NEWS: Info reassures men who think their penis is small
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Men worried about having a small penis are usually pretty average, but have a false idea of what the normal size is, according to a report in the medical journal Urology.
This best way to reassure men with penile concerns is to educate them, the author of the report says. Men should know that a normal-sized penis is 1.6 inches or more when flaccid or 2.76 inches when stretched out.
The findings are based on a study of 92 patients who went to the andrology department at Cairo University Hospital in Egypt over a 2-year period complaining of a small-sized penis. Each subject provided a sexual history and completed a standard erectile function questionnaire.
Penile length and girth were assessed with a tape measure in both flaccid and fully stretched states. The men were asked what they considered a normal-sized penis and then were informed about the actual normal size.
Study author Dr. Rany Shamloul, at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Canada, reports that all of the men met the thresholds for normal penis size and did not have erectile dysfunction.
However, on average, they estimated that the “normal” flaccid length should be to be 5.1 inches.
The education and measurement sessions solved the concerns of 79 men. The other 13 subjects still insisted that their member was too short, but with further psychosexual counseling, most were convinced otherwise.
“Men complaining of a short penis can be treated using the basic principles of sex education with objective methods of penile size evaluation,” Shamloul concludes. “This combination can correct any previous sexual misconceptions, relieve unnecessary anxiety concerning penile size, and decrease the desire to undertake still-to-be verified lengthening procedures.”
SOURCE: Urology, June 2005.