Okay basically I've been to the doctor and he recommended circumcision, I asked about the steroid cream and any alternative procedures and he replied there were none and that the steroid cream was only used in case of infection.

My case isn't that extreme, I can pull my foreskin back when flacid with relative ease, when erect it's a lot harder to pull back and is quite uncomfortable. The real issue is that when my foreskin is fully retracted back when erect it feels uncomfortable and I can't maintain the erection as it feels tight. I've had situations when I'd be receiving oral sex and it feels extremely uncomfortable the further my foreskin is retracted and then I begin to lose my erection and just feel as sense of discomfort rather than any pleasure.

Is circumcision the right course of action?

Circumcision is never the right course of action unless the foreskin has turned green and is really stinky.

Betamethasone is the proper steroid, and is well known to be the one prescribed for helping relieve the tightness. Your doctor could have Googled this on his i-phone in your presence. No problem though, as you can do this without it.

You need to stretch both the opening and the frenulum. Two ten minute sessions per day, using the guidelines published on this page will help you to overcome the problem you've described. Read everything on this page, and you'll find the directions.

So this stretching really works? The urologist was really adamant circumcision was the only course of action after inspecting my flaccid penis for about 5 seconds!

I will cancel the circumcision then and really give this a go, I'll take a bath twice a day and do these stretches in it.

Skin expansion is what allowed you to grow from the size you were when born. This is known by all physicians, including the one who diagnosed your condition. The method is regularly used for burn victims, often employing little balloons which are inflated under the skin and used to put tension on the skin so it will expand by producing new cells. It works, and it works every single time because that's the way the body is programmed. Any setback is generally caused by an overgrowth of yeast which changes the character of the skin. When the yeast is controlled, the stretching is effective.

Also I have to ask because I am completely clueless, what is the phimotic ring?

Stick one of your fingers inside your foreskin. Right inside the opening, you may feel a little ring inside the skin. This is often referred to as the "phimotic ring", whatever that is supposed to mean.

You have claimed that the "urologist" whom you consulted stated that "the steroid cream was only used in case of infection".

Are you sure that is what he said? That is particularly important because if true, this doctor has declared that he is not medically competent to give advice.

The reason is - that steroids (topical steroids, that is, applied to the skin and steroids in general) are not only inappropriate in the presence of infection, but infection is the situation where they would not in themselves, be used.

A reasonable summary is this article, and there are many like it if you search on "topical steroid infection", with particular reference to the paragraph "Local side-effects" where it states:

"The skin may also bruise more easily and become more susceptible to infection.

For this reason topical steroids should never be used to treat inflamed skin that is also infected, unless the infection is also being treated."

Note that it also mentions "Probably the most well known is thinning of the skin (atrophy), which sometimes results in permanent stretch marks (striae)". The interesting point here is that this "side effect" - "thinning of the skin" is precisely the reason that it can be used to facilitate stretching, so in this instance, you actually want to use it in a manner somewhat contrary to the "normal" recommendations and use it for as long as necessary to achieve the desired effect.

Not that, however, we actually advise that you should actually use the steroid ointment (note the section "Should I use cream or ointment?" where it explains that "Creams are better for moist, weeping areas of skin, while ointments are most suitable for drier, scaly areas" and while your foreskin is not scaly, it is clearly not generally "moist and weeping"), but that it represents an option if stretching appears to be particularly difficult having followed all the other recommendations as we describe here including stretching methodically.

Of course it does not surprise us that the urologist - essentially a surgeon - (incorrectly) advises a surgical remedy, since that is where he makes his money by and large.

But of course stretching (with or without the steroid) works; if it did not, people would explode or shed their skin like a snake when they became obese, or even as they grew. That you do not hear of this conclusively proves - skin grows to accommodate the need to stretch. It should be explained however that the important word is - grows. What you are actually doing when you stretch, is to require the skin to grow, by "telling" it it will have to cover a larger area, and this not surprisingly, takes time - weeks or perhaps months.

And so the warning: Stretching does not work - if you do not actually do it.

To perform the stretching, you will have to stretch a number of times each day for significant time (at least five or ten minutes, though any shorter opportunity in addition is worth doing) and with few exceptions, every day. Insofar as many people are simply not capable of this degree of dedication, the "urologist" may be correct to a degree in saying that "circumcision was the only course of action" and where someone is sufficiently daft to believe that actually having no foreskin could somehow be better than one that merely does not retract, they suffer accordingly (and he profits).

Okay I've been stretching 2 weeks now and I can slowly see improvements.

What I came back to ask is, I've been monitoring the forum and I've seen a lot of mentions to a certain cream that will help the process, it this necessary or am I fine continuing as I am? I currently spend about 40 minutes each day stretching, with about 20minutes on the frenulum(?) and the opening of the foreskin respectively.

I also saw mentions to devices that can passively stretch the foreskin, are these necessary to succeed?

My final question is should I stretch a lot more than I already am? The reason I ask is because I'm currently on my summer holidays so all I'll be doing is literally sitting around the house for the next 2 months, should I take more advantage of this or is the time I'm spending so far suffice?

Thanks again.

Neither the steroid ointment nor stretching devices are necessary.

If anything, we strongly endorse the use of a stretcher, or "Flesh tunnels" or those specially marketed as the "Phimocure". We do believe these are substantially more effective than many-times-daily stretching for a significant period of time each as the consistency of the tension is the important factor in stimulating skin growth.

However, what you are doing presently - if you are applying as much tension as is mildly uncomfortable, as steadily as possible breaking only to rest your fingers - sounds eminently appropriate. If you have more time to do it and this is not going to prevent you participating in other worthwhile pursuits (such as outside exercise), then you could use that time to some benefit. Since the frænulum stretch requires only one hand, that certainly should be done whilst using the other for something else.

The stretching devices - which you can craft yourself - must be seen as "labour-saving devices", enabling you to use your time more efficiently. Appropriately crafted, the home-made stretcher can be inserted vertically in order to stretch the frænulum at the same time as the foreskin opening.

As to the steroid ointment - it is of critical importance if you have a "secondary" phimosis where inflammation has caused scarring and shrinkage; but for a foreskin that has simply never been fully stretched in the first place, much less important.