HOT TAKE: I don't think edema when pumping hinders girth gains in the slightest, but that we have other good reasons to avoid it.

This is a cross-post from the subreddit r/gettingbigger :

 

Pumping while fully erect stretches the tunica albuginea by way of internal blood pressure and the pressure differential between external air pressure and the lower pressure in the pump. The negative pressure does not "pull on" the skin - it just allows the penis to expand more easily, since there is less pressure pushing in on it.

 

 

Does subdermal (beneath the skin) edema affect the pressure differential the tunica albuginea experiences? No. Firmly no. Not unless a very specific requirement is met. If the skin gets fully taut, THEN it will start to resist the expansion of the tunica - but as long as the skin is the smallest bit loose, it won't to any appreciable degree affect the pressure differential at the tunica - fluids, such as the interstitial fluid beneath your circumcision scar, will take on the same pressure as the outside atmosphere if it's not confined in some way. Skin is super stretchy - I therefore think it only very marginally detracts from the pressure differential the tunica albuginea sees. When you get suuuuper bloated, skin resistance might subtract from the expansion of the tunica, but I don't think we ever get there with 20-30 minutes of pumping.

 

I therefore think that a bit of a donut or fluid accumulation after 25 minutes of pumping is a non-issue for penile growth, tunica expansion, etc. The principles of fluid dynamics tell me this. Also, there's a lot of crap being said about air pumps distributing pressure less evenly than water. That's not just nonsense, it's nonsense on stilts. Neither the air nor the water in a pump "pulls on" our penis. It merely allows the penis to expand, by virtue of a pressure differential. When you pack the tube, or get a trapped pocket of air or water between skin and cylinder, then you might have a spot where you get less pressure differential, but other than such little pockets which might happen if you have a cylinder that is too tight, water and air both are exactly equal in terms of distributing pressure evenly (it happens at the speed of sound, precisely - and it means pressure equalises in a cylinder in a millisecond or less, regardless of air or water). When people claim otherwise, they simply reveal that they don't fully understand physics and hydraulics. (Yes, I said this would be a hot take, folks).

 

HOWEVER, and this is where nuance comes in: This does not mean you shouldn't worry about edema. You absolutely should care about edema.

 

When subcutaneous edema occurs, it means were are temporarily overwhelming the lymphatic system's capacity to drain excess fluid efficiently, or that we are blocking it off, as when we have tight cylinder cuffs. If we keep doing this repeatedly, I think it can lead to a chronic state of inflammation, where the body is in a persistent state of trying to remove the excess fluid, thereby putting continuous stress on the lymphatic system. This chronic inflammation and stress can lead to the "training" of the swelling response, where the body becomes more predisposed to inflammatory responses and swelling, even in the absence of significant triggers. This is what BD, Hink and Perv were discussing in the podcast they did earlier today (in my time zone, late last night in US time zones). Fetish pumpers train their swelling response in a very unhealthy manner. Go watch their stream - they said some good things about inflammation and the swelling response.

 

 

Moreover, subcutaneous edema can impair the normal function and flow of lymph through the lymphatic vessels. The excessive fluid in the interstitial spaces can lead to increased pressure on these vessels, making it harder for lymph to be transported - or perhaps it could work in the other direction, by over-expanding the lymph vessels. Either way, over time, this can cause the lymphatic vessels to become less efficient and more fibrotic (lymphangiosclerosis), reducing their elasticity and capacity to manage fluid levels in the penis. This reduced efficiency not only exacerbates the risk of further edema but also increases the risk of developing chronic lymphedema, which as you should know is a condition characterised by severe and often irreversible swelling. Conceivably, you could also damage the valves in your lymphatic system by doing this repeatedly.

 

So, I don't think we should change any pumping recommendations - we should strive to prevent edema when pumping, such as by using cylinders that are tight around the base of the penis, perhaps also wearing a thin silicone sleeve around the base or a silicone toe shield, to be a blockage preventing interstitial fluid from being drawn into the penis from the base. We should cut sessions short if they make us bloat monsters. If we notice sessions giving edema faster and faster, we might be on track to train our swelling response and we should quit pumping for a while to let inflammation die down, and perhaps consider doing a week of daily Aspirin or NSAID to help suppress inflammation. I also think we should limit heated PE to maybe tree sessions per week, because heat can increase edema. (Using NIR +red light a few times per week is anti-inflammatory, using it every day is probably pro-inflammatory, unless I misremember a study I read a while back). I also think sleeved pumping is something we should explore in greater depth.

 

We should try to stop short of giving ourselves these 24-hour donuts, and pay very close attention to our lymph vessels and help massage fluid out whenever we have edema after a session.

 

But do I think edema hinders gains by reason of dissipating pressure and hindering expansion of the tunica? Nope. Not unless the skin gets really f-ing tight it won't. That's not how the physics of pressure works.

That's it, HOT TAKE is over. :)