Q&As Tagged Questions

Response from Men's Sexual Health:

Hello and thanks for getting in touch with us. There are two areas for erectile dysfunction, it is either a physiological issue or a psychological issue. As you are able to get an erection when masturbating, this shows it is not a physiological issue, just a psychological issue. What is it about pre-cum that causes you to lose your erection, as surely this also gets produced when you are masturbating. You seem to be suffering with some form of performance anxiety, you may benefit from some of sexual therapy/counselling to get over this issue. Please get in touch if you have further info/help needed.

Answered by team member Matt
11th September 2013

Response from Men's Sexual Health:

Thanks for getting in touch. It sounds like you are describing pre-cum, not all men get this, and those that do it can vary from just a little leak to a lot, but let me reasure you this is perfectly normall. Pre-cum is a clear fluid that emits from the tip of the penis when a man is sexually aroused, and its purpose is to act as a lubricant (please be aware this can transmit STI, HIV and can contain sperm if you are not using barrier methods such as condoms to have safe sex with). In very rare cases some men over produce this, if this is the case I would discuss with you GP if possible.

Regarding the cumming very fast, this could be for various reasons, and I wouldn't say it has anything to do with your pre-cum. Many men suffer from Premature ejaculation, a recent UK survey said 10% of male population had suffered with PE at some point in their life. Another European study classed PE as lasting around 1.8 mins, and with 7.3 mins being classed as normal, would you say you fall into this first category as what you class as PE might not be PE. There are initially 4 treatments for PE - 1) Distraction method - when you are nearing climax, think about something comepletely different than whats going on. 2) Applying a delay gel to your penis, this will decrease sensitivity and hopefully improve your duration. 3) Delay condoms, this are coated with the delay gel and with the added thickness of the condom this too will help improve your duration. 4) start stop method - when alone try masterbating till u reach the point where you are going to climax but stop yourself, repeat this 3 or 4 times to build up your own self control, and then allow yourself to climax, after a few times a week doing this, you should find yourself lasting longer.

Regarding the itchy end of your penis, if you masturbate too often then yes the penis could become sore, but there could also be other reasons, it could be a reaction to soap or cleaning product you are currently using, or it could be and Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI), again I would recommend going to you doctor/GP and explain your concerns and get tested as most STI's can be treated.

Please get back to us if you still have any further concerns.

Answered by team member Matt
7th July 2011

Response from Men's Sexual Health:

Smegma is a natural secretion,produced by both men and women. This cheesy, sebaceous matter collects between the glans of the penis and the forskin, and is entirely normal. By washing your genitals at least once a day, making sure to retract the foreskin and get rid of any smegma, you will help keep your penis healthy and odour free. With daily washing, smegma will wash away. It will not remain in a hard lump stuck to your penis. It is likely what you see is an entirely normal condition called 'pearly penile papules,' which are small bumps that often form around the rim of the glans. These should be painless and benign, but if you have any worries about it, book an appointment to see your GP who should be able to put you mind at ease. If you have had unprotected sex, you should go to your local sexual health clinic to rule out the possibility of any STI's. If you would like more help with this, please give us a call: 01380 801951.

Answered by team member Mara
8th February 2011

Response from Men's Sexual Health:

Hello any thanks for posting your question. Let me assure you, masturbation is perfectly normal and will not affect the size of your penis. The avarage size of the male penis when erect is between 5-6 inches, so you are not small, this is perfectly normal and big enough to perform sexually. No two penis or balls are the same, some are big, some are small, just like your balls, everyone is different and this should be embraced, not something to be worried or embarrassed about. There are many website that claim to sell pills or tools that will make a penis bigger, please do not be fooled by such claims, there is no way other than risky surgery to do this. If you feel this is affecting your life a lot, maybe you should look into getting counseling, many men suffer from self-esteem issue around the size of their penis and ability to perform in the bedroom, if you live in Swindon we can help arrange free counselling for you. Please do get back in touch if you would like this, or if we can offer any further support.

