Glans scars, are they always permanent?

[mgr2019]

I have two marks/scars on my penis glans/head from applying apple cider vinegar to spots I thought where problems but the dermatologist says they are normal. The vinegar caused a couple of slight marks/scars. One is has a slight border/outline around it and is what the dermatologist says is hypopigmentation. The other is red and looks like broken blood vessels/capillaries. I have tried essential oils, but they haven't helped much. I am MOSTLY concerned with getting an erection, as the marks are more noticeable and have caused a lot of stress for me. Recently, I have tried to moisturize the area w/coconut oil.

My question is . . . will these spots EVER improve with time if I just leave them alone? They have been there for about 9 months. I know that is very thin and sensitive skin in that area, but what else can I do? This is affecting my outlook on life and I am DESPERATE for at least a little improvement.

Thanks so much!!!

[Galen70]

I do not think cider vinegar would ever cause permanent scarring. Is it possible for you to post a pic . These sound dermatological , its impossible to say if a topical steroid would help

[mgr2019 in reply to Galen70]

I applied the apple cider vinegar undiluted for a couple of days to this area and not as long to an area adjacent to this. That area is ok but the area I applied it to longer has the outlined area w/the hypopigmented area inside it. These marks have been there for 9 months. When I stretch the skin, it looks less shiny and the outline looks less noticeable than it did a few months ago, but when I don't touch it it still looks a bit lighter than the surrounding skin. My dermatologist says it is NOT atrophic but there is the outline around it.

How long do you think it will take before this improves more? Do you think there are any chances it will improve more? I am using unrefined coconut oil now to moisturize in hopes that will help the appearance.

I can try to post pics later. Thank you for any help you can provide!!!

[mgr2019 in reply to Galen70]

They probably are dermatological. My dermatologist says there is not much he can do other than a laser procedure but he said he wouldn't if it were him and just leave it alone. But it's my body and I am having a hard time dealing with this, especially when I have an erection as it gets larger and more noticeable. This is causing me GREAT distress. If I could just improve it slightly, I would be happy.

Should I just give it time? I have read about a product called Hypophil which uses Ginger as it's make ingredient, but it has Onion in it and am not sure it will make that area worse seeing it's on the glans.

[Galen70 in reply to mgr2019]

its impossible to comment further without seeing what you are talking about

[mgr2019 in reply to Galen70]

I have posted one pic to the original post. I have 2 more I can add. Please let me know how bad you think these marks are.

[Galen70 in reply to mgr2019]

Ok so there are a couple of areas of slightly lighter pigmentation ( hypopigmentation ) and 2 areas of slightly darker pigmentation ( hyperpigmentation ) It is possible to have these normally ie not the result of any condition. You can get freckles on the glans penis and this is quite common. I would say these are slight and no cause for concern. Remember ladies can have these too . I would not let these interfere with your sexual function.

[mgr2019 in reply to Galen70]

I appreciate your candor! I am going to submit another photo w/the problem area circled. The other areas of hypopigmentation have been there for a while and are at the same level as the surface skin, so I am not concerned with those.

[mgr2019 in reply to Galen70]

I just posted another photo w/the area in question lightly circled. Please give me your opinion of these spots. Again, you may not be able to tell but there is a border around the whiter spot(it's not deep, but you can see the lines in like a square pattern) and it gets bigger during an erection, which is troubling.

[Galen70 in reply to mgr2019]

yes that is one of the areas of hyperpigmentation I noted before. The photo is not of a high enough resolution or close enough to be able to comment further. This is why real life assessment is better. As before, my opinion is that these changes are slight and nothing to be concerned about.

[mgr2019 in reply to Galen70]

I just posted one last pic I just took which is of a little better resolution. I circled the area of hypopigmentation and the hyperpigmentation below it. Again, I am MOSTLY concerned w/the area of hypopigmentation above the red area circled. This is outlined and looks like it MAY be scar tissue although when I stretch it, it just looks like thinner skin that the vinegar ate into. Is there anything I can do to re-pigment the area? I have heard Ginger Root works? What about some of the Vitiligo creams like Vitiligo Green? I also know about a Ginger based cream called Hypophil which is supposed to help re-pigment hypopigmented scars.

