The article was professionally consulted by Master, Doctor Le Phuc Lien - Urologist - General Surgery Department - Vinmec International General Hospital in Nha Trang.
Phimosis is a condition in which the foreskin is narrowed at different levels, causing inflammation, limiting the development of the penis. Phimosis during sex can cause men to ejaculate prematurely, have pain, or even be unable to get an erection, impotence when being intimate with their partner.
1. What is phimosis?
The foreskin is a thin, elastic area of skin that covers the entire glans of the penis. Phimosis is a condition in which the foreskin is narrowed at different levels, so the foreskin cannot be pulled back.
This area of skin covers the head of the penis when men are young and will usually automatically retract at the age of 4 - 5 years. However, when puberty comes and the foreskin still does not retract, surgical intervention may be necessary.
There are two types of phimosis: physiological phimosis and secondary phimosis. Secondary phimosis is easy to ignore but can easily lead to serious complications. The most common cause of secondary phimosis is infection. In these cases, the foreskin was previously retracted from the glans, but now the foreskin is stuck and cannot be retracted.
2. How does phimosis affect sexual ability?
Whether phimosis can lead to pregnancy or whether phimosis can give birth is a concern of many men or parents when their children have phimosis.
In fact, how phimosis affects sexual ability during sex depends on the severity of the condition. Men with mild phimosis can still have normal sex and ejaculate normally, so they can still have children. However, many people with severe phimosis cannot do so.
No matter the severity of phimosis, it still directly or indirectly affects sexual life:
- Inflammation, swelling, pain: Men with phimosis often face the risk of infection, most commonly inflammation of the foreskin and inflammation of the glans. The inner surface of the thin layer of skin covering the glans always secretes sebum and dead cells. Therefore, phimosis makes it difficult to clean the penis. In addition, phimosis prevents urine from completely escaping and remains inside the foreskin, gradually accumulating into dirty residue, creating conditions for bacteria and fungi to grow and cause inflammation, swelling, and pain. This seriously affects not only health but also causes pain and affects sexual life.
- Premature ejaculation: The glans and foreskin are very sensitive parts. Therefore, when the foreskin is narrow, the male penis will be more sensitive than normal and is very prone to ejaculation even with only mild stimulation, which not only makes the partner unsatisfied but more seriously can affect reproductive function.
- Limiting the development of the penis: phimosis will make the penis somewhat restrained and difficult to develop, making the penis shorter and the glans smaller than normal. This significantly affects sexual life, even destroying family happiness.
- Pain during erection and sexual intercourse: phimosis during intercourse can cause men to have pain when the penis is erect or pain during sexual intercourse. The penis will not even be able to get an erection, which can lead to the risk of impotence in the long run.
- Swelling due to poor blood circulation: In some severe cases, the foreskin is too tight, causing blood to not circulate at the tip of the penis, causing swelling of the penis. If left for a long time, swelling will lead to ischemia, affecting sexual life, and can even lead to the inability to have sex.
3. Circumcision surgery
When phimosis occurs, men may be advised to undergo circumcision surgery to remove the foreskin of the penis. This surgery can be performed on adults or children. For children, circumcision is usually performed if the baby is healthy. For adults, circumcision is usually performed when men discover balanitis or phimosis.
4. Does circumcision affect sexual performance?
Circumcision has been shown to have many benefits including:
- Reducing the risk of infection in the glans penis
- Reducing the risk of HIV and sexually transmitted diseases in adults.
- Reducing the risk of penile cancer: Circumcision can reduce the amount of bacteria and the risk of infection, so the risk of cancer will be lower.
- Safe sex
Many people worry that circumcision can reduce sexual pleasure because this minor surgery removes thousands of nerve endings in the penis. However, according to many studies, sexual pleasure in men will not change significantly after circumcision. In addition, reducing the risk of inflammation and genital diseases will make men more comfortable during sex.
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