Answered by team member Matt
15th December 2012

Response from Men's Sexual Health:

It sounds like a big part of the problem between you and your husband is communicating with each other. The longer your situation continues when you are trying to be intimate, the more difficult it will be to address. It may seem hard for you to sit down and speak with your husband about these sensitive issues, but that is the best chance to work through your problem. It is not uncommon for couples to experience sexual problems, and for both people to get frustrated. If the two of you can start talking about what is happening, you can try to come up with solutions, together. If you find it too difficult to speak with him alone, there are professionals who can help you. Please feel free to contact us for more help with this matter: 01380-801951

Answered by team member Mara
22nd March 2011

Response from Men's Sexual Health:

Hello and thanks for getting in contact with us. Masturbating/handpumping will not stop you from becoming a father. Most men will continue to masturbate for most of there life, this is normal and healthy. However some may stop for a few weeks when they are trying for a baby to ensure they have a good amount of sperm when having sex, but the body reproduces sperm at a fast rate within 24hrs, so maybe refrain for a couple of days before having sex in the hopes of making a baby, but your certainly don't need to stop all together at some point in your life. We hope this has helped with your concern please get back in touch if we can help further

Answered by team member Matt
15th October 2013

Response from Men's Sexual Health:

Hello and thanks for getting in touch with us at MSH. Men's production of semen get refiled fairly quickly in a 24hr period, but of course the more times you have sex or masturbate without a long period of time the less sperm will come out each time till you let testicles recover and produce more. Give it a couple of days break and you should find your quantity of sperm returning to normal. You can also increase your sperm but eating a healthy balanced diet, drinking plenty of fluids and being physically active. Regarding your other issue this is a very common question on our Q&A. What you think as small may not be small. Many men would like to increase the size of their penis as penis size is one of the biggest male concerns, nearly all men worry at some stage in their life about the size of their penis. A lot of it can be due to watching porn and seeing how big other men are, but men in porn tend to always be very well hung and that is why they use them in porn. Some men are so unsatisfied it can cause them great distress and make them seek out ways to increase their size. Please ignore any adverts you find on the internet, in magazines or emails claiming to make your penis bigger via any form of pills, you could be putting yourself in more harm and these pills do not work. The only way to change the size of your penis is through surgery and this is extremely risky and could result in you unable to get an erection. The male penis comes in all shapes and sizes, all over the world there are different sizes, for example in India the average size is 4 inches, the UK is 5.5 and the congo in Africa is 7. We are all built differently and never let someone make you feel inadequate with what you have, people fall in love with the person not the penis. There are many different positions you can try with a partner so that you are both sexually satisfied, experiment and see what works best for you. You may benefit from some form of sexual counselling if it is affecting your life a lot. We hope this has helped, please get in touch if you need further advice.

Answered by team member Matt
11th July 2013

Response from Men's Sexual Health:

Your questions confuse me a bit. When do you feel tired?

Sometimes there is leakage of semen in your urine if you have been aroused a little while earlier – this is normal

What makes you think your penis is too short? 

If your sperms come out early, is this during masturbation, during sex, or even before you touch your penis? 

If you can write giving some more information we may be able to help with some advice

Answered by team member Dr Peter
9th January 2016

Response from Men's Sexual Health:

Thank you for getting in touch with Men's Sexual Health. When you say puss, I'm assuming you mean semen/sperm/cum. All men are different regarding how much cum/puss they produce and how far it shots, what it looks like, what it tastes like etc. In sex website, porn, it doesn't generally reflect your average man, the men will generally be very well built, have big cocks and shot lots of cum, and many many men find watching porn depressing as they don't match up to what they see on the screen. Do not get upset by this, what happens in porn is unrealistic for most of the population. However you could try two methods which may increase how much you shot. One safe technique is called 'edging' where a man during masturbation/wanking/hand practice will stop masturbating just before he cums/shoots, lets the moment pass and then slowly continues till he nearly reaches cumming/climax again and stops, this is repeated for a while till he can last no more and most will find this produces bigger, stronger orgasms and more cum. The second safe method is trying kegel exercises/pc muscle. When going to the toilet to pee/urinate, try stopping mid flow, the muscle you contract to stop peeing is the PC muscle, try contracting and releasing that during any time of the day for a few minutes each day, exercising this muscle, this is also meant to help you have bigger and more intense orgasms. But ultimately try not to worry, some men shot a lot and some men don't, its not a big deal. Please get back in touch if we can help any further.

