phimosis question

[ColoradoMama]

Okay, I know someone here will know the answer to this. What exactly is phimosis? I googled it, but I'm still confused. I'm asking because it was referenced on an episode of Scrubs this week. I know it's just a silly sitcom, but the urologist said something to the effect of it being a hardening of the foreskin. She told the kid she recommended that he masturbate more. I know it was all supposed to be funny because then JD reacts with a stupid comment and then gets embarrassed, runs into a door, etc. Honestly, I was just glad she didn't say we're going to need to circumcise. BUT... I thought phimosis had to do with a foreskin not being able to retract. Anyway, I know somebody here can set me straight!

[Revamp]

Phimosis is something I am rather well read on as a consequence of me being a sufferer, well pretty much ex-sufferer but we shall get to that.

Basically phimosis is either the glans growing to big or the foreskin to tight (or both) with the result of a full (or in some cases even partial) exposure of the glans being impossible.

How common it is seems to very depending upon who you ask, apparently premature forceful retraction may cause it but that never happened in my case since I live in Britain.

I realised I had phimosis last year and felt rather silly for not realising earlier. It was fairly minor since I could expose about a third of the tip of the glans but the urethral opening was tricky to find and a full retraction was downright impossible. I saw a doctor while seeing him over an (unrelated) issue with my genitals and his first suggestion was a circumcision. I was appalled and he backtracked and offered me a prepuplastory which left me content but a little irked he had not offered that outright.

I feared for sensitivity in the foreskin being lost and so was hoping for some steroid creams instead but then I found this: http://www.cirp.org/library/treatment/phimosis/beauge/

Basically Dr Beauge found that, as Scrubs says, masturbation (or, rather the right sort of masturbation) could cure phimosis, or perhaps that the incorrect variety caused it. Or visa versa.

Well, whatever, I decided to give it a go and keep an e-journaly of the events (it seemed like a supremely superior solution to surgery) which you can find here: http://www.beaugeblog.blogspot.com but be warned: it contains some fairly, well, vivid descriptions of the process.

In short it worked, the thought of people who have not tried this being circumcised is most troubling to me.

[ColoradoMama]

Thanks for the info Revamp. Scrubs got it right - I'll be darned. I was honestly a little skeptical because a couple of years ago, they had a fairly off color remark about breastfeeding that had my hackles up, so I didn't really trust them. Yea, again - I know it's a sitcom! So, thanks! I know someone here would have good info for me.

[Revamp]

Originally Posted by ColoradoMama

Thanks for the info Revamp. Scrubs got it right - I'll be darned. I was honestly a little skeptical because a couple of years ago, they had a fairly off color remark about breastfeeding that had my hackles up, so I didn't really trust them. Yea, again - I know it's a sitcom! So, thanks! I know someone here would have good info for me.

Scrubs always seems to be right when it comes to this issue actually... It seems to have a subtle pro-intact pattern which is nice since it is fairly mainstream.

Sorry to hear about the breast feeding thing but, yeah, comedy + breasts = attempt at hilarity. It happens. I am quite proud of it for being above mocking the foreskin though, just about every other show has. Including Sex and the City, which is one of the many things that set me against it.

I can understand not quite trusting it though, it might have sounded a little odd but if you consider it it makes sense. Apparently that helps prevent prostate cancer too...

Glad that I was of some help! Let me know if you like me site. :P

[Islay]

Originally Posted by ColoradoMama

Okay, I know someone here will know the answer to this. What exactly is phimosis? I googled it, but I'm still confused. I'm asking because it was referenced on an episode of Scrubs this week. I know it's just a silly sitcom, but the urologist said something to the effect of it being a hardening of the foreskin. She told the kid she recommended that he masturbate more. I know it was all supposed to be funny because then JD reacts with a stupid comment and then gets embarrassed, runs into a door, etc. Honestly, I was just glad she didn't say we're going to need to circumcise. BUT... I thought phimosis had to do with a foreskin not being able to retract. Anyway, I know somebody here can set me straight!

Hello CM...

True phimosis is either a natal or an acquired condition. Worldwide, both are very rare. But in North America, acquired phimosis is tragically more common.

You're correct in your understanding. Phimosis is an inability to retract the foreskin. BUT - and this is very important - it must never be confused with the phimotic nature of an infant's penis. Nature designed the foreskin to protect a child in his pre-pubescent years and provide many other benefits upon sexual maturity. Unfortunately, it seems that poor education about the foreskin and its function in the USA has led the medical fraternity to unwittingly harm little boys by prematurely retracting them. This painfully tears the fused prepuce from the glans. The wound heals but leaves a scar. All scars are 'harder' than the surrounding skin and this may be what the urologist was referring to.

This is acquired phimosis. If the damage is severe enough it can prevent retraction and may lead to invasive surgery to correct it. If the damage is minimal then masturbation may ease the restriction if done often enough. There are other non-invasive remedies, too.

So perhaps we can say that you and the urologist were both right!

Christopher

[Frankly Speaking]

There is some good information above and I'm just going to add some detail and examples to help you to understand.

Imagine the foreskin as a sleeve on a shirt or blouse. In young children, it is most like a woven shirt with a button cuff. As you know, some cuffs are too tight to get you hand through with the button fastened. This is the situation with young boys and as you can imagine, trying to force the hand or glans through this cuff or foreskin will pop the button or tear the fabric. As the boy gets older, this cuff will transform itself to a knit type cuff and will stretch to allow the glans to pass through just as the hand will easily pass through a knit shirt cuff because it is stretchy.

Generally, when the issue of phimosis comes up, it is the normal type that has not yet transformed itself to a knit type yet and is misdiagnosed as acquired or pathological phimosis. However, there is a pathological condition of phimosis. This is caused most often by trying (or succeeding) to have it retract before its time. It can also rarely be caused by infections that have not been treated and these infections have damaged the non-elastic constricting band that surrounds the foreskin opening. In both of these situations, scar tissue has formed in the foreskin opening. Scar tissue is not elastic and prevents the foreskin opening from stretching adequately to retract the foreskin.

The main thing to remember is that pathological phimosis is an exceedingly rare condition and any diagnosis of pathological phimosis is likely to be a misdiagnosis.



Frank