Glans Irritation

[ask]

I have a persistent irritation on the glans which is the result of abrasion caused from forceful masturbation whilst I had a bad case of balanatis (which I didn’t realise at the time). I had a considerable smegma build up under my foreskin which led to irritation on the glans from friction. This obviously caused me a great deal of distress and my over exuberance to heal the irritation has agitated it and had the opposite effect, spreading irritation over much of the glans. I have since taken a less vigorous approach to treatment which seems to have helped slightly. For the last couple of weeks I have applied eucerin twice daily and have cut out all sexual activity to prevent aggravation which helped somewhat. In the last couple of days I have applied hydrocortisone twice daily as well to try and speed up progress and it does seem to look a little better. However, at night and at work during the day my foreskin, which I think must be tighter than most, seems to make things worse again and I sometimes experience pain from the foreskin chafing the irritation. So I appear to be in somewhat of a vicious circle – it gets a little better then it gets aggravated again.

I was wondering whether I should continue to treat this irritation or whether I would be better to leave it alone? I am also unsure as to how often, if at all, I should wash the glans whilst I am treating it? Finally, I was wondering whether I should expose the glans to the air and thus minimise friction from the foreskin or keep it covered? As I’ve mentioned it does seem to be more comfortable when I retract the foreskin and allow the air at it. I’ve had this problem for quite some time now (a number of months) and I fear I may just be perpetuating it, although it does look better in places since I stopped over-treating it. I have been reluctant to have any sexual relations because of this but I’ve met a really great girl that I really want to have a relationship with but have had to put her off because of this. I’m scared if I put her off any more she will lose interest so I’m really keen to resolve this. Thanks in advance.

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Try using hydrocortisone 1% in addition to any moisturizer for another couple of days or a week.  A prescriptiion-strength cortisone would work even faster.  Twice-daily appplication should take care of any irritation.  The skin should be smooth, though discoloration may stay around for a while--it will go away.  No need I can think of to avoid sexual activity.  Just minimize friction.  Irritation, however severe, doesn't cause permanent damage to the skin.

Best.

Dr. Rockoff