Inflammed Penis Glands Condition

Hi Doctor Rockoff,

Im 27 years old, reasonably fit.
I eat healthy, do not smoke, drink, or do drugs.

Ive had a skin condition on the glands of my penis for over a year now.
The skin becomes inflamed and sore with random red blotches.
The condition comes and goes with no set pattern.

At its most frequent, it occurs 3-4 times a week, but some weeks when it doesn’t occur at all.
The skin is usually most irritated when I first wake in the morning, the penis stings and is very inflamed.

When its inflamed, areas at the base of the glands become very glossy and shiny, and has a totally different appearance to the rest of the skin on the glands.

If I take a bath, the stinging totally stops and virtually all of the redness disappears and the penis then returns to its normal appearance.

I have tried various types of anti fungal creams, hydrocortisone seemed to be the most effective at removing the redness up to a point, but it will not cure the condition.

The redness returns and so does the stinging within a few days regardless if I continue to use the cream or not.
I’ve tried bathing the penis in salt, but that didn’t seem to help much either.

In the evenings the redness completely disappears and its hard to find any evidence of redness or soreness, but then usually when I wake up in the next morning, its back

I am uncircumcised and keep the penis clean.
I have included a picture, there is also a darker red area about the size of a spot at the base of the glands on the left side, this has been there for over a year, and doesn’t seem to disappear,  in the evenings when the condition isn’t active it often retracts to a very small size, but its always there.

I am not sure if this has any relevance or not but I masturbate frequently, sometimes 3 or 4 times a day, usually with quite a firm grip.

Here is a link to the penis in inflamed state.
http://img395.imageshack.us/img395/4056/p10006921ew6.jpg

Thank you very much.

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

The picture shows inflamed skin, as one would see in eczema, or possibly a contact dermatitis allergy to something you're applying.  Masturbation would aggravate this, though not cause it.  I advise you to see a dermatologist about it and not to use any products on it at all so as not to confuse the issue.  I also advice you not to worry about it, because it isn't serious, and not to look at your penis frequently trying to read meaning into minor and unimportant variations in redness.

Best.

Dr. Rockoff

[willy851]

Tom that looks and acts like inverse psoriasis. Eczema doesn't come and go like that. It itches doesn't burn.
psoriasis responds to steroids as does eczema.
The dermatological dart board is composed of 90% eczema.