Penis enlargement

Penis enlargement procedures (sometimes referred to as male enhancement procedures in spam email and television advertisements) are techniques reported to make the human penis larger.

This is frequently the goal of men dissatisfied with their penis size. In general, where there is a perceived need to increase penis size, medical advice should be sought, rather than attempting self-treatment. Most self-treatment methods are believed to be either ineffective, dangerous or both.

Very few men have a very small penis: this is known as a micropenis, and is a very unusual condition which will generally have been detected in early childhood. Penis-enlargement self-treatments are also not effective on this condition.

Many commercial advertisements are sent via e-mail spam, direct mail, and in sexually-oriented magazines for penis enlargement ads.

Self-treatment methods

Cosmetic

Rather than attempt to change the actual size of the penis, one may make it appear bigger, by trimming the pubic hair or by losing weight, which may be of particular use if one is overweight.

Pills

"Penis enlargement pills" or ointments are commonly offered over the Internet; these, for the most part, are scams.

Analyses performed by Flora Research of California and by the University of Maryland have uncovered harmful contaminants in a number of "penis enlargement" pills. Contaminants found included mold, yeast, dangerous E. coli bacteria, pesticides, and lead. Dr. Michael Donnenberg of the University of Maryland has described herbal pills marketed by Performance Marketing Ltd. as having "heavy fecal contamination", possibly from animals grazing near the plants harvested for herbal ingredients. There may however be a placebo effect i.e. a psychological effect of making the user think he has a larger penis, and increasing his confidence, when there is no actual change to his penis size.

Penis pump

Another method which is often advertised is the penis pump. This is a cylinder that is fitted over the penis, with a manual or motorised pump to create suction. As the apparatus creates a vacuum around the penis, blood is drawn into the penis causing it to become engorged. The higher the vacuum, the higher the blood-pressure becomes within the penis; excessive pressure causes vascular damage rather than a harder penis.

Pumping with either type of pump must be done very carefully to avoid injury: manufacturers' instructions should be followed. Manual pumps often recommend a gentle pump followed by a pause, then repeated. Over-enthusiastic pumping can burst blood vessels and form blisters. In some cases the testicles can be unexpectedly pulled into the cylinder and cause severe pain and injury. It is also believed that the rim of the cylinder can cut into the skin and over time cause damage to the ligaments surrounding the penis. These dangers are easily avoided by following instructions. Impatiently pumping without reading explanatory material can produce too much suction (anything over 10 mm Hg) and cause permanent injury. Attempts at using vacuum cleaners units for this purpose have resulted in severe injury as the machine produces far too much suction. If the base unit is used without a hose there is also the danger of coming into contact with the rapidly-rotating fan.

Penis pumps are also used for masturbation. In August 2006, Oklahoma district court judge Donald Thompson was sentenced to four years in prison for repeatedly having masturbated with a penis pump while presiding over court cases.

The same month, in a non-related case (but also involving a penis pump) a 29-year old Iraqi man of Kurdish descent named Mardin Amin was en route to Iraq via Turkey from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport with his mother and two children, when a security inspector asked him to explain a 'small, black, round squeezable object' in his carry-on bag. Amin explained in a short whisper to avoid his mother's attention and potential embarrassment from being known to use sexual aids and said it was a 'pump'. However, due to his Middle Eastern accent the guard heard him say "bomb." He was charged with felony disorderly conduct as a result, but those charges were dismissed on September 13, 2006 in Cook County Criminal Court.

Jelqing & Clamping

Another method is known as jelqing (or jelquing). Jelqing is a technique intended to enlarge the penis by increasing the blood pressure in the penis, with the goal of permanently increasing the maximum erect size of the penis. This technique, also called "milking", involves wrapping the thumb and index finger around the penis while semi-erect and repeatedly drawing them away from one's body to force blood into the glans, thus encouraging more vascularity in the corpus cavernosa and associated tissues. Whether jelqing actually works or not is a subject of controversy.

There are many products (tools, instructions, etc.) that one can buy; however, much of what they offer (instructions) is available on forums and free websites. Before beginning an enlargement regimen, one should contact someone experienced with the technique.

Jelqing is typically preceded by a warmup with a hot compress on the genitals, and concluded the same way.

Clamping is a technique that uses a contricting device, such as a shoe string, cable clamp(CableClamp/CableCuff), or a tight cock ring. The clamp is firmly tied, clamped, or put, respectively, on the base of the erect penis while "edgeing" (extended masturbation) with a firmly erect penis.

Surgical methods

Injection

A related method involves injection of silicone into the penis and scrotum. This technique is commonly used by Adult Film actors and can cause enormous increases in the girth of the penis (increasing the penis volume by over 900%) but is effectively irreversible and may have side effects including loss of sensation, inability to perform penetrative intercourse, scarring and deformation.

Injections of other substances, including collagen, mineral oil, and even KY Jelly may have similar effects, but also may cause extreme scarring and permanent disfigurement .

Inflatable implants

A further method is to replace the two corpora cavernosa with inflatable penile implants. This is performed primarily as a therapeutic surgery for men suffering from complete impotence; an implanted pump in the groin can be manipulated by hand to fill these cylinders from an implanted reservoir in order to achieve an erection. The replacement cylinders are normally sized to be direct replacements for the corpus cavernosa, but larger ones can be implanted.

Beading

As genital beading or pearling, is gaining popularity in Indonesia and southern Asia where small objects are implanted under the skin of the penis, usually close to the glans. Implants such as Steel ball bearings, plastic pellets, semi-precious stones, rings and studs are used. The reasoning for this form of augmentation is varied: some do it for supposed magical benefits, others for the pleasure of their partner, although the implant (such as a ring or stud) might be removed before intercourse. Apparently many women have found it to cause pain, discomfort, bleeding, scarring, and infection more often than pleasure.

See also

• Penis removal
• Penis reduction