Ok so here's the deal... Im 16 and a half and i've been reading up on phismosis or however you spell it and at first i thought i had it as when erect my penis does not automatically retract but i have to do it manually and even then it is impossible to masturbait and my forskin just dosnt want to stay there. After further research i found i may not full have gone through puberty and i was just wondering that if when flaccid i pull my forskin right the way back and it is still attached to the head of my penis is that normal? i still have a rim of the head and when i retract my forskin when erect there are like 2/3 folds on the side nearest to me. Im just wondering if i've fully developed yet or i need to seek medical advice as i was kind of a late bloomer and didnt start to develop pubic hair around my scotum untill around 13/14 and hair under my arms didntn come untill around a year year and a half ago. please help me it would be greatly appreciated :-).
I have the same problem
Hi warg85zak:
There is a ligament at the bottom of the head that attaches the foreskin to the bottom of the head. That ligament is called the frenulum. That piece of skin at the bottom of the glans is called the frenulum. It is normal and it is supposed to be there. The frenulum serves to limit the rearward travel of the foreskin. The frenulum has a high level of sensation.
If your foreskin bunches up behind the head when you retract you most likely have a short frenulum (frenulum breve). Test it by pulling back on the foreskin. If the head of your penis bends down when you pull back your foreskin, you have frenulum breve.
You apparently have a long foreskin. The notion that a man’s foreskin will retract when he gets an erection is only partially true. A foreskin will only retract if the tip of the foreskin is wide enough to pass over the head of the penis. A foreskin will only retract if it is shorter than the erect penis. A foreskin that is longer than the erect penis will never retract automatically but may be retracted manually, provided it the tip is wide enough to pass over the head of the erect penis.
When a long foreskin is manually retracted, it gathers in folds at the base of the penis. The folds want to unfold and push the foreskin forward back to its normal position. A long foreskin is likely to slide/roll forward to recover and protect the glans penis when it is released. Some men simply cannot keep the foreskin retracted. This is not considered to be a problem.
The long foreskin provides superior protection to the head of the penis. Moreover, the ancient Greeks considered a long, tapering foreskin to be a sign of male beauty. The long tip is called the akroposthion.
The long foreskin may improve the sexual experience because of its superior gliding action.
You should be able to masturbate without pulling the foreskin back.