How to cure phimosis: all of the methods for resolving it
How do you cure phimosis? When is an operation necessary? How can you recognise it? These are the most frequently asked questions on the internet about phimosis.
Before talking about the treatment of phimosis it is important to describe what phimosis is, and what its various origins are. Phimosis is a condition of the male penis that leads to an inability to uncover the glans due to a more or less evident constriction of the foreskin.
At birth, all new-borns have natural balanced adhesions that serve to protect the penis. As they approach 3 or 4 years of age, the penis begins to grow, as does the foreskin, which removes these adhesions. In 1% of cases, however, the foreskin does not grow as much as the penis. Because of this, the glans cannot be uncovered, due to a lack of tissue in the foreskin, and we then refer to it as congenital phimosis.
At other times however, the phimosis arises in adulthood, as a result of an infection of the prepuce or the glans. Even if the infection is treated, it can leave scars that tend to harden over time, leading to the formation of a ring of inelastic phimotic tissue, called a phimotic ring. This creates a “loop” of hard skin that prevents you uncovering the glans. Finally, depending on the severity of the condition, we refer to tightened or non-tightened phimosis.
So, before talking about the cure for phimosis, it’s important to understand what type of phimosis we will be dealing with.
How to choose a treatment for phimosis
As with any pathology or condition in the medical field, it’s always important to contact a doctor for a correct diagnosis.
Far too often, men go on to neglect their phimosis, postponing a diagnosis because the constriction is not entirely limiting, or choosing home treatments. In both cases, the decision is the wrong one.
Phimosis is a condition that can worsen over time. Waiting and postponing the possibility of a diagnosis risks making the problem worse, as it progresses from an untightened phimosis to a tightened phimosis, right up to extreme cases of paraphimosis. The longer the wait, the greater the need for urgent actions.
Homemade treatments, mostly carried out with lubricating ointments, in an attempt to force the restricted parts, can have the opposite effect. Forcing the phimotic ring could lead to a series of micro cuts on the foreskin, which would heal with scar tissue, rendering the part with the phimotic tissue even less elastic. Instead of improving the situation, this would contribute towards its deterioration.
The only thing to do is contact a doctor to obtain a correct diagnosis which identifies the type of phimosis. Once the diagnosis is received, we can move on to a choice to cure phimosis.
How to cure phimosis: types of treatment
Here is a list of the phimosis treatments currently available.
Exercises for stretching the phimosis
Many websites state that through some homemade exercises (by slowly moving the foreskin to cover and uncover the glans) it is possible to cure phimosis.
Such statements are often misleading.
As already described, forcing the phimotic tissue could lead to the creation of small cuts on the foreskin that, healing, would worsen the condition of the phimosis present. Moreover, for these exercises, using lubricating creams and ointments to help the movement and care of phimosis is often recommended.
In reality, various medical and scientific research studies have shown that the use of lubricating ointments does not in any way resolve the narrowing of the foreskin. Even if some results have been achieved by slowly moving the foreskin, there would be no guarantee of a consolidated result over time, and there would be the risk of the phimosis reappearing in an even more severe form.
These exercises can only be partially useful in cases of very mild phimosis but, due to the consequences described above, doctors always advise against them. It is not the right choice to cure phimosis.
Ointments with steroids for phimosis
Another option to cure phimosis is therapy with ointments with steroids for phimosis.
To learn more about this topic, you can consult this article dedicated to Phimosis Cream.
In summary, we can say that whilst for treating juvenile congenital phimosis there are studies that prove the usefulness and the value of this procedure, there is no research that demonstrates a cure in adulthood, particularly with acquired phimosis. The difference lies in the type of phimosis. In congenital phimosis we see a lack of growth of the foreskin, whilst in the acquired type, we are witnessing the creation of a true loop, a phimotic ring, caused by an infection. The difference is precisely in the anatomical appearance of the problem.
Phimosis operations
The most widely used treatment for phimosis is circumcision surgery.
Circumcision is now an operation that is performed in a day hospital, however, sometimes in public facilities there are waiting lists ranging from two weeks to two years. Post-operative recovery times range from three to four weeks.
This cure, by total circumcision, certainly solves the phimosis. However, there are two aspects that in our opinion, are strongly restrictive: : the psychological impact and the irreversibility of removal. Having your foreskin removed with a scalpel is never a pleasant prospect, either because of the thought of undergoing an operation on your penis or because your penis changes its appearance and a more or less substantial part is removed.
The topic is addressed in depth in the article: Phimosis Surgery.
Phimostop
So we arrive at Phimostop. Phimostop is a medical device that was created with the aim of treating phimosis before resorting to a surgical operation, which is a difficult and expensive choice (psychologically and economically) for men.
A series of hypoallergenic medical silicone tubes have been developed and ergonomically designed for application on the phimosis, based on the principle of skin dilation. The tuboids, with a progressive diameter, introduce a slow stretching pressure on the phimotic tissue, allowing the formation of new elastic cells. In a short period of time, depending on the type of phimosis, there is a recovery of foreskin elasticity until the conditions preceding phimosis onset are restored .
Phimosis treatment with Phimostop allows a return to normal foreskin functionality without removing any parts and with a stabilisation of the result.
Precisely because of these characteristics, Phimostop is:
- a medical device validated by the Italian Ministry of Health
- available from pharmacies without a prescription
- patented in Europe
- a gold medal winner at the International Exhibition of Inventions in Geneva;
- the subject of a university research investigation
To date, over 7,000 men have cured their phimosis with Phimostop.