Patient's question:
Patient Gender: I've been married for 5 years, and my foreskin is quite normal. Our sexual life has been quite harmonious. Recently, I've noticed some pain during sex, and it's difficult for my penis to penetrate the vagina. After examining my penis, I found that my foreskin has suddenly become longer, making it hard to penetrate the vagina during sex. What could cause my foreskin to become longer and affect my sexual life? Should I consider a circumcision?First Follow-up Question: However, I don't think it's due to excessive foreskin length, because we were quite satisfied with our sex life a few years ago. Could it be that the foreskin and penis are slightly shedding, causing this issue?
Doctor's answer:
Hello, if the foreskin can be retracted to expose the glans but the foreskin opening is very small, covering the external urethral orifice, it is called phimosis.In China, 29% of adult males have phimosis.
Some people believe that phimosis and excessive foreskin do not hinder sexual activity or fertility, and therefore are not a genital disorder. In fact, this view is not scientific. Because, whether it is phimosis or excessive foreskin, they both have certain harms to the human body.
(1) Hinders penis development and affects sexual harmony: Phimosis affects the growth and development of the penis. During puberty, the glans is tightly covered by the foreskin, lacking the necessary external stimulation, which severely restricts the development of the glans, resulting in a significantly smaller circumference of the glans crown after the sexual organs mature, thus affecting sexual pleasure. In adults, excessive foreskin or phimosis can affect normal sexual life. Especially for men with very small foreskin openings, the foreskin cannot retract properly, tightly trapping it at the corona, forming a paraphimosis, which is extremely painful. In severe cases, the glans may swell due to poor blood flow, or even die.
(2) Causes inflammation of the penis: The foreskin contains abundant sebaceous glands that secrete a large amount of sebum. In phimosis or excessive foreskin, the sebum secretions cannot be expelled, mixing with urinary precipitates to form a cheesy, foul-smelling substance called "smegma." Smegma is conducive to bacterial growth, which can lead to inflammation of the glans and foreskin. Bacteria can also enter the urethra, causing urinary tract infections. Inflammation at the urethral opening, if healed, may cause the urethral opening to narrow, leading to difficulty urinating.