Q Hello Dr Ketch! I have an issue that’s troubling me and I just want to know if I should be worried. Before I became sexually active, I had a manhood I was proud of in terms of length and girth even without erection. But, I discovered that it has shrunk. It’s now the size of a 7-year-old if not erected. I sometimes can’t feel it down there if am not aroused. I’m somehow comfortable it the size only when I’m sexually aroused. Anything to worry about?

A: The issue of penile length has been a problem forever and people generally think that bigger is better. Is it? The average penile length is about 8 to 13cm when not erect and this can be pushed up to 13 to 18cm when erect, give or take a few. Does the penile size determine whether a man can father a child or not? Absolutely not…penile size does not affect fertility.

A woman’s vagina is about 7.5cm and would lengthen to about 10cm when aroused and so, generally, there should be no problems with sexual intercourse as the average length of a penis can adequately cover this gap.

Now the challenge…a lot of men who think they are small in this area are actually within the average measures but perception can make them think otherwise. For instance, the only way they can assess the size is by looking down at it and this automatically makes it look smaller. If you looked sideways in a mirror, you might just think, it looks longer. Men who are fat also appear to have smaller penises because the fat around the stomach may hide part of the base of the penis, making it look shorter.
It does appear that guys with small penises achieve about 100% increase in length during sexual excitement, probably nature’s way of compensating as opposed to men with longer ones who may achieve about 75% increase in length.

There are all sorts of touted treatments that help increase penile length including surgery, vacuum pumps, extenders, creams, pills etc. There is little evidence that people who go through this are satisfied with the result or that they work. Indeed, some can cause permanent damage.

So, what to do?

Take charge…lose weight if you’re overweight and have a heart-to-heart chat with your partner about this. You just may be surprised to hear that she doesn’t care. If you still feel bad about this, you may try talking with your doctor.

That’s it, guys 😀  Have a good night y’all 😀