Changes

Boys are born with a [[foreskin]] that is non-retractable for reasons of protection. The inner surface is fused with the [[glans penis]] by a [[synechia]] (similar to a fingernail that is glued to the nail bed of the finger). Also the tip of the foreskin is too narrow to retract. As a boy gets older, the synechia disintegrates and releases the foreskin and the foreskin gets wider as a boy ages, so the foreskin gradually becomes [[Retraction of the foreskin| retractable]]. Some boys go through puberty but find that their [[foreskin]] is still too narrow to permit retraction.  Beaugé (1997) reported that boys, who masturbate by pulling their foreskin away from the body, will not stretch the tight part of the foreskin so non-retractile foreskin will persist. He advised changing the method of [[masturbation]] to the more conventional method of pulling the foreskin toward the body so that the narrow orifice get stretched.<ref name="beauge1997">{{REFjournal |last=Beaugé |init=Michel |author-link= |last2= |init2= |author2-link= |url=http://www.cirp.org/library/treatment/phimosis/beauge2/ |title=The causes of adolescent phimosis |journal=Br J Sex Med |date=1997 |volume= |issue=September/October |pages=26 |accessdate=2021-04-21}}</ref>  The traditional way of addressing this issue was to consult a urologist and get a [[circumcision]], however we now understand that in the vast majority of cases, manual [[stretching]] over a few months will widen the foreskin by [[tissue expansion]], make the foreskin retractable and eliminate the need for a destructive Adolescent and adult circumcision| circumcision.