I've been trying to stretch my foreskin out for some time, but I always run into issues with the foreskin being dry. Regardless of whether I am stretching it or not, my foreskin develops what seems to be dry skin, that is, a chalkiness from the end to about 1/3 the way towards the pubic area. When I try to stretch it (or even when I masturbate to be honest), I'll often develop cracks at the tip of the foreskin which will sometimes bleed slightly. I gave up masturbating and stretching for the past 2 and a half months (not very hard, considering I'm at college and there isn't a lot of privacy anyway), but my foreskin is pretty much always dry.

I'm not sure if this is a condition my entire body has, since I use lotion on my legs and face regularly to keep them from become ashy, but any advice would be appreciated. I'd like to resume the stretching to try and fix my narrow foreskin problem, but when I do, the cracks in the foreskin come back and it is somewhat painful.

Additional info: As of now, I can pull my foreskin back over the head when I am not erect, but the foreskin remains lodged behind the head unless I manually push it back over. I haven't tried getting fully erect with the foreskin under the head because it becomes very (painfully) tight as I become erect and I'm too scared of it tearing to allow it to stay under.

Thanks a lot for any responses,

-V

This sounds like yeast. Healthy skin does not crack as you describe. It would be different if your penis were exposed to chilly winds, but hopefully, that's not the case. I suspect you need to treat for yeast. Pick up some Lotrimin and start applying it to the affected areas. In a couple of days, you should be able to start stretching the tight opening. Keep using the Lotrimin for at least two weeks.

Is there a reference site you could direct me to that supports your diagnosis? What visual indications are there of a yeast infection if the skin is currently not cracked (since I haven't been stretching/masturbating)?

Also, I am hesitant to accept that chilly winds / the elements are to blame for my dry skin, considering I have it on areas that are not typically exposed (back, shoulders).

One last thing, I understand that it is pretty bad to apply any soap or lotion to the penis itself, but is it equally bad to apply them to the foreskin. I haven't applied soap to my foreskin (other than whatever soap touches it from me soaping other areas when I shower), but I have tried applying lotion (the normal lotion I use on my legs/arms, Lubriderm) to the foreskin in an effort to alleviate the dry skin.

Again, thanks a lot for your response,

-V

If you wish more information, you can Google the subject. Experience here has shown us the most common problems. If you treat for yeast and it disappears, it was yeast. If not, you need to see a dermatologist for a live diagnosis adn treatment. Lotrimin or any other yeast treatment will not harm you.

Do not apply soap to your foreskin, and do not take baths. Soap removes the friendly bacteria which keep yeast at bay. Spas and pools with heavy chlorination might also do this, so enter with caution. If you're exposed to such conditions, application of common yogurt with live cultures can repopulate the area with necessary bacteria. It sounds nuts, but it works.

Ok, I bought a tube of Lotrimin (active ingredient Clotrimazole) and I've begun using it. Many of the sites I visited said that this sort of treatment will often not actually kill the fungus, but will simply mask it instead, possibly allowing it to come back later. Do you have any experience on this issue?

Also, sorry about posting so many times. That message you posted cleared things up.

Thanks,

-V

I've found that when I allow the causes to return, the infections also follow. Athletes foot is something I've been plagued with since I took swimming lessons at a public pool as a teenager. In those days, I used Desenex to treat it. The infection would leave, but as soon as I exposed myself to spores again, it came back. Currently, Desenex is of no more use, so I've switched to other prepartions. I've found that Lotrimin works the best. Stupidly, I fail to use footware in the locker room at the gym, so I often find myself re-infected. However, as soon as I begin to treat, it disappears within days.

A few years ago, during a bout with an upper respiratory infection, I was prescribed an antibiotic, which in combination with my preferred habit of eating desserts, I acquired a nasty yeast problem internally. Unhappy with a misdiagnosis from the doctor, I visited a health food store and found literature about candida albicans, a common yeast. I took the advice offered in the article and treated myself for yeast, combining the treatment with drastic dietary restrictions of carbohydrates. Within a month, the symptons were gone and I was able to return to normal. Since that time, I find that when I "overdose" on sugars, the problems return.

What have you been doing to possibly infect yourself? Have you used soap to wash inside the foreskin? Have you recently used antibiotics? What about unprotected sex? Do you frequently use heavily chlorinated spas or pools? These thing don't just come out of the blue, so consider seriously what's going on with you. Diabetes can be a cause, and even diet can play a part. Do you perspire a lot? Are you wearing cotton underwear? Change frequently?

OK, let's see. You have generalised dry skin. This is not due to chilly winds/ the elements but is simply something (genetic) about you personally.

You should by now have learned that common soap is something of which you need to completely minimise the use as it makes the skin "drier" - it removes the natural oils that lubricate the skin. As it is impossible to remove the soap from a bath, then baths are not such a good idea though you may already use a "soap substitute" and "bath oil" (which can also be used by applying after a shower).

You already use an emollient. One of the components of emollients available for severe dry skin is urea which is coincidentally, the main constituent of urine and thus, many folk remedies for dry skin involve the application of either one's own, or someone else's urine.

Jim remarks that "Healthy skin does not crack as you describe" which is a very important fact which should be pretty much, self-evident and I hope we can agree on that point. If you do have dry skin, then it is not strictly "healthy" and you may have some cracking or fissuring (or flaking) as part of that condition. However if your foreskin is of necessity, continuously exposed to urine, then the urea should actually prevent skin drying in this area leading to the curious fact that dry skin does not usually affect the genital area.

So while you clearly have a tendency to dry skin, which may contribute to the foreskin problem, if you have dryness and cracking (which I very much doubt you suffer on any other area of your body even with the dry skin) then clearly there is something else contributing to it, and yeast (Candida) is the clear favourite culprit. This infestation is actually very common and in fact, some contamination with yeast is almost normal due to its universal presence in food and thereby, the bowel. But conditions - as Jim describes - and personal susceptibility allow some people to be affected, sometimes, and others not.

Certainly the treatment will tell - if the problems resolves while using an anti-fungal, it may be simply pragmatic to continue to use that whilst resolving your problem of the tight foreskin and frænulum, and then you may be all right without.