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Phimosis is a common urology health condition in which the foreskin of the penis becomes too tight and cannot be pulled over the head (glans) of the penis. Phimosis in adults often causes painful symptoms and requires treatment. In adults, this condition is usually not the result of a natural development but instead, there is an underlying cause that needs to be addressed.
If not accompanied by painful symptoms, phimosis is normal in children and young. In infants and young boys, the foreskin is usually attached to the head of the penis. In 99% of cases, this resolves itself completely but if it does not, consulting a urologist for phimosis is vital.
A phimosis penis may look like it has rings around the tip of the penis. With phimosis, there may appear a tight ring or “a rubber band” of foreskin around the glans (tip of the penis), which often prevents full retraction.
Phimosis Causes | Phimosis Symptoms |
Infection of the foreskin | Inability to pull back foreskin |
Forceful retraction of the foreskin | Redness and Swelling |
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) | Soreness |
Foreskin or injury | Itchiness |
Eczema | Difficulty or pain while urinating |
Psoriasis | Painful intercourse and erections |
Lichen sclerosus | Foul-smelling odor |
Diabetes | Lack of sensation |
Phimosis is usually diagnosed and treated by a urologist. In the diagnosis procedure, the doctor analyzes the various phimosis symptoms you might have and then proceeds to determine the best phimosis cure for you.
Diagnosis of phimosis begins with a simple, routine physical examination. Your urologist may ask questions about your medical history, symptoms, sexual activity, and any injury to the penis, to understand your phimosis symptoms.. The doctor may also examine the penis for signs of foreskin infection, tight foreskin and other phimosis symptoms.
The first thing that the urologist will do is ask about your symptoms and physically diagnose the condition. The urologist may first try nonsurgical approaches for phimosis or to reduce the foreskin swelling. After the swelling has been reduced, your urologist should be able to pull the foreskin back to its regular position. If the foreskin remains stuck there, the urologist might need to perform circumcision surgery for phimosis.
A physical examination is usually enough to diagnose phimosis. However, for effective phimosis treatment or to determine the underlying cause, the doctor may request some additional diagnostic tests including:
Good hygiene of the penis can lower the chances of phimosis or other foreskin-related health conditions. Some easy tips for phimosis penis hygiene are:
Phimosis cure may vary from medicines to surgical and non-surgical methods. For mild phimosis, phimosis steroid creams can be used and manual stretching exercises can be done. In severe cases of phimosis, surgery may be the best option.
Phimosis in infants and young boys does not always need cure. If your child has phimosis, it is important that a pediatrician evaluates the condition to determine the need of treatment.
Different types of phimosis cures are:
Phimosis creams– Doctors may recommend topical steroid phimosis ointment application for patients with phimosis symptoms. Most topical creams can help soften the tight foreskin around the penis, which may be easily retracted. Your doctor will suggest how to apply the phimosis cream to the tight foreskin and how often to apply that. The ointment should be massaged into the affected phimosis penis 2 times daily for 6 to 8 weeks along with manual stretching or retraction exercise twice daily, to get relief from phimosis symptoms. Phimosis steroid creams have a success rate of more than 70%.
Phimosis retraction exercises – Retraction exercise is the best non-surgical phimosis treatment. Boys older than 5 years might be recommended some foreskin stretching exercises to try and get relief from phimosis symptoms. However, these exercises should not cause pain and should not be done forcefully.
To do these exercises, apply any phimosis ointment and pull the foreskin back slowly, for about 1 minute, 3-4 times a day. These exercises should not cause discomfort or pain but should loosen the foreskin little by little. If these phimosis exercises are not done correctly, it may cause complications like pain, scars, new adhesions, and paraphimosis or worsen the existing phimosis symptoms.
