- It is important to keep your penis healthy and clean
- That way you take good care of your body
- Sex can also feel more pleasant
- If you don’t do this, you may get symptoms
- You are also more likely to get an STI
- Do not wash your penis with soap. Preferably use only water
Keeping your penis clean
If you keep your penis clean, you are less likely to get an infection. Here’s how to keep your penis clean:
- Wash your penis with lukewarm water. Rinse your glans as well
- Do not use soap
- Pull back your foreskin when washing your penis. This way you can properly rinse your glans and the rim underneath. Do this after urinating as well
- Do not scrub or rub hard
- Wash your penis every day. You do not need to wash your penis after every client
Can I wash my penis with soap?
No, do not wash your penis with soap or shower gel. Soap contains substances that the skin of your penis and glans cannot tolerate well. This can cause symptoms, for example a bad smell.
Only wash your penis with lukewarm water.
Tight foreskin
Is your foreskin tight and causing problems? For example, are you unable to clean your penis properly? Then see your GP for a hormone cream. This cream makes your foreskin more flexible, making it easier to wash your penis. With this cream, an infection usually clears up more quickly as well.
How do you use the cream?
- Apply the cream to your foreskin before going to bed
- Do this for 1 month
- If your symptoms improve, you can apply it less often
- If your symptoms disappear, you can stop using the cream
If your symptoms do not go away, you may sometimes need surgery. Want to know if surgery is right for you? Discuss it with your GP.
There are 2 types of surgery:
- An operation where the doctor widens your foreskin (you keep your foreskin)
- A circumcision, where the doctor removes your foreskin completely
Symptoms
Are you not washing your penis properly? You could end up with too much smegma on the head.
The top of your penis is the head. A lot of men have a bit of skin over it that you can move. That is your foreskin. There is smegma under your foreskin. That is normal. It is whitish and does not smell.
Are you washing the head wrong or are you using soap? That will cause smegma to turn green-gray after a few days and start to smell. It can easily get infected. And you will be more likely to catch an STI.
Symptoms? Take an STI test
Symptoms on your penis? You might have an STI. Get an STI test at the municipal health service (GGD) or at your doctor’s office. Then you will know for sure whether you have an STI. And you will get medicine if necessary.
