Is it bad that Ive never seen the head of my penis and I'm 17 years old

[Jhall139]

I am uncircumcised and I know that a normal uncircumcised person can pull back the foreskin to see beyond the head of the penis. But I never actually tried and just threw off the idea, I was talking to my guy friends and dont ask how we got on the topic but all three of us are uncircumcised and they can all pull back the foreskin a decent amount. I admitted I never tried and they started telling me all of these horror stories but were being completely serious and told me I should probably see a doctor. Everytime i try and do it i just mentally psych myself out of it and barely pull it back. Like just enough to see a small portion of the head of my penis until I ***** out. I dont know what to do

[ArjayEss]

At your age that skin should have been retracted already 10 years ago.  You can start now - in your private time just gradually pull it back more and more.  Congenital phimosis is very rare.  But if after a few months of trying you find it very painful or impossible to pull back, then see a doctor about it.  Just refuse a total circumcision if it comes to that.  Just a "tippy" circumcision will accomplish a retractable foreskin.  You can tell him I said so.

[AnnieBrooke]

Arjay, I disagree that his age the skin should have retracted already 10 years ago. There is a big range of normal for this, from 11 to 18 or even a little later, if you read the medical advice on the topic. (Some doctors are pretty ignorant on the topic, too -- my son was age 1 and his pediatrician tried to pull back his foreskin. Was I mad!) A physical membrane holds the foreskin in place to protect the head of the penis for a number of years, and only when it dissolves does the foreskin begin to retract when the guy has an erection. The age when this happens is super variable in the male population.

jhall, keep tabs on the issue, of course, but don't alarm yourself. As Arjay said, there are ways to deal with this surgically should nothing change in the next couple or three years, but in the meantime, it's too early to distress yourself. Do a little gentle stretching as Nick suggested but don't hurt yourself. You'll probably be fine without the need for invasive measures by a doctor.

[ArjayEss]

The age to first attempt retraction is about 5 (yes, earlier it has synechiae attached to the glans) but by 5 or so, gentle retraction while washing usually accomplishes painless, non-injurious detachment and full retraction.  This avoids the development of later paraphimosis, where the opening at the tip of the foreskin is too tight and once retracted below the corona cannot be easily moved back over it.  This is best prevented by periodic retraction (such as when bathing) begun at an early age, rather than waiting for nature to run its course. The OP sounds like a potential case of paraphimosis but he won't know until he tries.

[235Nickross]

It’s normal man don’t worry. In the shower every day stretch your penis a little more each time and hold it there for about 5 minutes. Your skin will start retracting easily in about 5 days making the head visible.