Phimosis is a male ailment, and approximately 10 percent of men suffer from it. It consists in narrowing the mouth of the foreskin so that it does not slide beyond the glans penis. What are the causes of phimosis and how is it treated? Is phimosis surgery always necessary?

Stulejka - what is it?

What is phimosis?This question is asked primarily by parents of young boys, as this term appears in many guides for young mothers. Butphimosis(Latinphimosis ) is not only a child problem.Phimosiscan be congenital or acquired. What does phimosis look like? It depends on its type.

  • total (full) phimosisis one when it is not possible to remove the foreskin from the penis even when it is resting,
  • partial phimosis (incomplete ) is where the foreskin slides off the penis while it is resting, but does not expose the erect glans, and even if it does, it causes pressure and pain .

A properly developed foreskin, which protects and covers the glans of the penis, which is very sensitive to touch, both when at rest and when erected, should easily and painlessly slide off the glans to the so-called an occasional groove, i.e. a cavity between the glans and the shaft of the penis.

It should be remembered, however, that the fact that in most boys the foreskin cannot be moved to the gastric groove until about 2-3 years of age is considered a normal physiological state. In the case of newborns, the foreskin is glued to the glans with a mastics.

Is phimosis dangerous?

Stulejkais not a direct threat to life or he alth. However, it is an unpleasant affliction because it makes it difficult or even impossible to have sex, and besides, it is an obstacle in maintaining hygiene, which can lead to infections.

In extreme cases, it causes difficulties in urinating. Doctors are of the opinion thatphimosisand the difficulties it causes with maintaining men's intimate hygiene is also a threat to women - their partners. It can cause serious infections and neoplastic diseases. So it is not without significance for both physical and mental well-being. In addition, it is difficult to count onphimosis"going by itself".

Phimosisusually has a tendency to enlarge - as a result of attempts to pull the foreskin backor tensions during erection, microcracks appear in the skin, often even invisible to the naked eye, which, when they heal, cause more and more narrowing of its mouth.

Phimosis in a child

Stulejkain infants and very young boys is a natural state. In newborns, it is almost impossible to expose the glans by pulling the foreskin back. This changes around 2-3 years of age.

So it is worth for the parents - washing the preschooler - to check from time to time if everything is okay. If in doubt, they should report it to the pediatrician.Phimosis in a childis a condition that should be examined by a specialist, therefore the pediatrician will refer you to a pediatric urologist who will decide on the necessity and form of further treatment.

Adult phimosis

Not always, however,phimosisresults from abnormalities in the development of a young person - this ailment may also appear in adult men who have never had problems with the foreskin before. It may be the result of a history of infections that attack the skin of the penis, leaving scars after healing, which narrows the mouth of the foreskin.

The aggravation of the ailments may also be the result of attempts to eliminate phimosis through "training" - stretching the skin of the foreskin over the glans in the hope that as a result of these treatments the hole will widen. This method is still suggested by some doctors in combination with the use of special steroid ointments.

However, it happens that improperly or too violently conducted exercises have the opposite effect to the desired: the skin of the foreskin breaks, bleeds, becomes infected, and then heals, deepening the phimosis and intensifying the related ailments.

According to an expertAgnieszka Chochoł, sexologist

Stulejka and sexual contacts

Sexual contacts of a sick person with phimosis are dangerous for partners, because they are at risk of recurrent inflammation of the urinary tract and internal genital organs.

It is also suspected that it may promote cervical cancer. Inflammations under the foreskin caused not only by residual and decomposing urine, exfoliating epithelium, sebum and semen, but also by bacteria, cause recurrent urinary tract infections, the most severe consequence of which may be kidney damage, up to complete failure.

Then the only rescue is dialysis or kidney transplant. Inflammation can also infect your sperm, and this can lead to infertility. Changes under the foreskin are also the cause of precancerous conditions, and even penile cancer.

Stulejka - treatment

Regardless of whetherphimosisis congenital or acquired, requires the intervention of a surgeon - the sooner the better. If not operated on, it usually gets worse and causes more and more trouble.

Treatment of phimosis involves the surgical widening of the mouth of the foreskin by cutting the skin, partially removing it or completely amputating it, i.e. circumcision. This procedure is common in young boys in many cultures, and its application is as religious as it is hygienic. A specialist doctor - urologist decides about the need to remove phimosis.

Phimosis surgery

In children, the procedure is performed under general anesthesia, so it is necessary to spend at least a day - two in the hospital.

Adult men undergo surgery usually under local anesthesia, also on an outpatient basis. It takes about two weeks to heal wounds, and the convalescent becomes fully functional, also sexually, after about a month.

In the first few weeks, men who undergo circumcision may experience unpleasant stimuli related to the glans rubbing against their underwear. It passes.

Important

In societies where circumcision is practiced for cultural or hygienic reasons, men have virtually no inflammation of the genitourinary tract or penis cancer. There are also no reports of recurrent inflammation of the urinary tract or cervical cancer in women.

Category:

Male diseases