Balanitis fungal or zoons. So confused. Please help!

[Balanitisbo]

Been to many doctors over the past six months. It all started with pain in my prostate area after ejaculation and urination problems. Went to the urologist and got diagnosed with non bacterial prostatitis. That cleared up after a few months.

Also did a full spectrum pcr sti screening with all the usual suspects including hsv 1 and 2 . All came back negative.

Now the prostatitis is gone but I'm dealing with balanitis. I'm uncircumcised. Went to the dermatologist with redness on my penis glans and inflamed foreskin. Doc gave me clotrimazole cream. Used it for a month and everything was fine. Stopped using it and it all came back. Then the doc gave me itraconozole 200 for a week. Once the course was finished the redness returned. Then the doc gave me fluconazole 150. 4 pills to be taken over 2 weeks. So 2 pills a week.

Took my last pill today and decided to celebrate with a masturbation session.

Guess what happened? It's in the pics. So i send another dermatologist the pics (covid makes it impossible for a live visit) and he says it's zoons balanitis. Ie non specific.. and prescribed a steroid cream to be used for two weeks.

I'm so tired of this guys. My girlfriend has been super supportive but I want to finally be able to have sex.

Anyone got any advice?

Ps got a blood sugar test and that's normal. Also I'm completly off sugar.

[Hidden]

This is a forum for support and not diagnosis. We are not doctors. This might be helpful and you may need skin tests to determine the cause of the balanitis. nhs.uk/conditions/Balanitis/

[Balanitisbo in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for replying. The issue is that I have received many diagnosis by urologists and dermatologists and had multiple tests. So I am looking for support. Doctors have not been able to help me. I've been on multiple antifungals. I also believe that my prostatatis was fungal related but urologists rol their eyes when I tell them that. Then I read online that zoons is a precursor to cancer. I'm scared.

[Hidden in reply to Balanitisbo]

It could be that you are worrying for no reason. Sometimes worrying and all that goes with it can eclipse the original problem and become the real problem. If any of those professionals thought that you were heading for cancer that would have been at the front of their thoughts. It also occurs that you may have now seen too many different doctors.

[qwerty110]

So my penis looks exactly like yours from that pic but I am not sure what you think is wrong?

[Balanitisbo in reply to qwerty110]

So after I masturbated, those large red raised dots appeared. I am currently on a fluconazole for yeast infection and since they appeared, I sent that photo to the doc and he said that this might be zoons and prescribed a steroid cream. He also said to stop using clotrimazole cream. I'm reading here that steriod creams thins the skin. And I'm scared that stopping the clotrimazole cream too soon will cause a relapse ( it has before).

Does your penis also have those raised rough dots? All the time or after masturbation and sex?

[qwerty110 in reply to Balanitisbo]

I do also get those raised dots when I am erect but I never thought it was a problem...

[Balanitisbo in reply to qwerty110]

Really? That's reassuring actually. Thank you

[FreeS]

I also been dealing with this balanitis for a while and I can assure you I feel your frustration... Have been to many doctors with no one seems to know, what to do, when test comes back negative. Mine for sure started as a fungal infection, that I had a few times before, but this time it took more time to resolve and during, this period of using steroid/anti fungal creams I developed redness/thinning of skin/ezcema of some kind, that I still have now, though its very little.

One way I learning to see the difference in my case between fungal and something else is to walk with your foreskin retracted for a week or two. Use tape. The fungal would then disappere and it might give you a better sence of dianosing the thing - maybe rule out fungal.

Hope you get better soon - Cheers mate!

[Anantaman in reply to FreeS]

What sort of tape did you use? Body tape?

[Balanitisbo]

Thanks man. How long would you use the cream? Especially after the redness is gone?

[1zoon]

All I can say is that i've got zoons and it doesn't look anything like your photo.

[jimfromcalif]

Perhaps this will help:

bad.org.uk/shared/get-file....

