Should I ask my mother to take me to the doctors about my penis?

Posted , 2 users are following.

For a few years now, I have had a tight foreskin and this has caused me to develop some sort of infection. The tip is constantly red and I can often feel it leak some sort of smelly liquid on a daily basis. My penis is also below average at 3.3 inches which I dislike very much. I thought it could be because of my weight because I'm obese or that the infections I have is preventing growth. I started puberty at around 13 when I started to get armpit hair and pubic hair. I'm now 15 and everything has changed apart from the size of my penis. I'm afraid that when I'm older I won't be able to hold a relationship and be alone forever. My friends always make jokes about how big theirs is and when they ask me I just avoid the question. I read on the internet that a doctor can evaluate if it's normal or not. "You need to ask them gently if they would show a Doctor who can determine what the actual situation is. We don’t recommend you ask to see his penis yourself as this can be very embarrassing for teens. A Doctor will still be embarrassing but less so, and importantly make sure it is a male Doctor. Never a female Doctor in this situation. Once again the Doctor can check stretched penile length to give him an idea of erect length. That will tell him where your son sits on the scale. More than likely it will be fine.

But if he really does have a small penis for his age and he is otherwise showing signs of puberty, then he can be referred to a Paediatrician, Endocrinologist, Urologist for further assessment." Should I ask my mother to take me to the doctors because of this? I talked to her a few months back about having a stinging pain in the tip and she called the doctors for me but they just gave me cream for thrush which helped for a while and stopped the leaking but it continued after two weeks of stopping. What should I do?

1 like, 7 replies

7 Replies

  • Posted

    Short answer yes, though more because of the leakage and tight foreskin than the size.  Your penis won't have finished growing at age 15, it's very difficult to measure the size consistently, and if you google "penis length by age" *, you'll see that it will probably get larger, especially if you hit puberty late.  Penis growth doesn't usually start till around a year after puberty starts btw, and different people hit puberty at different ages.

    (* you can ignore any studies or surveys which rely on self-reporting btw)

    if you were examined by a doctor a few months back, and they didn't mention the size, you're probably fine.

    In your situation, I'd just tell your mother that the problem you had before is back, and ask to see the doctor again.  If you're in the UK, an alternative would be to go to a genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinic - google "GUM clinic near me" for details.  They're not even allowed to tell your parents you've been.

    Disclaimer: I'm not a doctor.

    • Posted

      I didn't go to the doctors before, my mother just talked to them over the phone so they haven't examined it.

    • Posted

      Wow.  I'm amazed that any doctor would recommend any treatment for symptoms like that without actually examining you.  I think you should definitely see a doctor in person though.  If you don't want to discuss it with your mother, then if you're in the UK, I'd recommend a GUM clinic, or if you're in another country, you could google "seeing a doctor without parents knowing" to find out your options.

    • Posted

      I just had the most awkward moment in my life. I'll update this thread after I've been to the doctors.

    • Posted

      If takling to your mother about a medical problem is the most awkward moment so far, then you've been lucky.  Any body part can have problems, so there's nothing to feel guilty about.  Women have to lie on their backs on a regular basis while someone looks inside them with a speculum, so we males get off lightly.

      Glad to hear you're seeing a doctor, and I hope you get whatever help you might need.

    • Posted

      I've seen the doctor and she examined it and said that I can't pull it back very far and the only solution might be a circumcision. She didn't say anything about the size but she said that the leakage is because of the smegma or infection because I'm unable to clean it. She said that I should go it my GP who will refer me to a urologist to go over the options I can choose. She said that lots of people in the UK have also been circumcised for this reason but I don't want to get circumcised.

    • Posted

      I'm surprised the doctor you saw couldn't just refer you to a urologist herself.  It's quite rare for anyone to actually need to be circumcised for phimosis though.  It can usually be treated by stretching, using a steroid cream, with surgery as a last resort, and that could be preputioplasty rather than circumcision.

      These links may be useful:

      https://patient.info/health/circumcision-leaflet

      https://patient.info/doctor/phimosis-and-paraphimosis

      https://www.15square.org.uk/

      The second link is written for doctors, but may be useful anyway.

      15 Square, formerly NORM UK, have a retired GP who is very knowledgeable on whether or not people need to be circumcised or not.  They also say this in their page on "Clinical Guidelines for Phimosis": 

      "A number of studies show that phimosis can be safely and effectively treated by the application of topical steroids in 80-90% of cases."

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