GFS vs glansie for phimosis?
I want to know the effective option for phimosis from the above two as I am not interested to waste money. Are these instruments any good.
I was not able to retract my foreskin on the penis head and my
doctor was able to resolve it. He suggested me to have circumcision to
avoid repeating such problem.
I would like to know if these devices could be useful to solve my problem.

Thanks,
regal

If so, save your money. Stretching with the fingers is highly successful (only highly because not everyone does it), so just do what we advise.

What did the doctor do to you?

Well, the doctor used his two hands in order to sqeeze the stuck foreskin on the back of my head. It was really painful and I dont remember or was able to see the technique of the doctor to retract it. Can you please elaborate on the hand stretching exercise.

you actually mean your doctor was not able to resolve the matter. Please do explain if he did anything other than suggesting you have two thirds of your penile skin excised?

OK, first rule here is - if you want to know what is most appropriate in your particular case, you have to tell us what the problem actually is. Referring to "phimosis" is about as useful in fixing the matter as saying your car will not "go".

Both instruments have a use in quite different circumstances, and the "Glansie" has a more limited application. Specifically, the Glansie is quite helpful for "pinhole" phimosis where the foreskin is so narrow that you cannot even see the glans - the penis head - at all.

Once you can, it should be possible to insert the GFS at which point the Glansie becomes relatively ineffective.

Our point is that two other approaches should be seriously considered. The first, as Jim points out, is to use your fingers as stretching devices - this requires only that you learn a couple of skills in how to get first one, then two (or more) fingers into the tight part. OK, this is not dead easy (or else people would invariably figure this out for themselves), but - if you do a reasonable amount of reading back through the discussion board here - we have described it in a reasonably step-by-step fashion.

The other approach, which is what the GFS facilitates, is the use of a stretching device self-crafted from a material referred to as "polymorph", which could either be in the form of the devices used to stretch body piercings, called "flesh tunnels", or a pair of "shoes" connected by a spring bar in a manner somewhat similar to the "Glansie" but where the "shoes" apply the pressure much more evenly at larger diameters and the device is able to be worn within clothing during the day.

The tremendous advantage of the "wearable" stretching devices (which include the GFS, but the self-crafted ones should be far cheaper - not that I wish to harm Platigo's commercial model ) is that they apply pressure for most of the time, each and every day.

If you are concerned about cost, then the absolute cheapest option remains - read deeply into this discussion board, and simply learn to do the stretching by hand.

Also, we r planning to have a baby and need to stop using condom. But I have this tight foreskin issue and it gets stuck behind the head, I have to use a condom during sex. I was thinking about cutting the tip of the condom and using it to pass the sperms. Please let me know if the chemicals from the tip of the cut condom can kill the sperms or cause any allergic reaction.

Thanks,

Ever heard of unexpected babies? They happen because condoms fail. If it were the case that the condom kills the sperm, those babies would never have been conceived. Keep in mind that some condoms have contraceptive ingredients in the lubricant, but even so, they probably don't stand a chance against a determined sperm.

Thanks paul and jim for your suggestion. This is what happened. I usually use a condom to have sex. As we were planning for a baby, we decided not to use any protection. But my ring of the foreskin is tight and it got stuck behind the head of the penis during intercourse. I had to sleep the whole night with the foreskin stuck on the back of the head. Next day, I consulted the Urologist and he used his hands to squeeze the head and retract the foreskin. After observing my penis, he suggested circumcision in my case. I asked if this in the only option and if there is any cream available for the cure. And he said there is no cream and circumcision is the only option.

Paul: Based on your suggestion, GFS would be very effective as compared to Glansie in my case as I am able to stretch my foreskin and put only one finger for now. Regarding the flesh tunnel, do I need to keep it the entire day. The GFS website claim that only ten minutes a day would be suffice to cure phimosis. Is it true ??