As you can probably tell, this has caused me GREAT stress and anxiety over the past nine months. I was with a woman recently and she said she did not even notice anything wrong but just a slight discoloration, but I am still VERY concerned about this as it gets much more noticeable during an erection. It has caused me to get VERY STRESSED when having an erection and has just about made me forget about intimacy with a woman in the future. Am I over reacting?

Your advice is sooo greatly appreciated! Thank you again!

[Galen70 in reply to mgr2019]

In my opinion all of these treatments have no scientific evidence. And this is not vitiligo. When erect the glans penis has more blood flow so skin colour changes are more noticeable. These are not scars. They are not caused by the vinegar you used. I would continue life and sex as normal.

[mgr2019 in reply to Galen70]

That makes me feel a bit better, thank you. I just re-posted 4448 so if you could take one more look, I would greatly appreciate it. Although this is not a great resolution, you can see the white patch above the red area. THIS is the area I am most concerned about as it gets bigger during an erection AND stays whiter than the surrounding skin.

So you would not try some of the remedies I mentioned like Ginger or Hypophil? What about coconut oil or shea butter? Will those things do ANYTHING for these marks? If not, is there ANYTHING I can do and do you think they will improve in time if I just leave them alone? Or am I stuck w/these for life?

These marks were not there before I applied the apple cider vinegar so that must be the cause. I don't know what else would cause it.

Thank you SOO MUCH for all of your help!!! This has occupied all my waking thoughts for the last 6 months. I can't sleep and it's affecting my work. I am even seeing a therapist over it. If I could only SLIGHTLY improve the look of these, I would be happy. Any suggestions? What would you do?

[Galen70 in reply to mgr2019]

If you attended a sexual health clinic I was doing, I would try to reassure you . There is no treatment that can alter the skin colour, if it is normal. If you had a mole or freckle there, no treatment would change that colour. You have also had another person tell you they couldn't see a major change. No one is going to focus on these changes, they are slight and everyone is different .

[mgr2019 in reply to Galen70]

I appreciate what you are saying. The spots may look more pronounced in person than in the photos. Maybe it's because I examine them all the time . . . when going to the bathroom and taking a shower. It's like a nightmare to me because they spots were NOT there before I applied the vinegar. I had a new GP tell me she thought she saw genital warts by the frenulum so I panicked when I saw some circles on my glans and applied ACV to them. Turns out my dermatologist said the original spots were NOT warts, but pearly penile papules. So I did this to myself FOR NOTHING. That's the biggest hardship of it all.

Yes, the one woman did say it's not an issue but I am still worried that I am going to have to explain these marks every time I am intimate in a new relationship for the rest of my life so they don't think it's an STD or something. I am worried they could also think the white spot is from having a wart removed, and I don't have HPV as far as I know.

Am I over thinking this? I am just so stressed about this. It's changed my life!

[mgr2019 in reply to mgr2019]

I mean, I have seen a lot of pics of glans on men and have not seen many w/white spots like this. If I ONLY would have left it alone and waited for the dermatologist's confirmation.

Is there anyway that you think these will improve in time or, seeing that it's been 9 months, will these stay the way they are now do you think? What should I do, just leave them alone? Should I continue to apply moisturizers like coconut oil or aloe? Should I give the Ginger treatment a try?

[Galen70 in reply to mgr2019]

Yes you are over thinking this and I am glad you are seeking psychological support. These spots were not caused by the vinegar so you haven't done anything to yourself.

[mgr2019 in reply to Galen70]

Why do you say they were not caused by the vinegar? They were not there before applying the vinegar and then they were there after I applied it. There are a couple spots to the left of those that are not as bad because I didn't apply the vinegar to that area for as long of a period.

[mgr2019 in reply to Galen70]

Do you think these marks will improve over time, even if it takes a couple of years or am I stuck with them the way they are forever?

