hi guys,
Thanks so much for all the great info and advice here. I'm 45 and I've always had a tight foreskin, although it never caused me any distress as I was always able to retract it to clean around. Then about 6 months ago, I suddenly developed a very itchy, angry and red foreskin which just tightened up overnight and it was REALLY painful to try to retract. My doctor recommended cleaning with a cotton bud ( Q Tip) and applying anti fungal cream. that helped with the itching, but the ring stayed pulled tight shut, and the itching now re-occurs regularly. I've been referred to the Urology dept of the local hospital and have my first appointment next month. In the meantime, I've tried the stretching but really struggle with it as I'm a definite "grow-er" rather than a "show-er" and my poor sore winkie just vanishes up into my body cavity at the thought of getting poked n prodded, leaving me with a few rolls of skin and not much to get a hold of!!! I'll keep at it, and see what the hospital says next month!

There is only one thing urologists recommend, and it isn't healthy for your foreskin. The question to you becomes one of its fate. Do you want to keep it?

I think you still have a yeast infection. Start treating again. If you need an erection to get a grip, induce it and stretch away.

You don't have a problem with your urinary tract, including your penis, so "urology" is the wrong department. Unless you want some part cut off, that is, so I don't know why you have this referral.

What you have a problem with, is the skin on your penis, so dermatology would be more correct.

Before I go further, I am going to point out that the sudden and novel development of persistent yeast infection at 45, absolutely mandates a blood test for blood sugar level which is to say, diabetes. May I presume the doctor immediately sent you for this test, or at least performed a finger prick glucose test in the office? You comment about a disappearing penis suggests that you are overweight, so this is a strong suspicion of a diabetic tendency.

I have described before the application of the anti-fungal cream but to reiterate, you just pull your foreskin forward (as frequently described) and carefully insert the nozzle of the cream tube into the opening, hold it gently closed over the nozzle (carefully due to the threading on the nozzle) and squeeze a small amount inside, slip the nozzle out while holding the foreskin shut, and massage it all around inside. "Cleaning" with a cotton bud is of minimal value, "funnelling" the opening (same procedure) and letting the shower run into it would be more appropriate (including prior to applying the cream). I do hope you have not been using soap - or anything marketed as a "substitute" - on this area?

And finally, the stretching does not require any access to the glans as such. Pulling the foreskin forward and funnelling it, you can keep pulling the inside layer out through the funnel until you can slip a fingertip or two through the tight region and in beside the glans - then you can stretch. If you could convince your GP to prescribe you betamethasone 0.05% (or even 0.1% if available) ointment, then very specific application of a tiny amount inside the tight part only after stretching and importantly, in addition to the anti-fungal used beforehand and/ or at other times, that would help your situation.

Care to mention where you live? Australia, NZ or GB?

hey guys,

thanks for this.

I live in the UK...and yes, I am a fat boy..well spotted! I have a quarterly check with my Practice Nurse for another unrelated health issue, and she always includes a diabetes check, as well as liver function and blood pressure checks.....and thankfully all is fine (as of 2 weeks ago!).

I've been cleaning with the cotton bud just soaked in water...so no soap.... but I will speak to my GP again re the ointment you suggest, and enquire as to whether she really thinks Urology is the right department.

I'll keep you posted.

These guys all train at the same schools, so their automatic response to tight foreskin is to want to cut it off. Of course she thinks it's the right department, and that is why she referred you. We are telling you we don't agree with her.

is that the GP doesn't think particularly deeply about the problem, she simply decided "OK, he has a problem with his penis, I'll send him to a urologist". In the same vein(!) is the presumption that "cleaning" is the solution when it is in fact, entirely irrelevant.

"Thrush" is the key point to treatment. The oral fluconazole is probably worth trying (costs money but - so do all the treatments), possibly repeated weekly for a couple of times. You haven't mentioned a wife, but it would be a very appropriate to treat her as well.

That diabetes check was a blood test (which includes a finger prick), wasn't it?

Well, I know my GP fairly well (we were at school together and she has been a friend all my life) so I know I can trust her and talk to her about this.....I understand she doesn't have a penis and so may not quite get how attached I am to it and so referred me on to someone who might be more "au fait" with male genitalia!...I'll go see her and talk it over in more detail....

The last set of bloods I had done, 2 weeks ago, covered diabetes, pre-diabetes resistance, cholesterol levels and full liver function (due to a previous hepatic incident caused by a severe salmonella poisoning)......although I am a big guy I exercise regularly (play rugby, swim, and practice tai chi) and I eat well - including high intake of fruits and vegetables. I don't smoke or drink alcohol.....and it just drives my GP crazy I don't have any of the "expected" high-BMI related health issues.

I don't have a wife, but I do have a husband (of almost 20 years). He has recently had a full health check too and is certified bug free.....so I just need to get mine cleared once and for all!

Anyway, thanks once again for the support and info.

Vaginas are not the only parts which have yeast living in them. Condoms prevent transmission of the yeast.

lololol indeed true, Jim!! Not wishing to go into detail, but my partner and I don't engage in activities which require condoms.......but he HAS been checked and swabbed in every available orifice from head to toe recently and fortunately has the all clear. It's just me who is the walking petrie dish!

Incidentally...I bought some Canestan with hydrocortisone yesterday, and after just 3 applications I have found the itching has really died down already! I had been considering the Canestan Duo (the fluconazole pill and the cream) but will have to pass due to my impaired liver functions, and just persevere with the cream alone for now.

The intestinal tract is where candida is normally found. I'll leave the rest to your imagination.

Topical application normally is effective.