Jim: I will try the stretching diagram for the phimosis. But for a while, I think the idea of cutting the tip of the condom for the intercourse would be effective as I donot want to be in the embrassing situation, where the foreskin would get stuck behind the penis head and have to see the doctor again to resolve it.

If you see this ignorant man again, he may decide to solve your problem with a knife. A common procedure used is a dorsal slit. Don't risk it. Instead, resolve it your self just as he did.

Flesh tunnels are really pretty cheap, so give them a try. Since they are made with holes through them, you should be able to pee through one. Leave it in as long as it is comfortable.

Well, you seem to have made yourself something of an exception to my "rule of thumb" here. Somehow despite not being able to retract your foreskin while flaccid, you manage to force it back while erect, during intercourse, resulting in paraphimosis. An impressive trick!

Well, you have learned - from experience - one thing, which is that paraphimosis is not as dangerous as it is reputed to be - clearly, you did no damage by having your foreskin stuck in the retracted position overnight - and indeed, it has been put to me by surgeons that none of them have actually known of damage to the penis resulting from paraphimosis - it remains in the realm of "brother's friend's great aunt knew a fellow who was told of it".

And part of the mythology is that paraphimosis must require circumcision.

Of course, you should be able to replace your foreskin in its "normal" position yourself once you overcome your reluctance to manipulate it. The technique involves two steps, the first being to simply compress your glans (for a minute or two) to force the blood out of it, then hold the skin immediately behind the constriction on both sides (two hands) in a pinch grip and pull it forward over the glans, possibly with a touch of lubrication on the corona - the rear edge of the glans.

Yes, the GFS would be most suited to your situation, and forget the "Glansie".

Since it uses air pressure, the pressure exerted by the GFS is elastic, extremely evenly applied and continues even if the skin "gives" to some degree during an individual stretching session (though you should not expect to see perceptible stretch from each or any single session), while an object of fixed size will loosen if there is any "give" in the skin. This is also where this hand-crafted device has an advantage with its springy "fork". In either case however, while it is advised to leave a device in for short periods initially, it is logical to use it for longer and longer periods, and eventually much or all of the time, for maximum (most rapid) effect.

Hi Paulb

Would you mind telling me how I could go about making the custom device that you posted a picture of?

Thanks

It points back to the post where the fellow who crafted this explains about it. It is fashioned with "bare hands" using exactly the same techniques you would use to craft it with "Plasticine". Surely you have experience of that?

I have sometimes wondered about making and selling devices for the purpose of foreskin stretching - as a number of people already do for foreskin "restoration" - stretching the skin remaining after circumcision into a "faux" foreskin. It would however be a tedious enterprise and I am far too busy already with my daily responsibilities.

The availability however, of this "polymorph" material renders it unnecessary for me to even consider producing such things myself (though when I get hold of some of it, I will undertake some experimentation on shapes and techniques) - people should be able to get it quite cheaply and learn the skills themselves. No doubt they might find all sorts of other uses for the material as well.

I do however suggest that in terms of "wearability" throughout the day, the "fork" of the device could be crafted to lie alongside the two "shoes" so that when inserted in the foreskin opening, it would sit beside the foreskin rather than projecting beyond it. {This would also enable you to pee neatly without removing it!}

You are suggesting that your foreskin has become "stuck" behind your glans on some occasion when you had intercourse without a condom, but in another statement, that the doctor forcibly retracted it at a time when you did not even have an erection (as I very much doubt you would have in the doctor's office).

These statements do not seem to make sense. If your foreskin is very tight, you cannot retract even with no erection, which means that with an erection, there is no tendency at all to retract, and therefore, no discomfort.

If the foreskin is loose enough to retract while flaccid but not when erect, there may be some concern that if you have intercourse without sufficient lubrication (and without a condom), the "drag" could be sufficient to force the foreskin back (and no doubt, be equally uncomfortable for the woman into the bargain). Naturally, when the erection is lost (as it will be if this causes any significant pain), the foreskin will be able to be replaced over the glans.

