Hi there.

Before I begin, I'd like to thank Jim and Paul for taking the time to host such a forum.

First of all, sex has never been an issue for me. I've been able to perform sexually on a regular basis and as such my concerns are regarding, almost solely, aesthetics and in some cases comfort.

Now to my concerns.
I have a feeling I may be showing signs of a yeast problem. My glands are cracked. At first glance these cracks look as if the skin has been steeped in water for too long. Kind of like how the ends of your fingers might look if you sat in the bath for an extended period of time. When you look closer you can see it's, infact, almost as if the cracks were stretch marks. I've included pictures at the bottom of my post and would like to know what you think of these cracks. If I stretch the glands out in any way, these cracks do not become smooth.

I also have a tight phimotic ring. I can fully retract my foreskin I can do this both while erect and flaccid as far as I like (frenulum permitting) but I get an hour glass look to my shaft when I do so.

I have what I consider to be a short frenulum. I believe so because the range of movement of my foreskin is limited by it. My frenulum is attached right beneath my urethral opening. I understand that's quite normal. If I retract my foreskin all the way to the base of my penis I'm only able to do this while flacid then my penis will double over. This gives you an idea of the limited range of movement my foreskin had. While erect, the foreskin, due to the frenulum, can barely move any further than just beneath the corona. Aside from all of that, when I am erect my foreskin will not automatically retract, furthermore, depending on how erect I am, it will not remain retracted. If I want my foreskin to retract, I must manually retract my foreskin. Sex with a condom is a real hassle.

I am doing stretches for my frenulum and my phimotic ring but it appears to be slow going. I used to have more trouble than I do now with getting three fingers inside my phimotic ring so I know there has been some progress there. I'm considering asking my Doctor for Betamethasone In fact I'm going to go to the pharmacy today and see if I can get it, or something similar, over the counter.

With all of that out of the way, my main concern is that annoying frenulum. It really is a pain and limits my range of movement to the point where I've considered frenuloplasty (I know, I know, please don't linch me) but decided against it. I did however read about a procedure known as tying up the frenulum. I'm sure you have come across it at some point and, despite your hatred of unnecessary procedures, I would like to hear what is your opinion of it is. Just in case, here's a link to a description of the procedure.
http://www.male-initiation.net/library/gallery/frenuloplasty/frenulum_tying.html

Thanks in advance

Pictures.
Glands.

Frenulum Side on.
Frenulum.

You can treat for yeast without causing problems, so do it. Any over-the-counter yeast product will work, even those for Athlete's Foot.

The hourglass effect is a strong determinant for stretching the opening. This is a slow process, but you don't have to add much in diameter, so the need for Betamethasone is not great. It is not available without prescription.

In the picture, your frenulum looks normal, but if it's causing a downward pull, work on lengthening it.

I'd avoid that site you link. The owner of that site has a fetish for circumcision, and he's obsessed with foreskins. Don't trust him.

Wow thanks for the quick response, Jim.

I'll ask a few direct questions if I may.
I will treat for yeast regardless but what do you think the likelihood of yeast being the cause of those cracks would be? If I can see an end to them, I'd be over the moon.

My frenulum is extremely annoying. But if I use the tying up method, which effectively cuts it in half, it'd lose the ability to automatically pull my foreskin back over the glands wouldn't it?

Using soap to wash inside the foreskin is the number one cause of yeast infections. Soap washes away the essential bacteria which ward off yeast. If you're using soap, quit.

Another cause is the use of certain antibiotics which do the same thing as soap. A third cause would be direct exposure to another person who in infected. This occurs during intercourse without the use of a condom. In that case, both partners should treat simultaneously.

Yes, if you cut your frenulum, you could possibly lose that automatic recovery. As you probably already know, coverage keeps you sensitive.

Tell me exactly what are you doing to stretch the frenulum?

Are you in the USA or Canada?

I have used soap from a very young age and stopped about 3 days ago when I read, on this very site, that using it is a no no. However I'd like to know how likely it is that these cracks are caused by a yeast problem.

To stretch my frenulum I am pulling on the underside of my opening, just like the picture you often post. I try to do this twice a day, before work and before bed. Aside from that, if I have an erection I will also retract my foreskin as far as I can. I can feel that this puts strain on the frenulum and the phimotic ring at the same time.

I'm in Australia.