Circumcision Surgery or Phimosis surgery – Typically, after non-surgical treatment options have proven unsuccessful in reducing the tightness of the foreskin and the foreskin cannot be pulled back to the normal position, the doctor may recommend circumcision (sometimes, known as phimosis surgery). During the circumcision procedure, the surgeon will cut the foreskin to expose the head of the penis. Many men choose to undergo circumcision surgery in order to get permanent relief from foreskin problems and penile infections. Leveraging advanced technology, urologists can perform phimosis surgery through minimally invasive techniques (laser circumcision and stapler circumcision) in less than 30 minutes.
At Pristyn Care, We offer advanced laser and laparoscopic surgical treatment including laser circumcision, stapler circumcision and frenuloplasty surgery.
You should call a doctor right away if you witness any of the following phimosis symptoms:
Phimosis should be taken seriously and treated promptly. The need for phimosis treatment will depend on the patient’s age, the severity of the problem and the underlying cause. For patients with severe or recurrent phimosis, doctors suggest circumcision to permanently treat the condition. If you are suffering from paraphimosis, consult a doctor to undergo circumcision.
Circumcision is recommended by a urologist when other conservative options have failed to treat the phimosis symptoms and removal of the foreskin becomes inevitable. In such cases, where the doctor states that phimosis surgery is medically necessary to cure the underlying condition or prevent its recurrence, circumcision can be covered under insurance. Most leading healthcare providers in India such as Max Bhupa, New India, Religare, United India Insurance, Care Health, etc cover the cost of circumcision when it is a medical necessity.
Circumcision is a relatively minor and complication-free procedure. But it is still very important to choose the best surgeons to undergo circumcision surgery. You should choose an expert surgeon who specialises in performing advanced circumcision procedures such as stapler or laser circumcision, which is different from conventional circumcision in many ways. The benefits of advanced circumcision are:
If you have any doubts or concerns regarding circumcision surgery, it would be best to consult an expert surgeon.
Yes, phimosis is curable. Circumcision is the procedure to treat phimosis once and for all. Laser circumcision is the safest way to remove the tight foreskin from the penis. Stapler circumcision is a modern technique of circumcision that is minimally invasive in nature. It is better to undergo any of these advanced circumcision procedures than complex open circumcision surgery.
If you have a tight foreskin, do not retract it forcibly. This can result in tearing of the foreskin tissues and can aggravate your problem. Also, the foreskin may get stuck and form a ring around the penis. This condition is called paraphimosis and is an emergency medical condition.
Although phimosis can be treated with ointments and medications, the only permanent treatment for the condition is the surgical procedure called circumcision. In circumcision, the surgeon removes the layer of foreskin from the penis, which resolves the problem of phimosis. Medically, the most effective and modern circumcision procedure is laser circumcision.
Phimosis in infants usually goes away on its own by the time the boy turns 7 years of age. However, cases of adult phimosis do not resolve on their own without medical treatment. If left untreated, they can cause a number of complications. Therefore, it is better to seek medical consultation for the problem.
Yes, inability to retract the foreskin can make it even more difficult to maintain proper hygiene of the penis. Microbes can thus thrive in the dark and moist area under the foreskin and cause infections, which can result in inflammation of the glans penis.
Yes, phimosis does occur in children. In fact, infant phimosis is very common and occurs due to adhesions between the foreskin and the glans penis. The problem is nothing to worry about and it usually resolves on its own by the time the child reaches 5-7 years of age.
Sexually transmitted infections, improper hygiene and skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis are the major causes of sudden phimosis in adult men.
No, you should not rely on self-medication and home remedies for phimosis. Home remedies can certainly help alleviate the discomforts of phimosis only temporarily. However, it is not a good idea to rely completely on home remedies. And self-medication is just not an option. Delay in medical treatment for phimosis can result in the worsening of the problem and the symptoms can aggravate.
Yes, you can have sex with phimosis. But you may experience pain and discomfort during sexual intercourse. The tight foreskin also affects the chances of achieving orgasm pleasurably. You will also have to be cautious to prevent any tearing or scarring of the foreskin. It is better to consult a doctor for a permanent solution for phimosis.