Changes

==== A word to [[intact ]] teens ====

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 [[Masturbation| 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" />

The traditional way of addressing this issue was to consult a [[Issues with American urologists and the practice of male circumcision| urologist ]] and get a [[Adolescent and adult circumcision| 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]].