Phimosis is a condition commonly found in new born babies where the fore skin doesn’t retract at all. But for new born babies it is common and by nature there foreskin doesn’t retract and as they grow into adolescence their foreskin retracts on its own. But if this condition if found in adults then it is identified as a disorder. As per research one in ten thousand men may suffer from phimosis. Circumcision is looked at as an immediate remedy for phimosis. There are other alternatives too which are used to treat phimosis.
The prepuce in young boys is usually tight until they reach puberty only after which it starts loosening up and retracting. In some cases it starts retracting after they start having sex. If the foreskin has not retracted ina child it is not a cause of concern and it should not be forced to retract in a child forcefully even for cleaning and so on. Even the child should be told this.
Phimosis has been much confusing subject to understand for common people and many confuse this condition with children and themselves even when everything is normal with their penis. True phimosis can be explained by using this definition.
The non retractable fore skin on the penis which is caused by BXO or Balanitis Xerotica Obliterans and can be differentiated by looking for a hard whitish ring at the tip of the prepuce is called BXO or the condition is referred to as phimosis. Every foreskin that is not retractable does not amount to phimosis. If the BXO is not present then it is not phimosis at all.
Misdiagnosis by doctors themselves is common and even they sometimes call anon retractable skin as phimosis. So it is always better to take a second opinion if diagnosed with phimosis. Because the condition is pretty confusing and can easily be misunderstood even when everything is normal. A lot of people go through circumcision for misunderstood phimosis and is now one of the major problems in genital diseases being faced in the United States and the United Kingdom. Some times parents who take their adolescent children to the hospitals because their skin has not retracted get circumcision advice because the skin has not retracted.
Circumcision is a very painful procedure to endure at that age and there is much more pain and fear involved in the whole process. Circumcision is performed when the patient is conscious and there no anesthetics are used. So it is going to be painful. Using anesthetics pose a different problem so the patient is left conscious.
After a lot of struggle by few organizations now circumsicion is recommended only when there is ample proof that phimosis has been caused due to BXO and they look for the whitish ring unless which it is not recommended. Research also shows that only 0.4 of 1000 boys suffer from phimosis and there are 40 percent surgeries being conducted on the name of phimosis which is a serious issue.
Even stretching techniques are used as treatment procedures for non retracting skin. Stretching of foreskin is performed by applying Vaseline or baby oil and is applied on the foreskin by pulling it away and the oil or the body cream serves as a lubricant. This is a massaging technique which is performed using many variations. Sometimes the penis is dipped in warm water and then the procedure is performed.Basically you will be training the skin to be more elastic and retract.
But if the fore skin opening is too narrow then you could use advanced creams like Glansie. Even after a month of these massages you do not notice any improvement then you could consider using steroid creams and surgery should be the last option after you have tried everything else.
The foreskin should be looked at as a natural part of the penis and no as something which is unnecessary or anything. In some cases the foreskin envelopes the penis completely either forming a narrow hole or sometimes no hole at all which is scary or the only solution when the foreskin is completely attached is a surgery. But if there is small hole but the foreskin seems to be tight, other massages may help. For a child phimosis by default should be ruled out because the foreskin will retract after sometime. Also parents and the child should be advised that they shouldn’t force the skin to retract either or use too much soap while cleaning because it may damage the tissues which are developing.
After adolescence if the skin on the penis has still not retracted then a the right doctor should be consulted and after the doctor confirms it could be a phimosis condition then the patient should resort to treatment. Even phimosis can be confirmed only if there is BXO present in the foreskin. The patient will be tested for BXO which is the only correct procedure for identifying phimosis. If there I some other procedure which the doctor followed then you could ask him to explain as to how he concluded that the patient has phimosis. Ask to see the reports before you accept that the condition exists.
Prevention is better than cure and in the case of phimosis a cure which was not even needed. Phimosis is a largely misunderstood genital disorder in men and most men have already put themselves through unnecessary surgery in spite of having no phimosis. Circumcision is an expensive procedure and at an adult stage the insurance companies do not cover the patient completely as they do not see circumcision as an important procedure at that time.
A lot of people because of misdiagnosed phimosis have gone through circumcision and this is because there is no awareness of the condition in the first place. There are no resources available on phimosis and what are available are not enough. Because of lack of resources they are to follow the doctor like a lamb and they don’t have a choice either. It is human nature to get rid of problems and for men if they have a problem with their penis that becomes the most important concern of their lives. So they will do anything to rectify it.
Before they opt for circumcision they should be aware that phimosis can be treated using steroids also and it has been effective in many cases and they are safe. Beta methasone cream is usually applied on the foreskin which has known to help the phimosis condition. An application of 3 to four times everyday is advised for patients. But if there has been no improvement after 3 or 4 months then the application should be discontinued.
Conservative surgery is another option to treat phimosis which is less harsh than circumcision. And conservative procedure allows the prepuce to be retained but in circumcision a part of prepuce is taken of and in comparison circumcision is much more painful than conservative procedure. However BXO cannot be treated even after circumcision, phimosis will not exist but BXO has to be treated using ointments and external applications. BXO can also be due to microbial activity and that has to be ruled out first.
There is a lot of after effects of circumcision apart from pain and possibilities of infection. The whole procedure is traumatic for the patient and has psychological impacts so make sure you are absolutely positive that you have phimosis before opting for surgery. You have time until you lay down on the operation theater bed actually. Get complete information about circumcision, how the procedure is done, if possible get some videos and watch it before you actually decide to go for it and be completely willing to have the operation and not get talked into it.
There are 2 percent chances for a simple circumcision operation to end up with serious complications. And there are many side effects after the operation like sore wound on the penis and exposed wound. So you have to be extremely careful to avoid infections.