Foreskin Redness / Irritation - Wash Daily - Some Days Better than Others

[soccerstar]

Hi Guys,

I'm a 28 year old uncircumcised male that has been having some redness and irritation issues with my foreskin. I've seen a dermatologist who prescribed me with hydrocortisone, and while that does seem to help, I don't think becoming dependent on it is a good idea. I've used other hydration creams such as Man1 oil (and slightly different variants), and while these seem to help as well, I feel like my continued use of these products is doing more harm than good. It seems like I have to use these products in order to see a difference, and even their prolonged use seems to have less of an effect these days. I saw a urologist as well who said that everything looked normal and recommended I see a dermatologist (which I did already).

Some days, the skin is redder than others, and other days it looks OK.

Is this normal as we age? I didn't have a certain redness like this when I was younger.

In terms of underwear, I've always been a briefs guy, but I've slept in loose boxers at night. Doing that didn't make a difference (and I prefer to sleep in my briefs anyways), so I doubt it's an underwear issue.

I feel like its appearance is random. I wash my foreskin, shaft, and head of my penis daily. I'm not sexually active at the moment, so I really doubt it could be an STD of some sort. It's weird because the redness doesn't cause any pain, and it doesn't itch. It just looks red.

I've also used anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and other oils and creams to see if that would help with the issue, but it hasn't. I've also painted some Mercurochrome on it (recommended by my Dad - who said it really helped him back in the day - and it's super hard to find by the way with mercury in it), and while that seems to return things somewhat to normal after a few days of usage, it doesn't last. It just gets irritated again randomly.

Here are six different pictures that I took to try to illustrate the redness, but the camera doesn't seem to pick up on it too well:

imgur.com/a/npbuIr8

It really is just my foreskin that gets red, and it seems like the head can get irritated with small red bumps too that go away after I use hydration creams. It could be Balanitis, but I feel like I don't have poor hygiene and wash more frequently than I ever have before. I've tried all types of soap products too, and I don't notice a difference. I've even tried just rinsing it with plain water, but that doesn't seem to work either.

Anyone have any idea? Anything you might recommend?

[Evenso]

I had issues like this (similar but worse looking) from late teens, doctor visits and many creams later that never worked my GP referred me to the GUM clinic at my local hospital and was diagnosed with Zoons Balanitis. The cream I was given worked a treat and I used it for many years but it had a warning that prolonged use would thin the skin ! Eventually the manufacturer stopped making this cream and knowing that I need to either go thought years of cream testing again or Circumcision I opted for the latter 18months ago, being 54yrs now it was a big decision and the surgery went well but found later in use during intercourse small areas of the skin would have small tears and be very painful just under the head. Another visit to the consultant and he advised to moisturise with E45 daily lotion and now another 6 months on life is much better, I still moisturise daily and have never had an incident for a while now (fingers crossed).

My advice to you would be to see your GP ask if a referral would be beneficial or your local GUM clinic normally have a walk in and appointment system, get it sorted sooner and not later like me.

Best of luck.

[MrMac99]

Hi, it does look inflamed and even your glans are affected as nowhard has said it could be a yeast infection it can be very hard to get clear of it. if you try not wearing anything at night let's everything breathe and try the coconut oil and if it's possible try to keep your foreskin back as much as possible I know it can be difficult especially if your frenulum is a little tight? And don't wash too much it can upset the natural oils in your skin and cause balanitis, harsh soap and shower gels are not great either try some natural soaps. Steroid creams are good for a short period I would not use them long time as they changed the skin.

As Evenso said long time if it's does not improve you may need a circumcision.

[At1012]

You have a short frenulum. This is leading to your irritation. I would talk to a doctor about a frenuloplasty. Just confirm with a doctor. Your glans is curving downward because your frenulum is short

[Hidden]

First of all it doesn’t look sore enough to be described as balanitis although I’m not a medic or expert.

Your reference the the use of soap may be the key to the problem. Soap can wash away good bacteria that counters the fungus we all have on us. Using antibacterial soap on your penis would likely exasperate the problem.

Similarly, if you’ve been on antibiotics this can kill off the bacteria.

You’ve tried antifungals with no success, you might try live yogurt (seriously!)

[soccerstar in reply to Hidden]

I have never taken antibiotics, and don't want to. Look into SIBO. It can be caused by antibiotics that doctors prescribe.

[Galen70]

I have tried accessing your images via the given link but it does not appear to be active anymore. I fail to understand why yeasts are constantly put forward as the source of all male penile problems. Your penis is covered in skin - different types. Skin can get irritated ( many causes ) usual best treatment for irritation - stop whatever may be irritating ( soaps , gels , sprays , chemicals ) . moisturise ( diprobase ) and topical steroid ( mild - like hydrocortisone ) and it may return if you have an underlying skin issue like psoriasis or eczema - but you just restart the treatment.