[mgr2019 in reply to mgr2019]

I wanted to again thank you. Are you a dermatologist in the UK?

[mgr2019 in reply to Galen70]

I just looked at that last pic I posted and, man, that white spot looks bad to me. And worse when erect. But I know what it looked like before when the marks were not there. I am so disgusted w/myself that I did this.

[Hidden in reply to mgr2019]

Unless you are given treatment by a healthcare professional you should not even think about “ home remedies”. Your use of a home remedy looks as if it may have caused your issue in the first place!! Once pigment is lost, there is no way to get it back. That is what is behind conditions such as vitiligo in dark skinned people. You need to realise that the perfect penis probably does not exist outside of touched-up porn.

[mgr2019 in reply to Hidden]

You are correct. I was mis-diagnosed w/genital warts and thought I saw other spots on the glans, so I applied to strong of a mix of apple cider vinegar because I read that that could help determine if they were indeed warts. Biggest mistake of my life. Worse yet, my dermatologist later confirmed that the original spots the first dr. thought were warts were actually pearly penile papules! So now I guess I am stuck w/this condition. I tried Helichrysum and Rose Hip Seed oil on the area, but it didn't seem to improve them. I have read that Ginger root can help re-pigment hypopigmentation but I am hesitant to try anything else. This has just caused me so much distress because it looks worse during an erection and has made me hesitant to become arroused. I don't know what to do!

[Galen70 in reply to mgr2019]

The reason you applied the cider vinegar in the first place was because you perceived a skin change on your penis and wanted to see if something would change that. No pic on here is ever going to be high enough resolution for me to be able to fully comment on the glans ( head ) and if there are any changes there. You have a paler area near a darker area and that's why its more noticeable to you. However if you had a freckle there , there is nothing you could do about it. It is a normal part of the body. Your focus on the area has itself become the problem and this is what you need help about, as you are getting. I am a sexual health doctor with a special interest in genital skin conditions.

[mgr2019 in reply to Galen70]

You are 100% correct. The red spot below the white spot makes the white spot more pronounced. To make matters worse, that white spot is just a bit below the rest of the surrounding skin, like a layer of skin has been eaten away. THAT is the part, coupled w/the whiteness, that makes it SOOO much more noticeable during an erection because of the way the skin on the glans stretches during an erection. I have had people tell me this may get better in time as the body has a miraculous way of healing itself. I really hope that's true as I would settle for ANY improvement. I don't know if moisturizing the area w/things like coconut oil or aloe vera will help or not, but many have said it would. I know I can't turn back time and fix this, but accepting it has been extremely difficult. I feel like it has changed my life and given me less hope for a future w/a woman, although one woman has already said it's not that noticeable, it's noticeable to me and I feel flawed because of it!

[mgr2019 in reply to Galen70]

If I may say, I think my condition is a bit different than having a freckly on the penis or even the condition a friend of mine has on the glans, which is a white spot due to Vitiligo. The reason is because I DID THIS TO MYSELF! It isn't the result of a disease or natural condition or birth defect, but of a stupid mistake! So every time I look at the area in the future it will remind me of this horrific time in my life where I was misdiagnosed w/an STD and panicked, had a full STD test panel run(thankfully, everything came back negative) and put me through months of hell. When I am 75, if these spots are still there, I will be reminded of this horrific time in my life! That's what frightens me the most! Not to mention what other women will say about it in the future, even though it may not be that noticeable. But I am not sure how it can't be noticeable, especially during an erection.

[Galen70 in reply to mgr2019]

I understand your anxieties, and am glad that you are receiving psychological support for them .

[mgr2019 in reply to Galen70]

Thank you. Psychological support will hopefully help me accept the situation, but it won't help improve the physical cosmetic condition. Is there ANY way I can do that? What about just leaving it alone and letting it heal naturally? If I do that, what are the chances some of the skin will thicken and some of the pigment will return? Will taking vitamins orally like Perfectil help? Or should I just understand that I will have to deal with this the rest of my life?

