Hi I have a lot of questions about the cream I am using and hopefully someone can answer them. I have two creams available to me one is called Ratio-Topisone consisting of 0.05% betamethasone dipropionate (lotion). This is the cream I have decided to use as it seems safe enough. The other cream I have is Fuciden and consists of Fusidic acid 2% and hudrocortisone acetate 1%. I don't really know what Fusidic acid is and what it will do. Do you know if the betamethasone dipropionate is ok to use? I plan to go to a doctor at some point, but right now I really just can't. I got these creams for some other problem and I think they should work. Please help me. Thanks. Also where should I apply this cream i.e. can it be applied inside the foreskin.

Fusidic acid is a topical antibiotic - suitable only for application on the surface. I doubt you would need this, and the hydrocortisone component of Fucidin-H® is not going to assist a great deal in stretching.

Betamethasone will, but the lotion is the least appropriate form for this purpose (an ointment would be the best). The whole intention is to apply it only to the part that needs it, which is the tight part just inside the foreskin. If you pull your foreskin back as far as possible, the tight part will tend to poke out and you can then apply the betamethasone there.

Do have a good read back through this forum - the information is all here!

Just another note. My foreskin retracts as far as this:

But with a much much tighter constriction at that point.

I was also curious about one more thing. When I pull back far enough I notice white crap on my penis. I assume that this is Smegma? I washed it with warm water and it dissapeared.

Are you doing stretching exercises? The cream alone won't do any good, so be sure to get in some stretching time each and every day.

Yes, that white stuff is smegma, and it's harmless. Water is all that is necessary to wash it away. Don't use any soap inside the foreskin.

Are there any side effects from betamethasone cream on the glans? It seems inevitable that the foreskin which has been applied with cream will come into contact with the glans.

You might wonder about that.

firstly, the tight part of the foreskin is actually in front of the glans when it goes forward again, so if the ointment is applied correctly, they will not touch.

Notice that I always say "ointment"? This is the correct form, and being sticky, will tend to stay where you put it.

I also emphasise that you put on no more than a smear - if it is sticky afterward, you have put on too much. The vast majority should be the part rubbed into the foreskin, with a negligible amount able to rub off again.

There is a general concern using these steroids, some will be absorbed and interfere with a child's growth. This is however, only a concern when the steroids are used in the amounts required to treat eczema, which may be on a significant area of the body. The genitals in general are estimated (for example, in burns assessment) to be 1 of the whole body area, and the part we are talking about here is less than a twentieth of that. At this rate, a tube as commonly supplied would suffice for daily application for a number of years!

Other than that, the only two adverse effects of the steroids are thinning of the skin (due to degradation of the skin matrix - this is the exact effect we want to facilitate stretching of the foreskin), and increased susceptibility to fungal/ yeast ("thrush") infection. Used cautiously, and keeping an eye out for "thrush" which can be easily managed, this should not be a great concern.