How to heal cracked foreskin?

I've seen a gp who said it was dry skin but I'm sure that's no longer the case. It's hard to see in photos but the foreskin has both shortened and tightened and is tough and doesn't stretch as it should. my frenulum also has ridges on it which i didn't have before. I've had the issue for a year now.

i5321 & James, I have suffered issues with my foreskin and head of my penis since I was in my teenage years and I am now 63 YOA - I learned the hard way what was suitable to apply to the skin of the penis and what needed to be avoided.

So what i5321 states in his opening statement I experienced very similar to this:

" I've tried multiple moisturisers and steroid creams and nothing seems to be healing the damaged skin "

• the essential is to never apply ANY soap or ANY form of body wash such as shower gel to the skin of the penis - wash with water only and when you take a shower make sure you spend some time rinsing the foreskin and head of the penis with the warm running water from the shower head to remove any traces of body cleansers such as hair shampoo as well if you use that in the shower.
• always use a clean dry towel that ONLY you use: never share towels.
• never apply ANY form of cream, lotion or moisturiser to the skin of the penis, the chemical basis they ALL have is detrimental to penile skin
• even something like steroid creams FUNDAMENTALLY do not address the issue of damaged penile skin, most often for any suspected fungal / yeast or bacterial infection someone like a GP or even a basic Dermatologist will give a patient a steroid cream - this ONLY treats the infection, NOT the damaged skin
• a steroidal based application to provide benefit to damaged penile skin MUST be an ointment, NOT cream versions. The ointment then has to be of the CORRECT strength, be applied sufficiently FREQUENTLY enough, AND is has to be ABSORBED by the skin when it is applied to ALL infected or damaged skin - if ANY of these factors are wrong then damaged penile skin will not recover fully, or at all creating a situation where the existing symptoms either continues or even worsen.

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  i5321, very few GP's have a detailed understanding of penile skin in the way most dermatologists would both understand and advise patients of in the correct way to benefit the patient.

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  As James points out, there are a number of natural products that can benefit penile skin, BUT AGAIN the main factor is what things like aloe vera are suspended in, such as a cream. Penile skin that has been damaged for sometime then even something like SHEA butter or Coconut Oil that are used for skin only, in RAW or PURE versions can help a relatively healthy penile skin to be more supple and retain natural moisture - again too much of any product such as this on relative healthy penile skin can be detrimental.

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  i5321, you mention " my frenulum also has ridges on it " - many adult penises can develop things like this following sexual maturation and up to the age of around 25 to 28 YOA as the penis is still naturally developing anyway. Frequently when things like this occur males suspect this is not the way the penis should be, but most often it is down natural development. If you want to post clear images showing this, then please do ...

  If either of you have any specific questions then get back to me withing this Forum Post, I DO NOT respond to Personal Messaging

  James if you want to add a detailed explanation of your circumstances please hit the "New Discussion" button, you can always post the web page address of that New Discussion Forum within this Forum Post if you want to carry forward the discussion points contained here ......

Can you recommend a specific brand of steroid ointment?

No, all steroid applications need to be specific to the issue they need to be dealing with, such as whether there is underlying cause of what you have, such as the presence of an actual skin condition.

Only a Dermatologist would be able to assess the correct steroid.

For the issues you have with your foreskin the best thing I can suggest is to get yourself some liquid coconut oil that is for use on the skin - purer (%) versions are the best, with 99% versions being really good.

What I would suggest you need to develop is how to be 'skin friendly' to your foreskin - this would take into consideration potential missing hydration and the lack or loss of elasticity of the foreskin.

What I would suggest you do is after having a shower is to apply a light coating of coconut oil to the top part of the shaft of your penis, including the foreskin when it is fully retracted, that is, fully draw towards the body.

Start with gentle massage movements using the tips of thumbs and forefingers, you can do this for a couple of minutes to start with. Then you need to implement regular stretching exercises - simple ones are the best, so these are drawing the skin on the shaft of your penis towards the base of your penis as firmly as you can without causing pain. The other is drawing the foreskin as far forward as you can. Start with doing 6 or 10, then over the period of a few weeks increase this to about 15 or 20, or whatever you feel best comfortable with doing - DO NOT do these if your penis is fully erect - once your foreskin recovers its suppleness you can try that to see what happens, but certainly you should not feel pain during any stretch exercises.

If there is anything else you need to check with me, simply hit the Reply Button .....