Balanitis Cause and Cure?

[Jbry93]

Hi everyone,

First post on here. I hope you can help!

I have balanitis and am hoping someone can help me to figure out the cause so I can find a solution. About 17-18 days ago when showering I noticed I had quite a bit of buildup under the foreskin and that I had little red spots on the head of my penis. No pain or itching. I recognised these symptoms as I had previously had thrush about 20 months ago that was pretty much the same. I got this from my girlfriend at the time, she had just changed birth control pills which can affect the candida in their body due to hormone changes. I went to a clinic, they said use canesten cream, I did and it went completely within 4-5 days and it was obvious it was making a difference quickly.

This time however, I suspect the cause is different. I did have sex with my girlfriend again 4-5 days prior but she's not been on any new pills or anything. Last time I had been drinking a lot around the same time and had bad diet which I believe contributed. Not this time.

Now this might sound a bit weird but a few days before these red spots came up this time, I had actually changed my peeing habits. Usually, I've always peed with my foreskin unretracted but use tissue afterwards to clear up any excess urine. For some reason a few days prior to noticing these spots come up, I decided instead of using tissue to clear up any excess urine I would stop using tissue and just shake instead.

My theory is that this may be the main reason the redness and spots appeared and why I had more buildup there than usual. I hadn't cleaned under the foreskin for a couple of days and there would have been more moisture (urine) under there than usual as I hadn't been drying with tissue. It also seems coincidental that it appeared at this time. Perhaps this caused a buildup of bacteria or fungi or simply irritated the glans.

My question is, does this sound like a likely cause to you? If so, what would you recommend would clear it up if this was the cause?

This is what I've tried so far:

I used canesten cream again for 4-5 days and also took the oral tablet but didn't feel there was a discernible difference being made this time so stopped using it for now.

I've been washing under the foreskin every day and drying it with tissue paper after to keep it dry. I've also been making sure it is as dry as possible after urinating.

I should also note that in terms of complexion, it has changed quite a lot since I first noticed it. In fact, the first day I noticed it in the shower was the worst and actually, the very next day when I looked in the morning, I thought it'd completely disappeared. I looked again that evening and did notice some bumps but they were much less noticeable and red than the day before. Since then it's never been as red as it was the first day but it seems every time I look things seem different. Sometimes it's barely noticeable anything is there, sometimes more so and also it seems to be affected by how dry or moist it is down there.

I apologise for the long post, but thought it'd be helpful to give as much info as possible.

I don't have any pics currently but there's nothing distinguishable from other pics on here. The odd little red spot/bumps and sometimes the glans look a little red.

Thanks in advance!

[Pastranasbd1965]

The 1st thing to do is go to the doctor.

It's very important to know what kind of balanitis it is. (It could even be another thing)

Canesten only works if the cause is candida, and as you've said, it hasn't worked.

Go to doctor asap.

[Jbry93 in reply to Pastranasbd1965]

Hey, thanks for taking your time to reply. I do intend on going to see my GP but am aware they do not always get to the problem straight away so wanted to post on here in the meantime

[jimfromcalif]

Balanitis is nearly always a yeast infection (candida albicans). It occurs in several ways. 1 Washing with soap. 2 Unprotected sex with infected partner. 3 Taking antibiotics. 4 Being diabetic.

In your case, suspect 2. Wear condoms.

[Jbry93 in reply to jimfromcalif]

Hey, thanks for replying. Yeast infection was certainly my initial thought but I'm not so sure as the treatment that worked last time didn't work this time? Plus my girlfriend and I have had unprotected sex for the past 2 years and apart from that one time have been fine.

That's why I thought it could be caused by perhaps by the fact my hygiene wasn't as good as usual the days prior and perhaps that has either acted as an irritant or caused a bacteria buildup. Does this sound like a possibility?

[CuriousQ in reply to Jbry93]

Try it for longer time. I think you're supposed to keep using the canesten for 1 week at least? Or try switching to another antifungal. Don't use soap when washing only water.

Go to your doctor and ask for a swab/scrape.

[Jbry93 in reply to CuriousQ]

Hey, thanks for taking the time to reply.

Yeah, I did perhaps stop using it a bit quickly (probably impatient) but as I had also taken the oral tablet I just thought I would have seen a noticeable improvement after a few days as it went quickly last time.

Do you know of any other antifungals?

In terms of washing I always just use water so I know soap is not an issue at least.

Does seem that a doctors trip is upcoming!

[CuriousQ in reply to Jbry93]

Monistat I think is another antifungal.

[jimfromcalif in reply to Jbry93]

Switch to Clotrimazole, another cream to treat yeast. Overzealous attempts at hygiene could make it worse because it would remive the natural bacteria. Rinse only with clear water. An old wives' remedy is to apply a small amount of natural plain yogurt to the area to reestablish the proper bacterial population.

[Jbry93 in reply to jimfromcalif]

Thanks man. I have just started reusing the canesten, the main ingredient in that is clotrimazole so will see how that goes. I only have what looks like 2/3 noticeable little bumps left so hopefully these will clear soon.

[jimfromcalif in reply to Jbry93]

Get a pack of condoms too.

[Hidden]

I would try keeping the foreskin dry and avoid harsh soaps. Apply lotrimin for a week and see if the spots go away. Is there irritation along with the spots? If it doesn’t clear up after a week or if it gets worse I would go to the doc.

[Jbry93 in reply to Hidden]

Hey thanks for your comment and advice.

There was no irritation at all but I did actually notice yesterday evening for the first time that under the foreskin it did itch a little bit (but not the spots or head of penis). The glans did also look a bit more red but was smoother, almost as if the skin had renewed itself.

Today it feels fine though and the head looks smooth and less red even under a flashlight, just a few little bumps closer to the tip of the penis still seem to be remaining.

[Hidden in reply to Jbry93]

Well it sounds like the problem is going away on its own. Just keep it dry and use mild soap and see if it goes away altogether. lotrimin Will help too. If it isn’t completely gone in a week it gets worse go to your doc

[Jbry93 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks. I hope so but not getting ahead of myself as it's been varying in appearance the last couple of weeks. Will see how I get on with these things and have a doctors appointment in mind.

[jimfromcalif in reply to Hidden]

Lotrimin has Clotrimazole as an active ingredient.

[Jbry93]

Hi,

I thought I'd do a follow up to this for anybody who reads this down the line and wonders what the resolution was.

So, to be honest, I think when I posted this things were already starting to clear up. The main area that the bumps initially appeared to be, the skin had seemed to dry and then renewed and the bumps then had gone but I still had a few left closer to the tip of the head.

I'm not 100% sure why it dried out and renewed smooth. I think this was mostly due to keeping it dry and clean. I had also taken oral canesten tablet which may have had an effect but I can't say for certain.

Nonetheless, I figured that the skin drying and renewing had helped. For the next few days at night I decided to try retracting my foreskin at nighttime and whilst I was sleeping to avoid moisture building underneath and thus keeping it dry. This seemed to help for the remaining bumps, although there is a chance they were going anyway.

I still can't be certain of the cause, although I do think it was due to bad hygiene in the days prior. Since the beginning of this week everything seems fine and has remained that way, but I will likely update should anything change (hopefully not)!

[Hidden]

Balanitis cause me discomfort for 9months. It got to the point where I decided to seek getting the foreskin removed. Since I’ve had it done has been the best thing I did to be fair

[Jbry93 in reply to Hidden]

That's great to hear! I can see why it would help. Of course, I hope by keeping up good hygiene etc it won't come back again but would consider the same if it became reoccurent.