My foreskin occasionally got sore and itchy after sexual activity and I noticed small cracks in it. I used clotrimazol cream advertised for "jock itch" and it went away each time. Recently the soreness was becoming more frequent and I have noticed that the ring of muscle around the tip was getting narrower. I assumed that this was why the foreskin was splitting. I read of stretching exercises and tried them but the ring almost seems to be getting tighter not looser. I can fully retract my foreskin but the ring forms a sort of waist when it is retracted.

I am 54, is it usual for this to be happening at my age?

I have read other posts which refer to a yeast infection is this a possibility? Is there a test to identify if I have this problem.

Once or twice I have tried "Delay" spray during sex, would this affect the situation?

Keep using that cream even after symptons disappear. You may also need to take something to treat it internally. Check your health food store for products containin caprylic acid, among other things.

It is not normal for the foreskin to close up as you describe. Delay is an anesthetic, doubtfully a cause of any of this.

You have performed the test for yeast. If clotrimazole settled the problem (compared to not using that cream), then the problem was yeast.

If it is becoming more frequent, then you certainly have to ask why, and the regrettably common answer at 54 is "diabetes", for which as I have mentioned frequently, you should be tested by a blood test (as not having glucose in the urine is no reassurance whatsoever).

If you have diabetes, you have a whole different "ball game" which you need to address immediately. Beyond that, Jim has mentioned some general tips about not favouring yeast growth, you should also have noted the warnings about not getting soap (or any variant thereof - people for example seem not to comprehend that "shower gel" is another name for soap) - or "antiseptics" or whatever - under your foreskin.

If you need more consistent treatment (with clotrimazole), then by all means do so, also consider fluconazole (Diflucan®) orally. Do not forget (or is it not obvious?) that your partner will automatically re-infect you if she is not also treated. Once you have the yeast under control, stretching becomes practical - perhaps assisted by a potent steroid ointment.

And - did the "Delay" actually do anything remotely useful? (If it is indeed effective as an anaesthetic, it could easily facilitate you traumatising your foreskin without observing it at the time.)