I can't seem to get betamethasone without a prescription, but would using cortizone 10 be helpful for stretching of the preputial ring? I have a tight foreskin. I read cortisone is a different class of topical steroid..

Tell us your story and we'll go from there.

Jim - or I - could just as easily have said: "Go back and read some of the previous message threads here" because this has bee well discussed as a site search for the primary ingredient of "cortizone 10", hydrocortisone (just add it to the end of the search box with a space in between), will readily show.

In brief, would it be helpful? Not much, as it mostly lacks the critical pharmaceutical action - which due to safety concerns is why hydrocortisone is available Over The Counter (OTC) and betamethasone is not.

Nevertheless, do have a good read through the discussion board here and that done, come back and tell us about your specific situation, and how you go with the stretching procedures.

Hi Paul, I was wondering if you could also describe the pharmaceutical action at a high level or even some details that I could google. I'm very curious about it.. At least it gives me hope that something might work

Well, betamethasone is a fluorinated steroid (note the "F" in the chemical diagram) which vastly enhances its potency and in particular, its effect in suppressing inflammation and consequent fibrosis (the production of the strong supportive matrix of skin and other tissues). This is particularly useful (indeed, critical) in the treatment of "Lichen Sclerosis" where an auto-immune process causes activation of the inflammatory process and progressive scarring.

The point is that most body processes are reversible at least to some degree, and if the process promoting fibrosis can be suppressed sufficiently, then other processes come into play to soften the fibrous matrix so that even scar tissue may be stretched. Of course, if this matrix could never be stretched, normal growth including growth in adulthood - skin actually needs to grow to accommodate pregnancy or obesity - would be impossible.

Clearly there is a risk that used inappropriately and excessively, the skin could be made too weak and stretchable, resulting in "striae" (note a possible mis-description presently in that Wikipedia page where they are actually described as "scarring", contradicting information further down the page) and skin atrophy. This is why such steroids are regulated by prescription, though the danger only actually applies to relatively persistent use on sensitive areas such as the face.

The point is that what is described as the undesirable or dangerous effect is exactly what you require if you are going to use it to assist foreskin (or indeed frænulum) stretching, so as long as it is applied precisely, only to the area which you really wish to stretch, then there is no risk whatsoever of these effects. Since the amount needed is extremely small to apply only to these areas, there is (even in children) no risk of systemic complications as long as this is understood. In fact, the only risk is that the medication does reduce the skin's resistance to infection such as fungal (Candida) infestation, awareness of which allows the use of an anti-fungal whenever this might happen (or even pre-emptively).

Perhaps however, do tell us a bit more about your situation - how you came to notice this problem, the context (what sexual experience you may have had and whether this caused any concerns), what others may have commented about it and so on?

strange, I thought I posted my situation before, but it looks like it didn't go through. I'll retype in quick bullets:

- 30 yr old
- discovered tight foreskin at about 20ish with a girl..
- have tried to stretch it on and off since then
- stretched it a bit, and discovered frenulum breve
- tied a couple sutures in the frenulum to relieve it. results seems good. may need one more
- foreskin still tight, and i've been trying to stretch it for the last 3 weeks manually with cortozone, but no real results. some days it seems a little looser, but then tighter. And i'm spending significant amount of time on it per day (like hours).
- I can retract it easily to about 85% of the glans.. then the rest can pull back relatively easily.. then it gets the hour-glass shape around the shaft as i pull it back further.
- I feel like I'm almost there
- I just got a prescription for betamethasone .1% cream today so will be trying that out as well over the next couple weeks.

- i can get about 4 fingers in the ring.. sometimes I can get 5 in, but 4 seems to be the plateau i've reached.

so i started using the betamethsone cream a handful of times a day.. just a small amount on the tight band.. here are some observations:

- The skin seems to be getting softer in this region
- some super thin "lines" or ridges are starting to be exposed. this lines seem like thin lines of tiny scabs. The lines follow the band around.
- The scabs seem to be disappearing now and the skin is getting more consistent
- I'm not sure if these lines are related to scar tissue caused by my previous stretching which may have been aggressive.
- Right now I'm taking it slow with the betamethasone cream and stretching. I'm only doing very light stretching and will proceed to a little more aggressive stretching when the tiny scabs are gone.


in summary, I sense that the betamethasone is making a significant difference.. but will let you know if it does end up fixing things in the next month or so.

Hi, i've decided to start a progress report to catalog the results of stretching with betamethasone. I'm assuming today is day 1 of my stretching and forgetting anything i've tried in the past.

I need to get to a 4.5 inch circumference. my phimotic ring is at 3.8 inches at max stretch currently. So .7 inches more (or just .22 inches in diameter). Is it reasonable to be expect stretching to yield .1 inches per week in circumference? i guess as the circumference gets bigger, it should get easier..

So it's been about 2 weeks since my last update.. Happy to report the skin quality around the band is more supple. Also happy to report the max stretch circumference has increased from 3.8 inches to just over 4 inches..


also want to note that I have started going to bed with the foreskin retracted.. i put a little plastic wrap around the glanse to prevent sensitivity as well as prevent the foreskin from rolling back over while asleep. i'm not sure if this will increase the "resting state" diameter of the ring.. also i guess the natural erections at night will tend to stretch it as well.



but the betamethasone has definitely been the key i believe.


so if i get another .2 inches per 2 weeks, i should be all set in about 1 month.

thanks again for all the helpful info.

