What is ‘jelqing’? Viral penis-enlarging trend could actually make it smaller — and erections painful, experts warn
Your winky is not a slinky.
A bizarre new trend that has men tugging repeatedly on their penises to make them bigger has gone viral — and experts are warning of lasting, possibly harmful effects.
Known as jelquing, the pud-plumping phenomenon has quickly grown in popularity on sites like TikTok and Reddit.
More intense than the usual repeated jerking of the Johnson practiced by most males and considered to be harmless or even healthy, jelquing involves firmly pressing a thumb and index finger at the base of a semi-erect member, then dragging forward — much like you’d do when attempting to squeeze the last bits out of a toothpaste tube.
The idea is that these aggressive motions cause micro-sized tears inside the third leg’s tissue that, when healed, come back slightly larger.
But doctors say practitioners of the radical new form of so-called self abuse should expect to feel a little prick of disappointment.
“Doing these sort of exercises can create permanent damage to your penis,” warns Dr. Rena Malik.
“You can create penile numbness by damaging the nerves to the penis,” she added, warning that the approach does “more harm than good,” and can also cause painful bruising and issues with local arteries and veins.
A blog post on the erectile dysfunction medicine site Hims, which was reviewed by Dr. Mike Bohl, warns that jelqing can also induce Peyronie’s disease.
It’s better known as an ailment that causes excruciating and curved erections by scar tissue.
Adding insult to injury, Peyronie’s penises are also shorter while erect, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Jelqing joins the recent pseudo-remedy of shocking the penis to enhance performance — another move decried by critics.
