this post was submitted on 18 Aug 2024
-28 points (26.7% liked)

Asklemmy

43858 readers
1815 users here now

A loosely moderated place to ask open-ended questions

Search asklemmy πŸ”

If your post meets the following criteria, it's welcome here!

  1. Open-ended question
  2. Not offensive: at this point, we do not have the bandwidth to moderate overtly political discussions. Assume best intent and be excellent to each other.
  3. Not regarding using or support for Lemmy: context, see the list of support communities and tools for finding communities below
  4. Not ad nauseam inducing: please make sure it is a question that would be new to most members
  5. An actual topic of discussion

Looking for support?

Looking for a community?

~Icon~ ~by~ ~@Double_A@discuss.tchncs.de~

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
 

I just rinse it with water then with diluted dettol. And let it air dry after wash. Twice a day (morning & evening).

I was wondering whether I should apply any moisturizer after wash or not.

all 30 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] southsamurai@sh.itjust.works 56 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (3 children)

Well, just in case this is serious, and/or someone rolls through hoping for useful info, here goes.

First, the cred. Twenty years in personal care as a nurse's assistant. Washing PP was part of the job. Washing PP in the healthiest way possible in any given setting was part of the training.

Assumption: the person looking for info here is continent of bowel and bladder. Incontinence changes things a little.

So, you wanna wash your dick the healthy way. First rule of dick washing is not to use chemicals other than H2O. No soap is necessary at all. Yes, you read that right, no I'm not making it up or out of date, I had those arguments a while back here on lemmy with this same subject, and went through researching best practices again.

No bullshit, don't use soap or shooting anything other than nice, warm water to wash your dick unless directed to by a doctor for specific needs.

Your dick, everyone's dick wil be dried out by soaps. This is the case regardless of circumcision status. Same with your balls, though the effects of being dried out aren't as problematic. Don't use soap.

If you absolutely refuse to believe someone that could be held responsible for the skin health of their patients, at least be smart and use cleansers specifically designed for genitals. You can get the stuff cheap at medical supply places, it's the same stuff used to clean perineal areas for incontinent patients. Won't dry you out, won't irritate the skin.

That "dettol" thing you're doing, OP? Stop that. Our skin is covered with a an entire ecosystem of microorganisms. Yeasts, other fungi, bacteria, and they live in balance. You start using that kind of thing on them, and your throw your system out of balance. All that happens is that you develop strains that are resistant to what you're using, and the microorganisms from areas surrounding the dick move in.

Seriously, antibacterial/antimicrobial products on skin is the worst possible way to bathe. Using them on your little mini-me is just cruel. Little homie didn't do anything to deserve that.

As far as how wash, be gentle. Use your hands or a soft cloth only. Seriously, no bullshit, you don't need to exfoliate your dick. Doing so just causes problems. That's extra true for circumcised penises. There's this thing called keritanization that happens to penises that are circumcised. Think of it as being similar to a callus. The skin of the head (glans) thickens and toughens. This can (and often does) happen no matter how gentle you treat your one eyed friend. Scrubbing the damn thing like it's some kind of rusted tool is a great way to end up losing sensation in your dick. That is not good for most.

If you're uncut, just gently pull back the foreskin and use your hand with warm water (running water is ideal, but this can be done in a tub, or using a basin) to gently wash away any buildup of dead skin. There won't be much if you're bathing regularly. You can use a washcloth if you insist, but it isn't necessary at all. If you do use one be extra gentle. Remember three glans and foreskin are a self-cleaning apparatus. You don't need to do much of anything other than rinse well.

Also, unless you're doing some really intense workouts, washing your dick twice a day is pointless. At most, grab a washcloth and some warm water and wipe gently if you're in hot, humid conditions. But dry that thing well.

Now, OP, your described regime is perfect in one other regard than the simple rinsing. Air drying. Best option possible. It'll get exactly as dry as it needs to be unless there's a specific reason for it to not work. The vast majority of ambulatory humans will be exactly as dry as needed in ten minutes. If speed is needed, a blow dryer on cool helps. This is after gently patting things dry.

"But, oh groin guru, what about..."

No. If you have a medical situation that makes any of the above impossible, holla at me, I'll try and guide you. But if you're a healthy, ambulatory human, you do not need anything else. You can do what you want, folks, it's your dick, not mine. But best practices haven't changed in the last twenty years, and the chances of them doing so in the next twenty are absurdly low.

If you wash your dick the way I described, you will not need lotions, moisturizers, or any other products. Most of those are just going to give a place for potential pathogens to go crazy instead of being out-competed by the stuff that's already there.

