hey
my foreskin looks like picture 2 here when erect :http://www.foreskin.org/33-color.htm
i am not sure if i have just a tight foreskin or frenulum breve as well..
how do i find out if my frenulum is too short?

i assumed that i had both phimosis and frenulum breve and have been stretching my foreskin for about a month using techniques shown in pictures 3 and 4 here:http://www.foreskin.org/33-color.htm
but i haven't seen much of an improvement..
so i bought a tube of betamethasone valerate cream about a week back but i havent been able to use it properly..i tried applying it first and then stretching but the cream made my foreskin very slippery and it was quite impossible to get enough of a grip to stretch it..
so how do i use it? can it be applied after stretching?
and is it possibe to use it for stretching the frenulum as well?

i would really appreciate some help!

If you're not able to retract, the first problem to solve is the tight ring.

How did you acquire the betamethasone? This is a pretty potent preparation which should be used quite sparingly. Paul will be able to advise you on that.

As far as stretching, you don't need the medicine to do it.

the reason i suspected a short frenulum is that while stretching,the foreskin opening appears to stretch quite a bit but during an erection,the opening seems to be exactly the same size as it was before i started the stretching exercises..
could the frenulum be responsible for this?

i bought the betamethasone cream at a drugstore near my house. does it have side-effects?
i tried it because ive read that it accelerates the whole stretching process..but im still not sure how to use it..

How often are you stretching, and for how long a period of time? At this point, I think it may be too early to assess what role the frenulum may play, so keep stretching the opening.

What Paul recommends is a strenght of Betamethasone which requires a presciption. If you've acquired this without, it is not the right stuff. Yes, it could have side effects. Please wait till Paul addresses the issue.

Various points:

• Betamethasone cream - ointment would be better, and the strongest available, 0.1% if available, else 0.05% much better than 0.02% which is often sold in larger quantity.
  
  
• You do not want to get it anywhere other than the part you wish to stretch - which is the tight area you can see when you pull back your foreskin (with or without an erection). Because you do not want it anywhere else, you really do not want to use it before stretching, as you will be wiping it all over the place, inviting undesirable side-effects.
  
  
• Because you do not want to spread it, the required amount is tiny - after applying it, it should not feel particularly slippery.
  
  
• The preferred means of stretching is to get two (little) finger-tips inside the tight part. If and when you can get both in, you can "hook" them inside to hold the stretch. Under these circumstances, lubrication - but not the steroid ointment - will be useful. Apply the steroid as you finish each stretching - but not too often.
  
  
• You can use it to help the frænulum stretch. You would have to retract your foreskin far enough to display the frænulum and get the ointment on it.
  
  
• If your frænulum is short, your glans (penis head) will tend to be pulled down when you retract your foreskin past it. This will of course, be more evident with a less-than-full erection. It is true that the tighter your foreskin, the more likely this will happen, but until you can actually retract your foreskin, it will not be so obvious. Do the "frænulum stretch" as part of your stretching, just in case.
  
  
• The "external circlip pliers" may well be a good idea, and cheaper than the "glansie". You will likely need to "shoe" them with suitably short little pieces of plastic tubing to make the ends that you place in through the foreskin opening, softer (silicone would be best) and use larger diameters as the stretching progresses.
  
  
• Preputioplasty is almost never necessary, unless you are in a tearing hurry- and why would you be?

Thanks for all the help guys..sorry bout taking so long to respond
I've been stretching everyday for bout 5 to 10 mins..i try to do it more than once a day whenever i have the time..
And about the betamethasone( I have .1% betamethasone) ,can I apply a little bit of it after every stretching session?

I did say "Apply the steroid as you finish each stretching - but not too often"

I suppose you do want a definition of "too often". I would say that three or four times a day - remembering that it is only a tiny bit on the tight part only, not enough for it to be really obvious to the touch afterward - is enough. If you stretch more often than that, then just use the preparation on three or four occasions spaced apart by at least a couple of hours.

And if you stretch more often than that - great!

You might try the following page:
http://www.norm-uk.org/phimosis_clinical_guidelines.html#315

I don't agree with the lateral preputioplasty involving the dorsal area
however, my view is that the dorsal and frenulum areas should be avoided as
these areas of the glans are the most interactive with the foreskin as well
as the most sensual parts. Better to go with either side as outlined by the
following paper:
http://www.rcsed.ac.uk/journal/vol44_5/4450008.htm

from:
http://www.foreskin-restoration.netfirms.com/foreskin_problems.htm

Regarding the inability to grip the foreskin you could try some 'external circlip pliers' from a garage tool supplier. Wrap the ends in hypoalergenic tape, enough to protect you from any sharp edged and you can insert the ends of the pliers and expand the foreskin that way, they are quite cheap, just go gently with it.

Hope that helps.

Kevin Elks.

It's good to have a man with your experience paying us a visit. I hope you'll stay a while.