A man who believes he has the smallest penis in the world has opened up about his everyday difficulties.
Michael Phillips, from North Carolina, US, was unaware growing up that having a micropenis is a medical condition where the penis is significantly smaller than the average.
Just last year, the 38-year-old was diagnosed with a 0.38 inch micropenis, with the average UK penis measuring 5.2 inches based on a 2015 study.
The condition is 'usually the result of a fetal testosterone deficiency', according to the Cleveland Clinic.
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“I guess because it should be known that it's a medical condition that can cause it, and that if more people realise that it was a condition when they're younger that they could be taken and seen by a doctor, and hopefully get treatment that would actually provide some level of help,” Michael said in a recent interview on This Morning.
The art dealer explained that he won't ever do a one night stand and even has struggles going to the bathroom in public.
“I was always like single even though I had friends,” he revealed. “They probably wondered why I wasn't dating.
“And I just I just didn't want to go through that. Aside from like the not being able to like I can't go out have a one night stand.
“I can't go out and do things like that. But it also affects you with your ability to use the restroom, your confidence.”
He added that 'even sitting down can be tricky with clean up and everything'.
Michael said he hopes to find someone and that talking about it openly has helped get the 'perspective of women'.
“I've learned that there's like a huge population of people that just don't care about that sort of thing,” he said.
On speaking to women about it, he said: “I've probably tried every way possible. Like you can be upfront like right at the beginning.
“You can try to talk to somebody for a while and get a connection and then tell them. Or sometimes you don't say nothing at all.”
Early diagnosis, however, is what he recommends, admitting that he would have considered treatment if it was available.
“Most of the options that they do aren't like increasing your size,” Michael said.
“They're like either like liposuction down there or like cutting a ligament where so that it can hang a little bit farther down.
“But in every instance, whatever they did, I would still like the max you can gain is like an inch, inch and a half.”
To the 0.6 percent of men estimated to have a micropenis, Michael advises to 'find a place where you can talk about it freely or where you feel comfortable'.
“Even if it's just one-on-one with somebody. But there's no reason why you can't talk about it,” he said.
“We all have issues going on, some more than others. But there's always somebody out there that has it worse than you.”
Topics: Health, Sex and Relationships, This Morning, Mental Health
Anish Vij