Your dick is your best friend. It's your homie. You take care of homie, and it'll take care of you.


Also, labia should be handled the same, just without the dick jokes. No need for soap, just warm water and hands or a washcloth. You'll deal with way fewer problems over time, and still smell wonderful, I promise.

[–] safesyrup@lemmy.hogru.ch 9 points 2 months ago

Great detailed comment, thanks. I kinda was looking for a genuine comment since itβ€˜s always nice to read about othe peoples practices and knowledge. I do wash my genital area just with water as you described and it works great.

[–] Chonk@lemmy.world 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

You sound like my GP lol. Anyways thanks for detailed explanation.

My takeaways:

  1. Just use clean lukewarm water. No soap, antiseptic, etc. unless directed by physician.
  2. Gently touch don't scrub.
  3. Once a day during bath should be enough.
  4. Air dry for like 30 seconds. No hair dryers lol, not even for hair. Ceiling or table fan is enough.
[–] Aquila@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Instructions unclear dick caught in ceiling fan

[–] Chonk@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago

Time to make some kebab

[–] mygoodsir@lemmy.ml -2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

What if I remoisturize it after I cleanse it. Can I treat it like a facial area

[–] southsamurai@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 months ago

Well, you can, but I wouldn't recommend it.

[–] wildbus8979@sh.itjust.works 29 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

For those who don't know what Dettol is, another brand name is Lysol.

Why would you do that man. Just use soap, once a day. Of that's not enough see a health care professional.

[–] Chonk@lemmy.world -3 points 2 months ago

Soap is way too harsh for me. Thats why I just use diluted antiseptic water.

Nothing serious to see GP. Just want to know how my fellow PP owners take care of their PP.

[–] blackbrook@mander.xyz 23 points 2 months ago

I put a slice of cucumber over its eye when I go sleep.

[–] Corno@lemm.ee 21 points 2 months ago

Either a PP Up or a PP Max can increase your PP. PP can be restored using items, such as an Ether, which restores PP by 10 points. If you can't find an Ether, it's worthwhile to see if there's any Leppa Berries around, as they will restore your PP by 10 points for one move. If your PP is completely deprived and none of the aformentioned items are available, it is wise to visit a PokΓ©mon Center instead.

[–] nokturne213@sopuli.xyz 16 points 2 months ago

I use my toe knife to chip away at all the dried smegma under my foreskin. Then I dunk my pp in a jar of bleach.

[–] SatansMaggotyCumFart@lemmy.world 13 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I wash with soap and water and add of a couple drops of Da Bomb.

[–] xmunk@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 months ago

Try this at home.

[–] Chonk@lemmy.world -1 points 2 months ago
[–] juliebean@lemm.ee 12 points 2 months ago

usually, it's sufficient to visit a pokΓ©mon center every so often, but its worth holding onto an elixir or two for if you've got a 'mon with low-pp moves

[–] over_clox@lemmy.world 11 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I put mine in the dishwasher, of course. I call her Stephanie, but I'm not sure if that's her real name. Regardless, she's good at washing dishes and polishing knobs..

[–] SatansMaggotyCumFart@lemmy.world 11 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Is Stephanie the dishwasher or the pp?

[–] over_clox@lemmy.world 12 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Stephanie is the investigator trying to figure out why all the knobs are Polish, obviously..

[–] shinigamiookamiryuu@lemm.ee 6 points 2 months ago (2 children)
[–] Bitrot@lemmy.sdf.org 5 points 2 months ago

Yeah this guy’s nuts, everyone knows it’s self-cleaning.

[–] Chonk@lemmy.world 0 points 2 months ago

Hehe, cleaning outside of bottle is far easier than inside.

[–] blackstrat@lemmy.fwgx.uk 2 points 2 months ago

Scrub with a toothbrush and toothpaste, then rinse with mouth wash twice a day.

[–] Pacattack57@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago

I wash with humiliating salt scrub. Rinse and repeat. Then follow up with some Jergens until I finish.

[–] h3mlocke@lemm.ee -2 points 2 months ago (1 children)
[–] Chonk@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)
[–] h3mlocke@lemm.ee 1 points 2 months ago

Ok fair enough, I give it about as much attention as most any part of my body, well when washing it at least.

[–] tomi000@lemmy.world -2 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

OpP, I think you wont have any luck in this community. People are probably not interested in topics that are out of their comfort zones. Maybe try a community dedicated to body hygiene.