[mgr2019 in reply to mgr2019]

I have read a lot of positive things about a product called Man 1 Man oil. It has, amongst other things, Vitamin C which is supposed to help promote collagen and even repair damaged penis skin. Do you have any experience or advice/information about this product? I was thinking of trying it to see if it could improve the cosmetic appearance of the marks.

[Galen70 in reply to mgr2019]

Mgr there is nothing proven either topically or orally that can necessarily change the skin healing . Its a very good organ for healing itself. Your finger in the picture also has lighter and darker areas which are again normal and natural and you're not worried about those. A third party , your female contact, did not notice anything at all so this should reassure you. I don't have anything else to offer apart from encouraging you to attend your counselling.

[mgr2019 in reply to Galen70]

Thank you again for the encouraging and kind words. The way I look at the skin differences in the finger and the penis is that the later is a sexual organ and a female may look upon any red or white spots as a possible STD related issue or possibly something like getting a wart removed, which is HPV related. That is what I am most concerned about. I have a hereditary skin condition on my arms, chest and back which causes brown spots from Sun damage and although this is distressing, I don't feel nearly as bad about it because it's not associated w/my sexual organs. And the effect does not change like the penis spots do during an erection, which again is the most worrisome of all.

It gives me optimism to hear you say things like the skin is a very good organ for healing itself. Perhaps if I keep it moisturized w/coconut oil and/or shea butter, that will help the natural process along and I will see some improvement in the coming years? Or perhaps, seeing that it's been 9 months already, there won't be any more change? I certainly hope there will be at least a little improvement.

I truly appreciate your input here! It means a lot to me!

[Galen70 in reply to mgr2019]

You are welcome. I don't think the first thing that will come into a partners head is that the skin has changes suggestive of an STI. Even if someone remarks on it ( which is extremely unlikely ) you have had the area checked and an STI screen which is more than a lot of people have . Don't let this hold you back from enjoying sexual activity. You are placing yourself in the mind of another and imagining they are thinking something not so good, when in fact I'm sure they wont even notice.

[mgr2019 in reply to Galen70]

Thank you, that is encouraging. So even though my STD panel tests were completed last August and, say, I meet someone next year, do you think that those tests will hold up? Again, I may be over thinking things. It still just really grinds at me that I did this to MYSELF when there was NOTHING wrong w/me to begin with. I did a very stupid thing that may have lasting repurcussions.

[mgr2019 in reply to Galen70]

Also, please keep in mind that you have not seen any pics which show the glans in an erect state. The white area is bigger and more pronounced then. I really hope it improves over time naturally. Not sure the layer of skin that seems to be missing will every heal/grow back or if there is anything I can do about that. I have read about EGF(Epidermal Growth Factors) but not sure they would work on penis skin. Seeing this skin is so thin, what are the real chances it will ever grow back seeing technically the wound has been healed for 9 months?

[Galen70 in reply to mgr2019]

Mgr I'm afraid I have given you all the advice I can. There is very little to see on the penis, all these things you are considering have no proven benefit. You need to stop fixating on the area and continue your counseling. I wish you the best for the future.

[mgr2019 in reply to Galen70]

So you feel the best thing to do is try to forget about it, give up on any supplements and just hope it will improve naturally? I will do my best to do that, but it won't be easy seeing I have fixated on it for so long.

Thank you again for all of your advice and support. I wish you the best as well!

[TPO12 in reply to Galen70]

Hello, Hope all is well. I recently, my penis skin has seemed a little sensitive. In February, I was having rough intercourse and it hasn't been the same since. I have had STD tests which do not show infection. Over the summer, I have notices what the doctor called follicle bumps, from hair under the skin.

Currently, I have had slight burning sensations occasionally when seated and minor (very small white spots) on my penis occasionally. Also, when ever I workout or anything rubs against my penis opening, I feel minor irritation. I have an appointment with my dermatologists in a week, but does anyone have any knowledge of what this could be?

Any help would be appreciated!