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Phimosis

Phimosis · Fimóza

male only

What it is

The foreskin is too tight to pull back — normal in young boys, a problem when it scars in adults (often lichen sclerosus).

Symptoms & signs

  • Foreskin won't retract
  • ballooning on urination
  • pain on erection or during sex
  • recurrent inflammation of the glans (balanitis)
  • white scarred ring

🚩 Get help if…

  • call 112 / 911 now Foreskin stuck behind the head of the penis, which is swelling
  • call 112 / 911 now Unable to pass urine
  • see a doctor soon Foreskin balloons and urine only dribbles out
  • see a doctor soon Red, sore or bleeding foreskin, or white scarred skin

Where it strikes

Medical treatment

  • Leave alone in young boys — it loosens by itself
  • steroid cream (betamethasone) for 4–8 weeks
  • preputioplasty or circumcision if scarred
  • treat balanitis and diabetes

Natural & lifestyle

  • Gentle retraction in the bath, never forced
  • wash with water, no soap under the foreskin
  • good blood-sugar control

Emerging & experimental

  • Laser preputioplasty
  • stretching devices

Alternative, off-label & anecdotal

Approaches used outside the guidelines, with what their supporters report and what testing has found so far.

  • Gentle stretching exercises alone — small studies loosen the foreskin early / small studies
  • Coconut oil or vitamin E to soften the skin — anecdotal anecdotal / traditional

ICD codes