[Galen70 in reply to Galen70]

and putting Mercury which is a toxic substance on the penis ..well I wouldn't recommend that !

[Hidden]

Have you been checked by your doctors surgery that you don't have diabetes because if you are getting these sores it definitely sounds like to much sugar in your water works it sounds very much like a yeast infection that keeps coming back you also have to be very careful with soaps and creams because these can actually feed a infection.

[soccerstar in reply to Hidden]

Every time my blood is drawn to make sure everything is OK, everything comes back at normal levels. However, I have suspected that sugar intake is playing a role, but I really feel like I don't consume that much sugar. Cutting down some on the sugar does seem to help. Maybe if I didn't fast before the blood is drawn, they'd find something more interesting to look at since I feel like they should be checking after you eat instead of when you don't. I don't have diabetes as far as I know...

[soccerstar]

I'll give this a shot, thanks!

[soccerstar]

I've been applying coconut oil after showering, and it definitely seems to be helping. I'll continue doing this. Thanks for the advice.

[soccerstar]

I've tried all of the suggestions posted here, but I still am not noticing a big difference. Though the color varies, it never seems to cause any discomfort or pain, so should I not be worried about it? It seems to get especially red after playing soccer and taking a shower. Maybe its color is dependent upon my blood circulation (which has always not been so great)?

I did post here as well trying to find out what healthy foreskin looks like (healthunlocked.com/mensheal... when it's pulled all the way back to try to gauge if I should be worried or not.

[Daniels95]

Your pictures look like what I have on a good day. I saw a dermatologist about this issue. Swab tests came back negative for bacteria and yeast. Only thing present was healthy bacteria. STI tests came back negative. Blood tests came back negative. The doctor told me that what I had was very common among young adults. It was just dermatitis. He advised for hydrozole to be used only when needed (its a bad idea to use it daily for more than two weeks. You don't want your body to get used to it, then become dependant on it).

In my case the key is to reduce friction. Be extremely gentle when washing (use QV wash) and do not rub off any dead skin. I also find that it becomes worse after masturbation. So I will be trying something new. Just washing with QV wash once a day, no hydrozole, no sexual activity for at least three weeks. I'm hoping that this will be enough time for the penis to heal and return to normal. I know it wont be easy to hold off for three weeks but I have to try.

Will update on progress.

[soccerstar in reply to Daniels95]

Please do keep us updated. Yes, it does get worse after masturbation. I don't know how long a guy has to wait for it to return to "normal" and "heal". It seems to me that no matter how long I wait, as soon as I play with myself, it goes back to its normal "upset" state. I'll look into QV wash.

[Daniels95 in reply to soccerstar]

Okay an update, unfortunately I could only hold off for a week (at 24, thats pretty much the best i can do). But what I found during this time was that my symptoms didn't improve that much. It was a bit better, but no significant improvements.

Redness was still an issue, so I applied hydrozole which helped calm the symptoms a lot. Now, I know that hydrozole does dry out the skin, so I wanted to make sure i used a moisturiser. My dermatologist suggested dermeze ointment or qv lotion/cream. I've used dermeze ointment on the area before. It works well initially, then my skin gets irritated.

So, for the past two days i've been using qv lotion in the morning and before bed. I also use minimal qv wash during the shower. After these two days of using the qv lotion, i can say i am very pleased with the results. My penis is looking much much healthier and the skin looks and feels better. Its definitely not perfect, but i can say it's improving.

I do have a question for you. I haven't heard of anyone complaining about this symptom and the doctors and dermatologist seems to brush this off (like its not important) when i tell them. But when I was using corticosteroids, or sometimes when id go for a few days break from all treatment, my erections were really tight and uncomfortable. The skin on the glans would feel like it was stretching and it was painful. Ejaculation would make the skin stretch further which was just more painful. Have you had a similar experience? I feel like i'm the only one who has had this.

Anyway, qv lotion has helped heaps, also reduced the painful skin stretching to a point where it's not all that noticeable anymore.

Will update on progress.

[soccerstar in reply to Daniels95]

I have not experienced tight or uncomfortable erections. That sounds unpleasant for sure.

[Daniels95 in reply to soccerstar]

Just another update, I found another thread that goes back 2 years ago. Its still active and gets posts every few days. A lot of people have suggested HPV infection. Balanitis can be a symptom of HPV. Good news is that most people in people clear it within two years.

patient.info/forums/discuss...

A lot of the pictures look similar to what i have.

[Daniels95]

Hey final update, I have cured myself. I feel so much happier.

- Fucidin ointment 2% (topical antibiotic), applied once a day for 14 days.

If you want to read my full post, heres the link:

healthunlocked.com/mensheal...