The phymosis corresponds to the inability to expose the gland, which is the terminal part of the penis, popularly known as the head of the penis, due to an excess of skin at the site. This condition is common in male babies and tends to disappear in most cases until year 1, to a lesser extent until age 5 or only at puberty, without requiring specific treatment. However, when your skin doesn’t sink enough over time, you may need to use a specific ointment or have surgery.
There are 2 types of male phymosis:
- In some cases.
- The skin is so tight that even urine can get trapped inside the skin.
- Increasing the risk of urinary tract infection.
- Phymosis can lead to complications such as difficulty cleaning the area.
- Increased risk of urinary tract infection.
- Pain during sex.
- Increased propensity to have an STD.
- HPV or penile cancer.
- And significantly increase the risk of developing paraphymosis.
- Which is when the foreskin gets stuck and no longer covers the gland.
The only way to confirm the presence of fimosis is to try to manually retract the skin that lines the penile gland. When it is not possible to see the acorn completely, this represents a phymosis, which can be classified into 5 different degrees, although the degree is not very important to decide the best treatment, since it depends mainly on the age of the child. The first check of the presence of fimosis is done in the newborn, but is part of all pediatrician consultations up to age 5.
In the case of secondary phymosis that may occur in adolescence or adulthood, the man himself may observe if there is difficulty retracting the skin, and if this is verified, consultation with a urologist is recommended.
During your appointment, your doctor tries to retract the skin that lines your gland, and if this is not possible, a diagnosis of phymosis is made.
Infant phymosis is curable and it is not always necessary to resort to specific treatments and, therefore, the pediatrician must assess the situation, as it can be resolved naturally up to 4 or 5 years of the child. But if after this stage the fimosis persists, or in case of secondary phymosis, specific treatment is necessary, which can be performed with:
Use of corticosteroid ointments that have anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antibiotic properties to facilitate the slipping of the skin on the acorn and thus promote greater retraction. The ointment indicated by the doctor should be applied twice a day for 1 month and may be sufficient to cure the phymosis. Find out what they are and how to use some ointments for fimosis.
Another possibility, for children over 5 years, is to perform an exercise to retract the skin without too much tension or cause pain, because this is thus possible to facilitate slipping and thus promote the exposure of the gland.
To exercise, hold the penis with one hand and with the other apply the ointment and slowly pull the skin back for 1 minute, 3 to 4 times a day. This exercise should not cause pain or discomfort, but it should “slowly release the skin”. When bad exercise in addition to pain, scars, new adhesions and a ring of fibrosis can form, which is the hallmark of paraphymosis.
When treatment with ointments and exercises is not enough, you may also have phymosis surgery called postectomy after 2 years. Surgery should be performed by the doctor taking into account the person’s age and degree of phymosis and can be performed by completely removing excess skin or making small cuts to the skin of the area to facilitate the exposure of the gland. Understand how this is done and the necessary care after fimosis surgery.
Phymosis surgery cannot be performed in situations such as blood clotting difficulties, local infection or in case of abnormalities in the penis, as these situations present an increased risk of complications and may need to take advantage of the extracted skin to reconstruct certain tissues of the genitals. Area.
Although rare, it is possible for women to have phymosis, this situation is characterized by the adhesion of the small lips of the vagina, covering the vaginal opening, however this adhesion does not even cover the clitoris or urethra, which is the channel through which urine is passed.
As in boys, female phymosis can be solved over time depending on the girl’s development. However, if the adhesion is persistent, specific treatment may be necessary and should be recommended by the pediatrician or gynecologist. Learn more about female phymosis.