Mom of most babies experience phimosis in boys. What it is? This anomaly occurs because the glans and foreskin are fused during the first few years of life.
In adults, there are a number of risk factors and causes of phimosis. Although it becomes a problem only in the event of the appearance of various symptoms. Phimosis in boys, what is it? How dangerous is it? How to treat phimosis at home? You can understand and get answers to these questions in this article.
Definition
The formation of the penis starts from the 7th week of pregnancy and ends at the seventeenth. The skin of the penis folds in front to form the foreskin. It covers the penis, glans and urinary canal. The foreskin performs many functions: protective, immune and erogenous.
Phimosis is a condition in which boys, adolescents, or men cannot fully pull the foreskin overthe entire head of the penis. In other words, the opening of the foreskin is too narrow to allow full exposure of the head of the penis. This anomaly sometimes has a much deeper impact on a man's life than just an anatomical feature. For many members of the stronger sex, phimosis becomes a constant source of intimate awkwardness.
Classification
Phimosis according to ICD-10 (international classification of diseases) has the code N47 "Excessive foreskin, phimosis and paraphimosis".
Doctors distinguish between two types of disease:
- Physiological phimosis is a situation in which it is impossible to push back the foreskin. This condition does not cause pain when urinating. Urinary tract infections usually do not occur in these situations either. Until what age is physiological phimosis common in boys? Mostly up to 3 years old. Physiological phimosis does not require surgical correction.
- Pathological phimosis is an excess of the foreskin resulting from the formation of scar tissue. The disease is often associated with inflammation of the glans penis (balanitis), chronic inflammation of the skin of the genital organs (lichen sclerosus). Pathological phimosis requires surgery, in particular circumcision.
Diagnosis of phimosis
Which doctor should you contact if you suspect your child has phimosis? For a physical examination and diagnosis, parents need to visit a pediatric urologist and pediatrician. It is worth noting that with phimosis, treatment is not always necessary. Often at birththe foreskin in boys is fused with the head of the penis. This condition usually resolves without treatment between the ages of 5 and 18.
Symptoms
When phimosis appears, a person pays attention to the narrowing of the foreskin of the penis. In addition, the following symptoms may appear:
- penis pain,
- pain during intercourse,
- erectile dysfunction,
- painful erections,
- difficulty urinating,
- dysuria (impaired urination),
- skin ulcers,
- urethral itching.
- chronic irritation,
- bleeding,
- recurrent infections of the foreskin.
- urinary tract infection,
- burning,
- pain and pressure in the lower abdomen and back.
Reasons
Phimosis in boys. What it is? When the foreskin of the penis in 96% of newborn boys is fused to the penis, this condition is called physiological phimosis. As the child grows, it naturally separates from the glans penis. In some boys, the foreskin does not come off. The cause of these incidents is not known.
Pathological phimosis in adolescents can occur in the following cases:
- infections,
- scarring,
- adhesion (adhesion/growth),
- mechanical damage to the foreskin,
- inflammation and swelling.
Risk Factor
Diseasemore common in boys. But sometimes you can find phimosis in teenagers and even in older people.
Risk factors for the onset of the disease include:
- injuries;
- bacterial infections such as balanitis;
- poor hygiene.
The occurrence of these diseases may be due to the stagnation of smegma and urine in the penis due to phimosis or lack of proper hygiene. If not treated in time, balanitis and balanoposthitis lead to the formation of painful scar tissue of the foreskin, as well as premature impotence.
Treatment
What to do with phimosis? Parents are often preoccupied and overly concerned about this problem. When a boy has a physiological variety of the disease, treatment is not required. Proper hygiene and supervision is the best tactic. If redness, inflammation, pain or urinary incontinence occurs, you should consult a doctor. In such cases, it is advisable to prescribe hormonal drugs. This treatment is usually sufficient.
When pathological phimosis is often the only way to solve the problem is circumcision. The use of hormonal creams can only help with mild scarring.
How to choose a treatment for phimosis?
Regardless of the type of disease or pathology, it is important to always consult a doctor for proper diagnosis. Too often, people neglect their condition, putting off going to the hospital.
Phimosis is a condition that can worsen over time. Waiting and delaying diagnosis can exacerbate the problem as it progresses to extreme cases of paraphimosis (strangulation of the glans penis). Uncontrolled treatment of phimosis at home can have the opposite result. The formation of a dense ring of the epidermis, inflammation, infection contribute to the deterioration of the situation. The choice of treatment is carried out only by a specialist after an internal consultation and examination of the patient.
