know.

[ABYZ]

Thank you for all the info I just need to try and tell my parents.

[priya465]

The foreskin is the fold of skin that covers the glans penis (head of the penis). At birth, the foreskin and the glans penis are lightly joined. In most boys, by about five years of age the foreskin can be at least partly retracted (pulled back) and by puberty it is fully retractable in about 9 out of 10 boys.