At the age of 23, I have developed thrush. I went to see my doctor, and he asked me whether I can retract my foreskin fully.

Although it is possible to do so when not erect, it leaves me in a cold sweat panic every time I do, which means I try and do it as least as possible. Due to the fear of it getting stuck.

It hurts due to tightness when erect and retracting at the same time.

My questions are, why does a foreskin need to retract when erect?

My doctor has advised me that I need to practice retracting it, in case when having sex it gets stuck and balloons which has happened once, but i managed to pull it back, i guess its the fear of it being tightish and the cold sweat panics which stops me pulling it back.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

What the doctor told you is correct, but it isn't as bad as it sounds. You already know what to do if it were to happen again. However, that's not the neatest thing to have happen in the middle of having sex, as you no doubt can attest.

Is the trush now under control? If so, start stretching that tight opening. Since you can already retract, it should take very long to get the job done. Look back over a few threads to get the idea. Don't worry about the right way to do it except in regard to pain. If it hurts, back off a little.

OK, let's run through some things.

• There must be a reason why you developed "thrush". What is it? Is it
  1. You have developed diabetes? Of course, the doctor checked for that first up, didn't he?
     
  2. You have been on antibiotics recently for some reason?
     
  3. Your girlfriend has thrush?
  
  
• What is the story of your foreskin? When did you first try retracting it, why did you try this at that time and not earlier? Was it previously easier to retract but became difficult and if so, when?
  
  
• You ask: Why does a foreskin need to retract when erect? Because that's the way it is supposed to work!

It's actually a good question because some people would suggest that it is a terrible thing to have a foreskin that does not retract because you will not be able to have an orgasm (and we have actually had just such a complaint as you will note, three threads back), will not be able to father children, and other dire consequences including - recurrent infections (such as "thrush") and an increased risk of cancer.

Well, actually, there is a grain of truth in each of those, and while it may be the case that your inability to retract is compromising your ability to stave off the "thrush", you have presumably proved to yourself that the inability to retract is not stopping your enjoyment - including orgasm - of intercourse.

It is most likely however, that you will actually find it more enjoyable - and your ladyfriend in particular will - to have your foreskin easily moving back and forth. This provides a "buffer" which allows your glans (penis head) to be effectively kept within the vagina and its lubrication, minimising loss of that all-important lubrication. Without that, the shaft skin moving in and out, tends to continuously wipe the lubrication out and risk things becoming dry and uncomfortable.

As Jim says, you must first get control of the thrush - which means you must determine and manage the cause as well as treating it with an imidazole (such as clotrimazole/ Lotrimin®/ Canesten® or perhaps the oral fluconazole). Only when you do that can you perform the stretching as I have already described to that other fellow and you must not omit to read back through at least a couple of dozen threads to get a full idea of how to approach the stretching.

And you might be in a position to use the betamethasone or similar ointment but having had "thrush" you would need to combine it with continuing preventative treatment for the thrush, because the steroid makes you much more susceptible to it.

Further points:

• Retracting, whether flaccid or erect, is not the most effective form of stretching, so it is not unreasonable to leave it off until you have progressed a little with the stretching. Unfortunately, your doctor's advice is a little vague on this aspect.
  
• Can you better describe this "ballooning"?
  
• Don't panic about "paraphimosis" (getting "stuck" behind the glans). Unless you leave it "stuck" for an inordinate delay, it will be possible to "reduce" it yourself - pull it back over. Paraphimosis is a problem in people who are mentally incapable due to youth (i.e., scared children), anaesthesia or intoxication (speaks for itself) or senility (dementia). If you are not in one of these categories, it is extraordinarily unlikely to become a major problem.
  
• Care to mention from what country you come?

Over to you.

Hi ... was reading your post and can completely understand where you are coming from... here is a history of my case

I am a 24 yr old uncircumsised male from India and measure 5" when erect. My foreskin used to not retract at all over my glans as I had never tried to attemp it. I was having no problem masturbating or having sexual intercouse with my girlfriend since the past two years... used to get very confused when I used to see pics of retracted penis on the internet (used to assume they are circumsised. However when I researched over the internet I realised that I suffered from phimosis. I then started some streching exercises.

After these exersises I could pull my foreskin a little behind.. but this led to a new problem. Once when my girlfriend was riding me (I dont pull my foreskin behind before putting on a condom) my foreskin came down and got stuck there. My glan felt so sensitive that we had to stop right away.. also the foreskin got stuck behind the glan and felt very tight.

Now I practice manually retracting and manage to pull the skin back over the glan.. its much better now and less sensitive.. infact I can now masturbate in this position but the foreskin still feels pretty tight behind the glans.

Need your advice.. donot even wanna think of getting circumsised.

Pl let me know if you would want me to share my penis pics in its various stages (from unretractible to fully retracted after streching) if that can help you get a clearer pic of my condition and to compare your case with mine.

Regards
Kumaar

Hello Kumaar.

I'm not entirely sure from your post, what your residual problem is! As you describe it, you have now stretched your foreskin to the point that you can pull it back behind your glans, and masturbate or perhaps have intercourse in this position (is that so?), but it is still tight.

I suspect you have been doing this principally by pulling your foreskin back over an erection. That will loosen the foreskin only to a certain degree, what you need to do is to stretch it much wider than the diameter of your glans using this method or something similar.

Again, please read back well through a lot of the threads here to see how this works.

Your story again illustrates two important points:

• A foreskin that will not retract at all does not prevent a full range of sexual activity, and
• the only reason that discomfort will occur due to a foreskin that will not retract, is where it is sufficiently close to retracting, that thrusting in intercourse, can force it past the "critical" point.

That said, there are advantages in having it retract correctly in terms of cleanliness (though it is important not to cause problems here by the unwise use of soap) and the maximum comfort and pleasure during intercourse.

Hi thanks for your response..

Well yes I have been achieveing this retraction by pulling my foreskin back when erect... how do I get rid of the tight band behind my glans after I manage to retract my foreskin...

see the problem I am facing is that the opening(hole) on my foreskin is not large enough to fit in both my fingers.... whenever I try it the foreskin keeps slipping away from my fingers... kindly advice

Literally that - if you pick the right two fingers - such as your little fingers to start with, then you should be able to get both inside your foreskin. Note that you do this in the sequence - get one little finger in, use the thumb of the same hand on the outside pressed against the finger inside to get a grip on the foreskin so you can push the second one in alongside it.

Note that while the diagram shows the fingers held apart, until you really achieve some stretching, you will generally have the two fingers against each other, which is actually easier, because the stretching is done by "levering" them against each other and this will not tire your arms. Note also that since the space inside the foreskin is much wider than the tight part, the fact that the two fingers are "hooked" inside the foreskin, one either side of the glans, prevents the foreskin from slipping off.

Now, if indeed it is so tight that you cannot fit two little fingers inside, then concentrate on getting your thumb in there, and practice getting as much of it as possible inside the foreskin, sitting beside the glans. Keep your fingernails trimmed and smoothed. Although it may make it more difficult to get a grip in order to insert the finger or fingers inside, a proper lubricant (never soap, shampoo or detergent, or scented, or motor oil) will make it more comfortable and more effective.

And incidentally, unless she has long fingernails, I am sure your girlfriend has smaller fingers!

So - the way to do it is by using fingers - when you have stretched it with your fingers, then you will be able to retract without the "tight band".