Well, similar as your story is to various others posted here, and on the "Voy" forum, I cannot find any previous post with your name appended, so these details do give us some idea of the full situation. I should be interested to know the consequence and mode of your "discovery" at 20? Was this more of a minor quirk, or did it actually cause you bother and in what way? Also what did you actually make of your "discovery" of the dread "frænulum breve"?

I gather from this that you are actually stretching with multiple fingers inside the foreskin - which sounds eminently reasonable, indeed quite clever. Presumably this should allow you to simply hold the fingers inside to apply the necessary pressure without much effort - clearly you need quite firm pressure to achieve the necessary tension, just as long as it is not painful.

I trust you have read the instructions here for use of the cream (or preferably, ointment) only on the precise area you are attempting to stretch (but which would presumably include the frænulum). All things considered, it sounds as if you are getting it sorted out quite nicely.

The scaling is a little puzzling; one must always be alert to the possibility of Candida and the steroid does have a little risk of permitting this to gain a foothold. The thing to look out for is a substantial itch - if this were to happen you would need to use an anti-fungal such as clotrimazole (but this does not imply ceasing the steroid).

Hi Paul,

I discovered it when I was with my girlfriend at the time. She looked a little confused that the foreskin didn't go back all the way. I was confused too since i never really retracted it all the way. Hence my learning journey...

regarding the "scaling" i think the scabs are gone now.. i believe they were caused by excessive stretching which let to microtears in the skin. The betamethasone along with some vasoline deep moisturizer cream seem to have taken care of it. The skin feels more supple now. I feel like i'm already seeing minor results.. keeping my hopes up that this finally works.

It is quite usual for an area that is injured, even without a breach of the surface, to respond by scaling - the repair process is activated to replace the damaged skin surface and does so to the extent that the whole area is replaced, even where this was not strictly necessary. The most obvious example is a sunburn.

OK then. I do get a little concerned about references to the mythical "micro-tears" which according to the circumcision jihadists, cause irrevocable scarring.

The facts are twofold. Firstly, the definition in regard to healing is (as will be self-evident from one's own experience) that the smaller the defect, the more easily it heals with negligible scarring, so "micro-tears" would actually result in no scarring at all.

Secondly, fissures - little cracks in the skin - are an indication of skin that is unhealthy (as occurs in fungal infection) and brittle, particularly when it is scarred as in Lichen Sclerosis or Scleroderma. That is, the "micro-tears" are the consequence, not the cause of a problem.

It may be that you did stretch a little too hard at first, or had some degree of irritation present (no doubt you have read my/ our frequent admonitions against the use of soaps of any kind in this area), but there is no reason to imagine that this would have caused any further problem.

Hello,

Paul and/or Jim,

Being rather a rotund human, I have rather irritating faint stretch marks on areas of my body. I am hoping that, as usual, you will have an answer as to which remedy to use, as opposed to me looking through millions of products that all claim to save the day and, for an encore, go on to do the washing up, declare global dominance etc.

None of them. Patience will be the most effective, whilst strict attention to attitude in terms of discerning which foods have the least calorie loading (hint: think vegetables and fruit in moderation, minimise processed foods, learn the euphemisms for fat such as "shortening" and focus on calorie minimisation as well as reduced fat - "lite" as a descriptor is not always honest) will if practiced with care and a view to lifestyle change rather than any emphasis on "dieting", be or indeed is in the event the only way to improvement.

LOL,

Thanks paul,

You would not believe me if I told you that I am one of those people who are good at peptalks, good at advising people what they should be doing, good at telling people what they should eat and how. However, I am one of the most useless examples of a lifeform using the knowledge contained in me..
Thanks for the answer and for saving me money..


Also, about zinc and castor oil cream. I saw 6 brand in boots and did not like the ingredients (most had 10 or more)

So, can you push a name please?

I can only say the name I "push" is - zinc and castor oil cream! There's the problem, as soon as it has a "brand", you have a problem - it means the "product" is not being offered for your benefit, but is merely a marketing exercise; an "up-sell", "Will you be having fries with that?". I shall cautiously avoid diversion into a sermon on how anti-social "marketing" has become in our contemporary society.

The problem is that every added ingredient is at least a small potential for sensitivity, causing an adverse effect. To say nothing of unnecessarily adding expense to the manufacture. Zinc (oxide) is a drying agent and mildly antiseptic, being non-organic (and a nutritional trace element) it is extremely unlikely to cause irritation, whilst Castor oil is relatively inert (somewhat toxic if ingested I believe) and if anything, antiseptic. The point of advising it is that you do not need "extra" effects.

Boots is not so familiar (in the nation) where I live, so "brands" are even less practical to advise. The product I advise is completely "generic"; the name says it all and it should be available without additives. I can only suggest you need to continue searching according to that criterion.

What more can I say?