Parents should never attempt to tug or pull on the foreskin. This can be very painful for their child. Such manipulations can also lead to injuries, scarring. As a result, the movement of the foreskin will become even more difficult, and the disease will turn into a pathological form.
In the first few years of life, it is not necessary to fully retract the foreskin of a boy. It is enough to wash the penis from the outside. Foreign objects such as ear buds, cotton pads or swabs should not be used to clean the space between the penis and the foreskin.
In the absence of unpleasant symptoms and problems with the penis, phimosis in a boy under 3 years of age should not bother parents either. The need for treatment depends on the age of the child, the degree of phimosis and its causes.
Drug therapy
The standard medical treatment for phimosis at home is to use steroid ointments or creams. Corticosteroids contained in such preparations reduce the inflammation that occurs with phimosis. But they must be writtendoctor.
It is worth noting that some side effects may occur when using hormonal creams, for example:
- cataract,
- osteoporosis,
- hypertension,
- high blood sugar,
- increased susceptibility to infections.
Fortunately, there are many home remedies that can be used as alternatives to steroid creams in combination with exercise.
Stretching
One of the types of non-surgical treatment of phimosis at home are exercises to stretch the foreskin. The purpose of mechanical action on the foreskin is to stretch the skin sufficiently so that it can move freely over the glans penis.
When performing such exercises, you need to be patient and time. There is absolutely no need for haste in this matter. Otherwise, you can make an injury, which will significantly worsen the condition of phimosis.
Several aspects of tactics:
- Exercise stimulates tissue growth, it does not actually stretch the skin.
- You should not be zealous and stretch the foreskin of the appearance of pain.
- Stretching exercises should be done for 5 minutes in the morning and evening for at least 7 days.
- Whenever you are in the bath, take the opportunity to exercise. When the foreskin is naturally loose, it is necessary to pull back the skin as far as possible, but without causing any pain.
- Also, you should also try to push the foreskin back while urinating.
Traditional medicine
Along with exercise and the use of medications, home remedies for treating phimosis without surgery include traditional medicine:
- Camomile cream. The use of herbs reduces inflammation and does not have the side effects associated with hormonal ointments. Studies have shown that chamomile, in addition to its anti-inflammatory properties, is as effective as cortisol found in steroid preparations. Chamomile lotion or cream should be applied to the foreskin during stretching exercises.
- Cream with calendula. Preparations based on calendula are obtained from the marigold flower. This plant also has an anti-inflammatory effect.
- Cucumber seed oil. The composition of this oil is enriched with Omega fatty acids and linolenic acid. These ingredients have long been known for their beneficial effects on the skin and are used in many beauty products. Also, medicinal oil replenishes the natural water balance of the skin, smoothes wrinkles, and improves elasticity.
- Sea buckthorn oil. The drug is obtained from buckthorn. Like other oils, this effective herbal product has hormone-like properties. Sea buckthorn oil is also recommended for quick healing and regeneration of the skin, which makes it particularly useful in the treatment of phimosis. Due to its concentration, the product must be diluted with olive oil.
- Licorice cream is another natural home remedy for phimosis that reduces inflammation.
Highlights
When confronted with a diagnosis of phimosis, you need to know some key points in the course and treatment of this disease:
- Treatment is not always necessary. Your child can outgrow phimosis without surgery or medication.
- When treated at an early age, therapy gives good results.
- Treatment for paraphimosis is urgent as it restricts blood flow to the penis.
- Circumcision can sometimes help boys who have chronic foreskin problems such as phimosis, recurrent penile infections or a high risk of urinary tract infections.
- In cases of circumcision of the foreskin with phimosis, recovery is quite fast.
- Infants tend to recover from circumcision much faster than older children.
Consequences
Phimosis according to ICD-10 is an anatomical disorder. With this condition, the risk of developing complications is increased, for example:
- balanitis (inflammation of the glans penis),
- balanoposthitis (inflammation of the foreskin).
Prevention
There are ways to reduce the risk of phimosis. These include proper genital hygiene and partial or complete removal of excess skin of the foreskin (circumcision).
Daily washing of the genitals with warm water will help to avoid the occurrence ofinfectious inflammation.
