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Blotchy red rash/irritated skin on penile head (lasted for over 3 moths now)?

Posted , 410 users are following.

Jason1327
Jason1327

Part of the skin on the head of my penis has become slightly red and is causing some pain/irritation.

It first appeared the day after I used a condom so I think I must have had a reaction to the latex or some other substance in the condom.

The tip of the penis became super sensitive and noticeably hurt whenever it touched my underwear.

The skin was and still is noticeably red close to and directly around the meatus. This redness gets worse and bigger after I've come out the shower or masturbated.

An hour or so after ejaculation, I get a slight burn/irritation at the very end of the urethra when I urinate and this can last for a few days before subsiding. This has put me off from masturbating as much now.

This has lasted for about 3 months now with no signs of improvement.

I saw a doctor and was prescribed timodine/hydrocortisone cream and this didn't have much effect and am slightly worried it may just make things worse so have stopped using it for now.

It almost seems as if the redness comes from within the skin rather than on the surface.

I don't think its balanitis as I haven't had that for over 12 years when I was a kid and that was with the usual smegma discharge etc, whereas this is just redness. 

I've attached images to show how it looks straight after showering, which is when the redness is at its worst and the contrast between the normal skin colour and the redness can be clearly seen.

16 likes, 1576 replies

1576 Replies

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  • billy36013
    billy36013 Jason1327

    Posted

    hi all i dont know if i have the same problem but my foreskin burns my penis head is sore and pain in my penis been to for different doctors that cant see anything wrong the burning pains comes and goes Specially when i lay the pain goes, when i pull my foreskin back to pee dry the penis head the for skin goes back then i get a burning feeling had this problem two years ago then it went past month its came back i dont masterbate or have sex due to my wife being ill for the past 5 years i clean my penis with warm water everyday pull back my forskin clean it dry it then when my foreskin goes back it starts to burn but i cant see any sores on it.
  • jake97748
    jake97748 Jason1327

    Posted

    I have exactly the same issue, here's my bit to add:

    6 months ago, I either used shower gel which irritated the penis head, or sex/masturbation that was a little rough, but I ended up with thrush/yeast infection. Took a while to clear up, kept returning, but after a few months and pro biotics it's stayed away. However it has left behind the exact same markings to you. Whenever I ejaculate, the patch becomes bright red for a day, then will go back to normal, it causes no pain, but very unsightly.

    Anti fungals have produced no results, so currently taking a healing cream, awaiting results.

    • chris900
      chris900 jake97748

      Posted

      im curios how you doing right now , i have the exact same issue and just started using a healing cream

  • jake97748
    jake97748 Jason1327

    Edited

    It's thrush, got back from doctors today, prescribed daktacort, only had 2 applications and redness has reduced massively, I'm over the moon.

    Best of luck lads but this has what's helped me, STDs clear too

    • WAN1999
      WAN1999 jake97748

      Edited

      Hey Guys,

      Been dealing with something very similar to this for a few years now.  Started as a possible yeast infection, anti-fungals didn't do much, doc prescribed a topical steroid and bam it was gone within a day or two, I was thrilled, but then it came back a few months later, back to the steroids, it would go and come back, over and over again every few months.  I would strongly advise against the use of topical steroids.  Daktacort is just an anit-fungal like clotirmazole mixed with a steroid like hydrcortisone.  Steroids will quickly reduce the redness but all symptoms will return and usually worse than before, leading to a terrible cycle of repeating the steroid treatment, clearing, the symptoms return, and then... more steroids.  It can cause lasting skin damage and more importantly it's not treating the cause only the symptoms.  It'll take 6-12 months to wean off of the steroids completely depending on how long you've been using them and things will get much worse after you stop taking them for about a month or two, then gradually all will get better over 6-12 months, which sucks if you're single.  In my case it was the steroids causing the worst of the condition!

      Also I began to get other eczema like patches on other parts of my body.  When I stopped using the steroids these all went a way.  Steroids are a temporary fix that can complicate matters a lot.  Look up RSS or Red Skin Syndrome. Stay away from steroids! 

      As for the condition, let's say Zoon's balanitis, as one poster said earlier, just a blanket term for penis irritation, it was gone for a year after the steroids were completely eliminated and I thought maybe they had been my problem the whole time.  Then recently I got what the doctors diagnosed as a yeast infection and the mystery has started all over again. But avoiding steroids this time around.  I'm on 150 mg of flucanazole weekly for 5 weeks now.  It has been helping seemingly, but still red patch on glans that gets irritated with sex or masturbation, then subsides over night.  Doc gave me a sample of Eucrisa (new drug, anti-inflammatory), which I haven't tried yet.  Want to see if this really is just a systemic yeast/candida issue first.

      In the end, something is causing the sub dermal irritation. I'm a strong believer in diet, but it's hard to cut out all beer, sweets, bread, and processed sugar.  We'll see.  Anyway, balanitis is a b***h.  If anyone has kicked it let me know.  But stay off the steroids, they will just make it worse.

      I'm 36, in generally good health, exercise regularly, good diet but could get more greens, drink maybe 3-4 beers a week in social settings.  Circumcised, but enough foreskin left that it partially covers my glans when flacid.  

      If anyone has had any success or clarity on this issue please post!

    • neil82828
      neil82828 WAN1999

      Posted

      Hi everyone, i’ve Had a similar condition to this for years with additionally soreness to the foreskin as well. I had a biopsy done from the head of the Penus and it  came back as lichen sclerosus. I used steroid creams for years but they only temporarily disguised the problem so I have just recently undergone circumcision from which I am hoping will help the situation, fingers crossed. Will let you know in a few months if this has worked.
    • jonathan26633
      jonathan26633 WAN1999

      Posted

      Hi wan can you help me my penis head also got a red patch after masturbating and its gone after an hour what was this? Im too stressed of thinking this it was like 1month since it appeared thanks
    • ml66uk
      ml66uk jonathan26633

      Posted

      If it was gone after an hour, I don't think it's anything to worry about it.  Maybe mild balanitis or friction damage, but nothing serious.

    • jonathan26633
      jonathan26633 ml66uk

      Posted

      But it gets me scared can this be cure? Or do I need to cure this. I had this after masturbation. I'm so stressed if you have the same situation on me can you please help me it affects my school duties I'm so stressed

    • F37965
      F37965 WAN1999

      Posted

      WAN1999....how has your condition been since you stopped using steroids?

    • nick19497
      nick19497 jake97748

      Posted

      Did it daktacort cure it? I see it contains hydrocortisone which tends to just mask the redness and irritation for a short amount of time but eventually just gets worse

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