Hello and welcome to Healthcare Magic. Thanks for your query.

'Hand practice' (known as Masturbation) considered as a part of normal human sexual behaviour and is is very common among young males in their teenage. It does not have any bad effects on health and does not lead to any medical problems.

Some people have many wrong ideas about masturbation - that it causes ill effects on health like nervous weakness, reduced energy, etc or sexual problems like impotence in the future. All this is not true and these are just myths and misconceptions.

However, if you feel that your masturbation is excessive or difficult to control or interfering with your normal functioning, you can try the following suggestions:

- Firstly, keep your mind active and occupied at all times. Stop being idle. Idle time is not good and your mind will eventually wander away to sexual thoughts. So, find a new hobby or learn something new (like a new sport or a musical instrument); this will keep your mind form being idle and prevent developing these frequent sexual thoughts.

- Regular physical exercise is very important. You can join a gym or have your own exercise schedule. This will not only keep your body healthy but also keep your mind fresh.

- Make plans and goals for your future. You have to make short-term and long-term goals for your life and start working to achieve them. This will keep your mind foccussed and prevent your thoughts from getting scattered.

- Improve your social life. XXXXXXX friends and relatives, go for outings or group activities and keep yourself busy. If you keep staying alone in your room, you are more prone to engage in masturbation frequently.

- You can try yoga and meditation. This can help you develop a discipline of your mind and body and help you get a mastery over your thoughts.

- Remove anything which triggers you into a mood to masturbate. For example, clear your room of all pornographic material; if you access internet pornography, you can disconnect your internet connection, etc.

- Stop thinking and feeling guilty about this all the time. The more you think about it, the more compulsive it becomes. So, get rid of the guilt in your mind and keep your mind relaxed.

- If you feel that you need professional help, then please don't hesitate to consult a psychiatrist for further personal counselling.

Wish you all the best.

- Dr. Jonas Sundarakumar
Consultant Pychiatrist

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Hello again,

In some young males, especially before starting regular sexual intercourse, the foreskin may be tight and not fully retractable. But actually, the foreskin is an elastic structure, and normally after a few times of sexual intercourse, it becomes less tight and retractable.

If your foreskin is tight, then you should try manually retracting and releasing it frequently. This may be slightly painful the first few times, but after some time it will become more elastic and will be able to fully retract below the glans.

Regards,
Dr. Jonas Sundarakumar
Consultant Psychiatrist

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Hello and welcome to Healthcare Magic. Thanks for your query.

This is definitely not true. The seminal fluid (which contains spems) comes out through the urinary opening (urethra) and it has nothing to do with the foreskin being retracted or not. I assure you that if you are able to ejaculate semen, then having the foreskin unretracted does not matter for your fertility (i.e. your ability to become a father)

Wish you all the best.

- Dr. Jonas Sundarakumar
Consultant Psychiatrist

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