Imagine taking a shower and thinking you’re passing kidney stones… from your penis. That’s exactly what happened to a married man in Taiwan, who ended up uncovering a 30-year-old medical mystery hiding in the most private of places.
The unnamed patient, living in the city of Taichung, had never experienced anything quite like this. As he washed himself, sharp pain gripped his genitals — and to his horror, chunks of hardened material began falling into the drain. Alarmed and confused, he rushed to see Dr. Chen Zhaoan, a leading urologist in the region.
What Dr. Chen found shocked even him.
The Case of the Forgotten Foreskin
Upon examination, Dr. Chen gently retracted the man’s unusually long foreskin — and was met with a sight (and smell) that he’ll likely never forget: a calcified, yellow-brown buildup of smegma, hardened over decades. The clinic was quickly filled with a nauseating stench as the doctor began to remove layers of what could only be described as foul-smelling “skin-stone” debris.
“This man hadn’t been sexually active in over 30 years,” Dr. Chen explained. “We believe the accumulation began around that time — and was never once cleaned.”
A “Time Capsule” of Neglect
The mass of dead skin, oils, and bacteria had hardened into scale-like crusts, forming what looked like medical fossils. Doctors collected the smegma into sterilized jars, preserving it like a bizarre time capsule of neglected hygiene.
Even more surprising? The patient had no idea that his foreskin was retractable — and had never properly cleaned underneath it.
“This is exactly why education matters,” Dr. Chen said. “No one had ever taught him the basics of personal hygiene down there.”
How Rare Is This?
While cases this extreme are incredibly rare, Dr. Chen says he sees patients with smegma issues roughly every two years. Many of them, he adds, suffer in silence due to embarrassment or ignorance.
“The internet is full of reliable information, and Taiwan has excellent medical access,” he said. “There’s no reason for anyone to live with such discomfort — or risk far more serious infections or complications.”
A Wake-Up Call for Men Everywhere
Dr. Chen used the incident to issue a public reminder: “Gentlemen, your foreskin is not self-cleaning. It must be gently retracted and washed with water and mild soap every day.”
His final warning? “If this patient hadn’t come in, his partner may have found this ‘treasure’ during intimacy — and that would’ve been… unforgettable, in all the wrong ways.”
Final Thought: Hygiene Isn’t Optional — It’s Essential
Whether you’re 18 or 80, basic genital hygiene is a part of health, not just vanity. This case might make headlines for its shock factor, but it’s really a story about the consequences of silence, shame, and poor education.
And for one man in Taiwan — it’s a lesson he won’t forget for the next 30 years.