The condom situation is straightforward. Either it contains spermicide, or it does not - this will be stated on the packaging. Spermicide will have a small effect on fertility; spermicide alone reduces the rate of pregnancy by perhaps a half - which is precious little if you do not desire a pregnancy. Most condoms are however manufactured without spermicide as it has been found to increase the risk of conveying the HIV virus, presumably by damaging the skin surface (the spermicide is essentially a detergent, and detergents are bad for the skin - something you should never use on/ under your foreskin). Note that whatever chemicals are on the condom are of necessity on both sides (and are applied onto, not incorporated in the material), so a cut makes no difference at all to their presence.

Cutting a small (2 mm) hole in the tip should certainly allow enough semen to leak through to effect pregnancy. Of course, if the condom is helping you to avoid full foreskin retraction with erection, you must be sufficiently close to comfortable retraction, for the technique Jim cites to achieve it in just a few weeks. Actually, I now sense from the confusion here that what you will need to do, is to concentrate on the frænulum stretching exercise (demonstrated in an adjacent posting here) as I begin to realise what you are describing is in fact, a tight frænulum.

Finally, to clarify Jim's description, there is no possibility of sperm penetrating an intact condom. "Failure" of condoms as contraceptives, and for the most part in preventing STIs, arises from three alternatives:

1} Breakage. Condoms do not break because of being too tight a fit, not allowing room for the ejaculate at the end, or having air trapped inside, notwithstanding the nonsense spoken on these matters. You only have to have played around with filling them with water to realise how elastic they are - you can easily fit a litre (1½ pints) of water in, two litres if you support it well, so you cannot break one with five millilitres of semen, however forcibly ejaculated.

The actual reason for breakage, is lack of lubrication in the vagina - the condom withdraws on the out-stroke, but its re-entry is resisted due to lacking external lubrication while the inside is generously lubricated with the fellow's pre-ejaculatory emission (which by the way, does not contain any meaningful amount of semen or sperm) and so that thrust is brought to bear on the very tip of the condom alone. If you look at a condom which has failed, you will observe that the break is always at the tip (unless the condom has simply "perished" due to age and incorrect storage, which goes without saying).

2} Slippage. The converse of the above, again where there is lack of lubrication in the vagina - the condom fails to withdraw on the out-stroke, and subsequent thrusting rolls it up within the vagina, to be retrieved later (sometimes by an embarrassing trip to the doctor - one of my very occasional and most delightful amusements). Its function as a barrier becomes negligible in this circumstance.

3} Incorrect placement. By this I mean placing in the pocket or drawer, instead of on the penis. In practice, this is the overall most common cause of "method failure" in using condoms.

Paul: Thanks for your advice. Yes, it was paraphimosis and I survived it overnight as I was not even aware of that term then. I think as jim suggested "flesh tunnel" would be effective in my case as GFS device is costly and read some bad reviews of this "half ass" balloon stuff.

Jim: Currenlty, my foreskin is able to stretch about 1/3 of my glans in erect as well as flaccid state. Please let me know the exact gauages of silicone flesh tunnel I need to purchase as I am not aware of exact measurements. Can you throw some light on measurement techniques and what are exact dimensions of 2 or 4 guage. Thanks again for your help.

Take some measurements and head down to the local tatoo parlor. The guy there has pretty much seen everything, so you could probably show him and get his recommendation. Get one which is a really snug fit and then progressively larger ones.

Firstly this isn't my "day job", so I really do not have personal experience with the fitting of "flesh tunnels". I am not keen on tattoos and tattoo parlours at all however ...

Secondly, I totally agree that tattoo parlours are perfectly familiar with flesh tunnels - and genitals, as people have all sorts of funny things done to them - so that by all means, they are the people to see and - unlike the doctor - will almost certainly be quite interested in this way of addressing your problem. Bizarre as this may seem from the outset.