Answered by team member Matt
13th February 2013

Response from Men's Sexual Health:

Hello and thank you for getting in touch. Masturbation is perfectly normal, in fact its healthy and has been shown to reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer. How often you masturbate varies from person to person, and yes some men do it every day, some more than once a day. You are unlikely to be at any risk, other than causing your penis to become a bit sore if you do it too often, so long as your are not in pain, and it is not getting sore or inflamed you should be ok, to reduce this maybe use some lube to reduce friction. However some people can find themselves becoming addicted to it and it can take over their lives, ruining relationships etc if this is the case do please get back in touch. But no it should not cause you any problems later in life.

Answered by team member Matt
11th December 2012

Response from Men's Sexual Health:

Hello and thanks for getting in touch with us. A mans erection can vary from day to day, sometimes its stronger/harder than other days due to a number of factors. Maybe if you abstain a few days, you may find your sexual desire stronger resulting in a stronger erection. You may also be suffering with a mild case of Erectile Dysfunction caused by worry and concern, if you have had a weak erection one day, the next time you worry it will happen again and this worry will of course effect your ability to maintain a strong erection, and thus is worries you even more and it is a ongoing cycle. Try to not put too much stress on getting a strong erection, enjoy taking handpractise slowly, enjoy exploring your body, what sexually excites you and hopefully you will find you body reacts accordingly. You may benefit from some sexual therapy/counselling if it continues or talking with your GP/Doctor to rule our any underlying issue. We hope this has helped ease your concern.

Answered by team member Matt
8th November 2013

Response from Men's Sexual Health:

Consistency of sperm varies from person to person and can be effected by a number of factors such as alcohol consumption, poor diet or change in diet, stress or a recent prolonged spell of illness.

You dont mention colour or consistency of your sperm, has this changed please provide further information. However based upon what you have said i dont beleive this is something you should be concerned about.

If further reassurrance is needed please visit your GP.

Answered by team member Mark
2nd June 2009

Response from Men's Sexual Health:

Your lifestyle will certainly have an affect to some degree on the quantity and quality of sperm as will age. The amount of sperm reduces as we get older. But I don't think it is something that you overly worry about. As I said previously perhaps for peace of mind you should consider booking an appointment with your GP. Good luck and best wishes.

Answered by team member Mark
4th June 2009

Response from Men's Sexual Health:

Hello and thanks for contacting MSH. We are unsure of the possible side effects to masturbating without letting yourself cum. Ejaculating is the natural reaction and result of masturbating, and it is healthy to ejaculate and produce fresh sperm. It is unlikely that this would have cause your penis to decrease in size but do to the stress and worry you are putting on yourself for having done this it is possible your body is reacting to this stress by not giving you strong erections and ejaculating less. It may be best to discuss this with your GP/Doctor to ensure all is working properly and correctly. You may benefit from some form of counselling to help alleviate your stress/worrys.

Answered by team member Matt
22nd November 2013

Response from Men's Sexual Health:

Hi thanks for getting in contact with us. I think due to a change in language it is a bit difficult to understand what the exact issue is. But it possibly sounds like you are suffering with some form of erectile dysfunction. This is when a man finds it difficult to get or maintain an erection. There are generally two types of ED, Physiological or Psychological. Physiological issues include - deterioration of the arteries (this is more common in older men), diabetes, smoking, alcoholism, overweight, hormone problems. Psychological issues include, Stress: which could be job related, money issues, relationship issues etc, Anxiety: Once a man experiences ED, he may become overly worried that the problem will happen again. This can lead to "performance anxiety," or a fear of sexual failure, and consistently lead to ED, Guilt: A man may feel guilty that he is not satisfying his partner, Depression : A common cause of ED, depression affects a person physically and psychologically. Depression can cause ED even when a man is completely comfortable in sexual situations. Drugs used to treat depression may also cause ED, Low self-esteem: This can be due to prior episodes of ED (thus a feeling of inadequacy) or can be the result of other issues unrelated to sexual performance, also Childhood abuse has been related to ED. Some men suffer with more than one of the above issues, as some of these cause some of the others to occur. We would recommend speaking to your GP/Doctor so they can determine if it a physiological issue or a psychological issue. The best way to solve psychological ED is therapy with a professional counsellor sex therapist. Discussing you anxiety and fears and concerns will be a big step in dealing with them and overcoming them. Being open and honest with your partner will help this, and may benefit in both attending therapy. If its physiological they will be able to run the appropriate tests and prescribe the right course of treatment for this, please do not seek medications online, you risk being prescribed the wrong medicine or worse, purchasing fake medicine that could end up doing more harm than good, so please make an appointment with your own doctor. Please let us know if we can be of further help.