If you have no irritation, I would not get too concerned about Candida or indeed any problem with your glans.

Looking at your photos, I honestly can see nothing of any significance, wrong! Now I can see that your retracted foreskin is a little tight on the shaft, and that it no doubt does produce the "hourglass" effect on erection, but is that in any way uncomfortable? I suspect not. It presumably will prevent smooth movement of the foreskin with an erection, and yes, it does sound a good idea to stretch the opening - as we regularly describe - to achieve smooth movement.

You have a pretty average frænulum. It keeps the inner foreskin from fully spreading out on retraction - and that is a common thing. It pulls (in the photos) your glans down a little when flaccid, since when flaccid, it is easy to do so. It will not pull the glans down much when erect unless you retract particularly strongly.

Please do explain why intercourse with a condom is such a problem? Contrary to the foolish instructions provided, the rules are: You get an erection, you roll the condom over the erection. Ignore the foreskin, let it do whatever it wants. If you want to pull the foreskin back after putting on the condom, you can.

Now, that said, if your foreskin does not retract and/ or stay retracted with the condom on, this may diminish sensation. This in turn may or may not be a problem, depending on your circumstances. But I am sure you will prefer full mobility of the foreskin, and therefore should pursue the stretching procedure for the frænulum. Are you already doing this?

I/ we know all about the tying procedure and that strange character who runs that particular site. It has been discussed in detail here before. You could get a competent doctor to do it for you, no need to see a "specialist" (who might start "grooming" you for other procedures). But we cannot see why you need to be in a hurry - stretching should get you there in time, and the result will be neater.

I very much doubt you will get betamethasone over the counter from a pharmacy (that is, without a prescription); anything you can get OTC will not be "similar" to the extent of being effective.

Oh yes, the corrugations in the glans! Well, in order to expand and shrink, it has to fold up or "pleat", and since it spends most of the time folded(!), the "creases" will indeed still be visible when erect. Some people will notice them more than others. Only if you get genuine cracking with soreness and/ or bleeding need you be in any way concerned.

Say, here's a thought: Have you examined inside your lady-friend? Looked at the inside of her vagina - looks pretty much similar to the photos of your glans on slightly different scale, I would bet. Now why might that be, I wonder?

---

Incidentally, standard correction here because it looks wrong - the head of the penis is the "glans" (Latin for "acorn" - does look rather similar) - a singular object so the "glans is" not "glands are".

Hi Paul, thanks for your response.
Firstly, thanks for the spelling and grammar correction.

Indeed there is no irritation and the cracks have been nothing more than, in my opinion, an eyesore. As for your description of the glans having to expand and contract, hence the pleating, I had thought that could be likely but wondered if it wasn't something more given that when I manually stretch the glans out, the skin doesn't become smooth. Either way, I've grown to accept them, I just thought it worth asking the question.

Yes the tightness of the foreskin prevents smooth movement. But just recently it's been noticeably different. The foreskin has become able to move back and forth fully over the glans if I make it do so while masturbating.
The discomfort I mention is more to do with the frenulum. You're right it doesn't pull the glans down while erect as te foreskin will bunch up at the suculus if the foreskin is forceibly retracted. Any subsequent movement results in auto recovery. I think that if my foreskin were looser then it wouldn't bunch up around the suculus and frenulum stretching would indeed become an apparent necessity. Regardless of that, I'd like more range of movement -- It's annoying when a woman pulls your foreskin back, expecting it to go a lot farther than it does, stretching or perhaps even hurting the frenulum -- so I'll continue stretching.

You answered your own question regarding condoms. The auto recovery that occurs, while erect, results in a loss of sensation.

You're right, I don't need to hurry. It's more that the frenulum -- and here of course I don't know if you've had to stretch your own -- is a real pain in the butt to stretch. Even just to see that thin strip of skin turn white and stretch almost to the point of tearing, when I have an erection, isn't pleasant. It truly makes me paranoid that it could snap like a guitar string.
If I were to choose the tying method then I'd see my GP, whom I've seen since I was a child, however I will most likely persevere with the stretching.

Tying the frænulum is a straightforward procedure that any GP "worth his salt" would be able to do during a consultation {Mind you, that is often flexible, my wife always "bounces" such things over to me, but that is simply our arrangement, and the end result is the same} and arguably without anaesthetic. The point is it would be almost an insult to expect a specialist surgeon to do it, and an ever-present danger of "up-selling".

