Penis and Foreskin Care

How to Clean Your Penis

Irritation, infections, and unpleasant odors are just a few of the health conditions that can occur if you fail to maintain good hygiene habits

for your penis and sexual health. Cleaning your penis affair can also help reduce your chances of contracting a sexually transmitted

Hygiene practices will be slightly different between circumcised and uncircumcised men, but both are quite similar.

Learning how to properly clean your penis can help you maintain optimal health and cleanliness.

How to Keep Your Private Parts Clean

Keeping your private parts clean and well-groomed gives you a fresh feeling that will please both you and your partner.

Here are some tips for men and women on how to spruce up.

How to Pull Your Foreskin Back Without Pain

The foreskin covers and protects the sensitive head of an uncircumcised penis, and most teens and adults find it easy and painless to pull back.

However, if trying to pull your foreskin back causes severe pain or bleeding, if there's redness or swelling beneath it,

and especially if it gets stuck in a retracted position, call your doctor right away. Otherwise, there are foreskin loosening techniques

you can use to address this problem. In any case, you should always keep your foreskin clean and take special precautions with a child's foreskin.

If you just had contact with another person's genitals, you may be at risk for contracting a sexually transmitted infection (STI),

also sometimes called a sexually transmitted disease (STD). Male and female condoms can help reduce the risk of STI transmission,

but are not foolproof methods. STI symptoms are not always obvious, but there are some things to be on the lookout for.

How to Treat a Penile Yeast Infection

While it is more common for women to get yeast infections, it is also possible for men to contract a genital yeast infection,

usually after having unprotected affairs with a partner who is already infected. The infection usually appears on the skin outside the penis.

Penile yeast infections affect men who are uncircumcised more than those who are circumcised.

Maintaining good hygiene and care of your genitals reduces the chances of developing problems like skin irritations and some common infections.

Often it is assumed that men know the steps to good penis care, but it never hurts to remind yourself of the best practices.

The same basic principles apply whether you have a foreskin or have been circumcised.

If you chose to have your son circumcised, the procedure probably has been performed in the hospital on the second or third day after birth, but may be done after discharge during the first week of life. Ritual circumcisions for religious reasons are usually performed in the second week of life. Afterward, a light dressing such as gauze with petroleum jelly will have been placed over the head of the penis.

What to expect:

The tip of the penis may look quite red for the first few days, and you may notice a yellow secretion. Both indicate that the area is healing normally. The redness and secretion should disappear gradually within a week.

In an uncircumcised boy, the foreskin will begin to separate from the glans. This is called foreskin retraction. This happens naturally while the boy is a baby. Foreskin retraction may happen right after birth. Or it may take several years. Most foreskins can be fully retracted by the time a young man is 18 years old. Retracting or pulling back the foreskin from the tip of the penis should not be forced. If the foreskin is forced to retract, it may cause bleeding and mild pain.

What affects penis health?

Many different things can affect penis health. And by “penis health,” we mean:

your ability to urinate comfortably

your ability to get or maintain an erection

your fertility

Penis health also includes avoiding certain health conditions, such as penile cancer and STIs.