Answered by team member Matt
26th July 2013

Response from Men's Sexual Health:

Hi Sam, thanks for getting in contact with MSH. From what you are describing it sounds like you may be suffering with Phimosis which is medical term for 'Tight Foreskin'. Regarding treatment, it depends if Phimosis is being caused because you were born with it, or if its occurred from an infection. Either way, you need to seek medical advice from your GP/Doctor as if its something you were born with he may prescribe a mild steroid cream to help and encourage you with some foreskin stretching exercises. If its an infection then again a medication will probably be prescribed to take care of this. But you need to maintain good personal hygiene in the mean time, when flaccid that you clean the head of the penis. We hope this has helped, please get back in touch we you need further advice or support.

Answered by team member Matt
13th June 2013

Response from Men's Sexual Health:

Hi and thanks for contacting MSH. I'm not 100% sure what you mean by holding your semen, if you mean the term edging, when u masturbate close to coming but stop yourself, or if you mean when u cum you hold your semen in? It would be possibly dangerous to not let the semen come out when you ejaculate, so if this is what you mean then please do let your self ejaculate, it is natural final result to masturbating. We hope this has cleared up your question please get back in touch if you would like to discuss this further.

Answered by team member Matt
1st October 2013

Response from Men's Sexual Health:

Thanks for getting in touch with Men's Sexual Health about your concern. It is entirely normal for young people discovering their sexual feelings to start masturbating; also known as wanking, hand practice and jerking off, among other names. It will not have any negative effect on your health and future, as long as it is only part of your normal activities, and it does not take over your life. Make sure you keep going to school/work/socialising with your friends and family and doing all things that you would normally do. As long as you have a healthy balance in your life, there is nothing wrong with exploring your body. We hope this reply makes you feel better. If you would like any further advice, please get in touch.

Answered by team member Mara
26th October 2013

Response from Men's Sexual Health:

Hi. Thanks for getting in touch about your problems. Please be assured that masturbation does not cause any of the problems you have mentioned. Although people may be embarrassed to talk about masturbating, you shouldn't feel ashamed of it or guilty about doing it. People of all ages masturbate and it is often the first sexual experience they have. Masturbation is completely normal and extremely common. Masturbation does not cause any harm, either physically or mentally, even if you do it often. Ejaculating in your sleep is also a normal occurence. If you have noticed some changes in your genitals, skin, hair or memory that are causing you concern, the best thing to do is visit your doctor to discuss this and what the possible reason may be. We hope this information helps put your mind at ease. Please feel free to get back in touch with any further concerns.

Answered by team member Mara
12th September 2012

Response from Men's Sexual Health:

The concern you've posted has two areas of consideration. First, there are the white lumps on your glans. It can be entirely normal to have painless, small white bumps on your penis, especially on your glans, most typically around the corona, the rounded base of the glans. It is clear you have tried to figure out what these lumps are and not found a single, specific condition that fits your case exactly. There can be small variations in symptoms, thus giving the appearance of something different. The greater concern is the second issue, your inability to retract your foreskin, in order to have a good look at what is going on. A baby boy's foreskin is quite tight, but by the age of 16, you should be able to move it with relative ease. As you become sexually active, a tight foreskin will cause discomfort that could have a knock on effect mentally. It is best to try to take care of this sooner, rather than later. The most basic way to try to stretch your foreskin is to manipulate it in your daily shower routine. You can use soap, for ease and availability, though sometimes over use of soaps can cause local irritation. Ideally, you could use something like aqueous cream, which is suitable for most skins. You need to try to move your foreskin over the glans, up to the point of slight discomfort, but not pain. Try to stretch/massage

it twice a day. Over time, your foreskin should

stretch to accomodate more movement. In order to be able to properly clean and look after your penis, you need to be able to retract your foreskin. You may find that once this movement is achieved, your other symptom may clear up. The lumps do not sound like they are anything that should worry you, however, if they do, please book an appointment to visit your gp, who should be experienced in handling these delicate matters confidentially. Or, if you just want to talk, give us a ring, 01380-8018951. We hope we were able to help.

Answered by team member Mara
2nd December 2010