Burning patch of skin on the shaft of my penis

Hi there,

Just over a week ago, my girlfriend and I started temporarily using condoms because I thought I may have had a UTI and wanted to give it time to clear up. Immediately after that my penis shaft just underneath the head on the left side is red and burns a lot. There was also red blotchiness on the head of my penis that comes and goes, but is not painful at all. In fact I don't even feel it.  This has been going on for over a week now and I'm getting kinda worried. I went to the doctor the next day, and he said it was most likely just a friction burn or irritation, and he prescribed to me Bactroban to expedite the healing process. Unfortunately it seemed to cause much more pain and discomfort, so I stopped using it after a few days. There has been no rash or visable sign of trauma (cuts, sores, etc) but the pain persists. It fluctuates daily, sometimes I barely notice it, sometimes it's all consuming. I've been tested for STD's (prior to this occuring) but upon reviewing my results, I'm not sure I was tested for Herpes. In fact I'm pretty sure I wasn't, so I'm a little twisted up about this whole thing. Also I have slight burning when i urinate, leading me to wonder again about the the potential UTI I thought that i had before. The most alarming thing though, is that a few days after this started for me, my girlfriend was also complaining about pain/itching and discomfort in her vagina. She said it didn't last long though, and a few days later she concluded it was just a mild yeast infection, but still hasn't gone to see her doctor.  We've been together for 6 months and have had no issues before now, so this is kinda alarming for us both. Do you think it is Herpes? That is my biggest fear regarding this situation. Thanks you for your help.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello
From your symptoms it can be contact dermatitis or fungal infection. Wash your groin daily and then dry thoroughly by pat drying , not rubbing. A hairdryer is useful if you have hairy groins. The damp groin is an ideal site for fungi to multiply. Also wear cotton underwears and change them twice a day and do not share other people’s towels. Application of local antifungal cream(terbinafine, clotrimazole, econazole, ketoconazole, miconazole) and oral antifungal drugs are the mainstay of treatment but they should be taken under prescription.

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.