And of course, if you were to tear the frænulum, well, you've done the job yourself, most likely torn it so it is as loose as it needs to be, so you just keep gently retracting it while it heals in order to maintain the advance. OK, it might be a bit messy but as I say, girls are more messy anyway! I've not myself seen a guitar string snap, will have to ask my son about that!

So - it turns out that women are just as ham-fisted dealing with men's "equipment" as men are with theirs? Well, what do you know! There is plenty of justification for having your frænulum work the way you wish, aside from avoiding ignorant mis-handling. You should notice the emphasis I place on frænulum stretching even where the need is not apparent, as just as you say, it requires more persistent management and the need is concealed until the foreskin is readily retractile.

It's fascinating to note the different textures on your glans including the smoother "burnished" appearance of the corona. Nevertheless, all looks perfectly normal to me in your pictures, and perhaps you simply have not had so many opportunities to examine others "in the flesh".

Grammar correction - insisting that people understand the meaning of medical terms - is just part of the service.

Since you mention being in Australia, I become curious to know approximately where?

I'm on the NSW Central Coast.

As for the texture of the glans, I really think my camera mistreated me there. It's not nearly as horrible as it looks in those pictures. But yes there is a definite texture difference. I believe the colour in those pictures is a result of using soap. It's been about 4 days now without using soap on my glans and I've noticed a slight colour change and a definitely smoother appearance. Primarily, the glans doesn't look red anymore. It's looks kind of pale with a slight hue where the pleating is. The colour difference between the the corona and the glans remains.

I've been thinking. The frenulum causes auto recovery when the penis is flaccid, but what is it that causes the auto retraction of the foreskin while erect? Is it the frenulum being moved down the shaft due to the growth of the penis overall? I ask because, as I've said, my foreskin doesn't automatically retract while I'm erect. What would I need to do to achieve this auto retraction?

If you'd told me, a year or two ago, that the penis was more complex than I could imagine, I would have laughed but indeed it's not exactly straight forward is it?

That sounds nice as winter approaches in California! Are you in a beach town?

The foreskin generally retracts when the penis is erect, and for some guys, it stays back. Thrusting during sex will often cause it to alternate retracting and recovering, but tightness will prevent that.

The penis is a work of art for sure. We are blessed.

Yeah I'm in a coastal town. I'm about 10km from the beach though. I take it for granted these days but when I was a kid I was out there every afternoon.

Well I think I'm good to go. If I have any more questions I'll be sure to come back and pester you two once more. Thanks again, you've been a great help.

It is simply the elasticity of the foreskin and full skin of the penis - the tendency for it to shorten unless it is stretched - that tends to retract the foreskin on erection. But to what extent this happens, and just how the frænulum pulls it forward again afterwards, depends entirely on the particular dimensions of each part, including the relative diameters of the glans, the sulcus, and the shaft. The sulcus may be more or less prominent, and either glans or shaft may be wider, and the latter may taper in one manner or another.

If the foreskin opening is tight, resulting in the "hourglass" effect, it will tend to fall into the sulcus and not move either way, so you generally need to stretch that until it is fully mobile, and of course similarly, the frænulum.

As it happens, I live (and work) not too far away. It's presently annoyingly humid (and will be even more so), likely even rather damp, according to the radar

Oh gosh you're only about an hour or two north of me. It's uncanny how that happens; I could be anyone anywhere and just so happen to be relatively close. I'm in Gosford.

I feel left out!

haha You'll be right, Jim.

Actually I have another question to ask. I have some kind of bumping/fissuring going on around the phimotic ring. I've had this since well before I started any stretching. Can you shed any light on it?

It's only on the top side of the foreskin. The underside is devoid of any of these bumps. It's hard to get decent pictures of this, but it looks kind of like the foreskin is a certain thickness until these bumps start forming. From there on the bumps are the thickness of the rest of the foreskin and the surrounding skin is thinner.

I don't think it's anything to worry about. Because the penile skin must respond to different sizes due to erections, it will have little folds that allow such action.

Thats what I thought, much like my glans. Thanks again Jim.

You really need to do some careful examination of your lady-friend's insides; those parts similar to what you are looking at now, and those parts not so similar, but nevertheless relevant.

It's all about stretching, or the ability to stretch.