Cracking of foreskin

I am 42 year old and diabetic person.I am suffering from following problem.
The uncircumsized foreskin of my penis has become much less stretchable and will no longer allow pulling back to expose the penis head.  This makes hygine much more difficult (although not impossible).  Additionally, the foreskin sometimes becomes cracked, sometimes to the point of light bleeding if stretched too much for cleaning.  When this cracking occurs, there is sometimes a dried, scaly yellowish substance that will peel or flake off.  If left alone, it will wash away in the shower and everything looks normal (still not stretchable, though).  Once, the stretchy characteristic returned to normal and all the above symptoms disappeared for months.  I don't recall doing anything special or different to make this happen.  However, it returned recently.  I have no unusual sexual activities (very rare sex, actually) and maintain good hygine daily.  What could cause the stretchable skin to tighten up and crack with the scaling effect occasionally?  What can I do to prevent it?  

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Cracking of foreskin can be due to seborrheic dermatitis, smegma, fungal infection, eczema, scoriasis or lichen sclerosis. Even psoriasis needs to be ruled out. Psoriasis is a long-term (chronic) skin problem that causes skin cells to grow too quickly, resulting in thick, white, silvery, or red patches of skin.It is thought that psoriasis occurs when the immune system overreacts, causing inflammation and flaking of skin.

I suggest you to get a biopsy skin done to confirm the diagnosis. Circumcision is taken as a last resort when all measures fail. It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.