The most important thing for men to clean is this piece of "skin"

The foreskin is the layer of skin covering the glans penis. Men should keep their foreskin clean.

1. What are the harmful effects of foreskin and prepuce being too long on the human body?

The foreskin is the layer of skin covering the glans penis. If you turn the foreskin over, you can see the ring-shaped constriction behind the glans penis called the coronal sulcus. There are many sebaceous glands in the skin near the coronal sulcus, which secrete a smelly secretion in the form of yellow-white mud, called "smegma".

Phimosis refers to a condition where the foreskin opening is too small, so that the foreskin cannot be turned up to reveal the glans penis; prepuce is too long refers to a condition where the foreskin covers the entire glans penis, but the foreskin opening is not small and can be turned up to reveal the glans penis. Prepuce is often physiological in infants and young children, and it is only when the glans penis is still not visible after puberty that it is called phimosis or prepuce is too long.

When the foreskin is too long or the foreskin is too long, the secretions of the sebaceous glands in the foreskin cannot be discharged, and the smegma with a strong odor gradually forms. The smegma is suitable for the growth of bacteria, so it can cause inflammation of the glans penis and foreskin. Inflammation occurring at the urethral opening can cause the urethral opening to narrow after healing, resulting in difficulty in urination.

Long-term stimulation of the glans penis by smegma may also cause penile cancer. According to reports, about 85%-95% of penile cancer patients have a history of phimosis or prepuce.

In addition, it is also extremely disadvantageous to women. If the husband has a long foreskin, the smegma will enter the female reproductive tract during sexual intercourse, causing repeated and long-term chronic stimulation of the cervix, which may induce cervical cancer.

Medical scientists investigated Jewish men who had their male babies circumcised at birth and found that the incidence of cervical cancer in women was extremely low. A survey of residents on the South Pacific island of Peji found that when comparing the wives of uncircumcised men with the wives of circumcised men, the incidence of cervical cancer in the former was eight times higher than that in the latter.

If phimosis is not treated in time, the glans penis will be tightly locked by the foreskin for a long time, causing poor penile development after puberty and affecting sexual life.

If the foreskin and prepuce are too long and cannot be retracted after being forcibly turned up, it may cause foreskin incarceration, and in severe cases it may cause glans necrosis.

If a teenager has phimosis or prepuce that is too long, he should undergo circumcision as soon as possible. For prepuce that is not inflamed, surgery is not necessary as long as the foreskin is frequently turned up for cleaning.

2. What causes penile balanitis? How to treat it?

Inflammation of the glans penis and foreskin often occur at the same time, so they are collectively called glans penis phimosis. The main cause of glans penis phimosis is phimosis or prepuce is too long. In addition, unclean sexual intercourse, drug stimulation or allergy are also causes of the disease.

The symptoms of glans phimitis are redness, swelling, pain, and itching of the glans penis and foreskin. Some cases may develop erosion and ulceration, and there may be yellow purulent secretions with a special odor. In severe cases, glans penis necrosis may occur. Some patients may develop adhesion and stenosis of the urethra after the acute phase, causing difficulty in urination. Repeated infections may cause thickening of the glans penis or foreskin, forming white spots.

When taking certain drugs, allergic reactions may sometimes cause fixed edematous erythema to form on the glans penis or foreskin, with blisters in the center that can cause infection after rupture. Symptoms usually occur within 24-36 hours after taking the drug, improve after stopping the drug, and reappear after taking the drug again.

In the acute stage of glans balanitis, the foreskin should be turned up, washed with 1:5000 potassium permanganate solution, and then antibiotic ointment should be applied. If the foreskin cannot be turned up, it should be incised and drained. While performing local treatment, oral or injected antibiotics are required. Antiallergic drugs should also be taken if it is caused by drug allergy.

Patients with recurrent inflammation of the glans penis and foreskin due to phimosis or prepuce that is too long should undergo circumcision to prevent recurrence.

3. What to do if foreskin incarceration occurs?

For patients with an excessively long foreskin and a narrow foreskin opening, if the foreskin is forcibly turned up and not restored in time, the narrow foreskin opening may be tightened on the coronal sulcus of the penis, blocking the blood flow to the distal end of the foreskin and the glans penis, causing swelling in these areas. This condition is called phimosis.

Phimosis is usually caused by sexual intercourse or masturbation. After phimosis, there is severe local pain, redness and swelling of the glans penis, and edema of the foreskin. The longer the incarceration lasts, the more severe the swelling will be. If not treated in time, the foreskin and glans penis will suffer from ischemia and necrosis.

After the foreskin is incarcerated, it should be restored in time, usually by manual restoration. This method of restoration can be done by yourself. Hold the foreskin with the index and middle fingers of both hands, place the two thumbs on the head of the penis and gently push it into the foreskin, so that the incarcerated foreskin can be restored.

If the foreskin is incarcerated for a long time and cannot be restored by manual reduction, you should go to the hospital as soon as possible for surgical reduction.

The best way to prevent foreskin incarceration is to have a circumcision to remove the foreskin or excessive foreskin, so that foreskin incarceration will not occur again.