[CuriousQ]

Looks pretty normal. Any pain or soreness or stickiness? If not I'd just leave it be. Maybe go for a biopsy. Use only lotion for eczema and see if it helps.

[Balanitisbo in reply to CuriousQ]

Slight soreness and itchiness . But it's mostly red. . It's those raise bumps that worry me. They come after I masturbated . It's almost like my skin is allergic to my semen.

[jaglad]

Zoons Balantitis leaves blotchy red marks on the penis head/shaft, not skin.

I was told the only permanent cure was circumcision otherwise you just reinfect yourself as the issue is friction between the shaft and inner foreskin.

I went for the circ' and have been fine since although you can still see marks on the shaft.

For me there was a possibility of Penile Cancer so it was all a bit rushed.

Personally I wished I had done more research to see if a permanent cure could be found, or to just live with it ?

Good luck

[guitar22 in reply to jaglad]

Hi, I was diagnosed with Zoon's a few months ago and the Dermo advised circumcision. However he got diagnosis wrong... it turned out I have Lichen Sclerosus and it looks like I will have to get circ'd fairly soon. I didn't think Zoon's led to cancer, but there is a cancer risk with LS.

I'm guessing you're not happy with your "circ". There are good and bad reports with plenty of guys who prefer being circ'd. How has it turned out for you..?

Take care of yourself..

[jaglad in reply to guitar22]

Hi, I had circ' about 3 years ago age 53. The actual Op' was a success and it gives me no problems, I just preferred having a complete foreskin.

Sex is in some ways better now, but overall I think it was better before.

But it is what it is.

[Balanitisbo in reply to jaglad]

Did it take care of the zoons though? Did everything turn out ok?

[jaglad in reply to Balanitisbo]

Yes, there is still a slight discolouration on one part of the head but overall all is good. No more itching !

[jaglad in reply to jaglad]

I think someone suggested keeping the foreskin back to stop the movement. This may work, but not sure I could put up with that.

[guitar22 in reply to jaglad]

Hi, I think if the foreskin is held back it can stop some of these problems as it dries the glans out, but a cure is what we are looking for. Am I right in thinking masturbation is not nearly so good after a circ.?

[jaglad in reply to guitar22]

Ejaculation can be more intense and you do 'shoot' further but overall it is not so good.

I find it more difficult to get my erection back if I start going soft during a sex session.

[guitar22 in reply to jaglad]

Sorry to hear the sexual side is not as good as before. It's just not fair.. Have you tried half a Viagra tab to keep him up... you don't need a full one. Just an idea.!

[jaglad in reply to guitar22]

Yea, I do occasionally use viagra or similar. It works well but do not want to rely on it.

[Balanitisbo]

How old were you when you had your circ and are you happy with it?

[Nigel5975]

Hopping from medication to medication could be disrupting the recovery by throwing too many things at the problem. Have you tried a week or so of leaving it alone and just rinsing the penis with warm water, no irritating soap?

[Renematrix]

Hi I have pretty much the same problem, some time my penis have redness too I have almost 9 months with the problem and doctors said I have nothing, I'm very frustrated because I used a lot of creams and nothing seems to work. How everything end for you?

[Balanitisbo in reply to Renematrix]

Hey friend. So my problem was being caused by fungus and an erosion of the protective layer of skin which was causing the urine to inflame the skin. So I went to the doctor who told me to stop the creams and start to wash my penis with water after urinating, then drying it gently with a towel. No soaps, no creams etc. But most important thing is to show a doctor. It is a very very common problem. Nothing to be embarassed.

[Scd000sd in reply to Balanitisbo]

Did washing your penis help everytime after going pee? Did the redness go away?

[Balanitisbo in reply to Scd000sd]

Yes it did. But that only works if the problem is from the urine irritating the skin. If the problem is with a fungal or yeast infection then washing mutiple times will make it worse because it'll be wet. So it's important to understand what is causing the irritation. The other thing that helps is using vaseline which creates a barrier between the skin and urine.

[Hcures]

Covered in this post in detail:

healthunlocked.com/mensheal...