Redness and pain on tip of penis.

[141414]

   Fot the past nine months I have been experiencing pain at
the tip of and on the head of my penis. The skin is red right
behind the opening of my urethra and on the top, but not on the sides. There is also some paleness in certain areas. It almost looks like a mixture of red and white spots, and somtimes the skin actually looks wrinkly. The pain is there 90% of the time and it seems like it lookes more irritated when
the pain increases. The pain is kind of a burning pain. Of course my first reaction was it must be an STD. I went to my regular doctor and was tested, all came up negative and was told not to worry. Still experiencing pain, I went to a urologist. He told me I was fine as did four other Urologists after him. I was treated for prostatitis, UTIs, I was given Lotrisine cream for a possible fungile infection, nothing helped. During this process I also went to a dermatolgist and he also said he saw nothing wrong. The last urologist I went to asked me if I had any lower back problems, which I do, but at that point had never been diagnosed. He sent me for an MRI which showed that I have two herniated disks and said my pain can be from a pinched nerve. I don't buy it because of the redness of the skin. Can a pinched nerve cause skin irritation? When I brought up this point to him he said he sees nothing wrong with the skin. I do have eczema. I thought maybe it could be that, but I have prescription strength cortisone cream and that does'nt help. Could I have some other type of skin problem and if so, is it possible for somthing to go on for this long? Could stress cause somthing like this? My sress level is through the roof because of this. After all this time and all the different doctors I have been to, I still have not gotten a real answer and I am at my witts end. Should I go to another dermatologist? I've spent most of my time going to urologists, but all their efforts have been exhausted. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

I cannot think of a skin disease which could cause these symptoms.  I hesitate to invoke psychology, but after so many negative physical evaluations, I don't see any other alternative.  As to the skin redness, either you are overinterpreting normal variation, or else you're inducing redness by rubbing the skin out of anxiety.  Visit another dermatologist if you must, but the answer you say you're looking for may have already presented itself to you, namely that nothing is wrong.

Best.

Dr. Rockoff

[veryconcerned123]

Hello 1414. I am sorry to hear about your problem.

Now I am no expert by any means. I post here often with my own health concerns.  

I read with interest when you asked "Could stress cause somthing like this? My stress level is through the roof because of this."

Like I said I am no expert, but I will tell you from my own personal experience and from what I have read on this site. Stress can cause a lot of physical symptoms. If you think about a certain place on your body and worry that something is wrong with you or your body part it will begin to feel different. (tingle, pain, etc).

It just does. I have also read on this site about stress and physical symptoms and have discovered that the experts will tell you that you can have physical symptoms because of anxiety.  

I am including a link that gives an example of this.

http://www.medhelp.org/perl6/mentalhealth/archive/81.html

Now I am not saying that all of this is in your head, and I certainly can't explain the redness (I bet Dr. Rockoff can!)

I am just telling you that after my stupid incident I had convinced myself that I had every STD there was.  I had pain in my testicles and had determined that I had Gon. or Chly.

After I went to the Dr. and got tested for all of that (Neg)those symptoms went away.

I wish you luck. Do a search on this site for anxiety and you will find a lot of people that have a problem similar to you.

I hope you feel better. I am fighting my own fight to get my life back to where it was. I hope we all do better!

[peasnuts]

The last e-mail by 1414 sounds exactly like me.  It is hard to describe what I or we feel.  Some days are worse than others.  Everytime the glans touches the front of my boxers, it feels as if someone is nicking it with 30 grit sandpaper.  There are times when it appears red (mainly a line from each opening of the urethra), yellow and shiny patches.  I am not sure about 1414 but I have a tingling sensation bordering painful from the tip down the urethra to the prostate.  My urologist actually diadnosed me with a slightly swollen prostate which has only slightly gotten better, but I still feel it.  I have been to three dermatologists, through every antifungal, a few steriods, elidel (which gave it a nice painful red color, by the way), one urologists for them to tell me it looks just fine.  However, I have an uphill battle to prove that it does not feel fine and I have seen it for quite awhile and it just does not look right.  You are right Dr. if you rub or manipulate it gets redder, but my glans appears red with an intricate pattern of raised areas.  It never did that before.  I heard a mention of balantitis to another person seeking advice, could you tell me more about that?

Thank you for your time,

At wits end

[Haldir]

Anyone who reads this,
I'm not sure if anyone will read this or not but I also have ben having penis problems.About 3-4 months ago I noticed a black bump on the right side of my penis.At first, I thought nothing of it until a few weeks ago.I stopped masterbating (masturbating) for 3 days and it went away.After that I masterbated and the next day two appeared.I know it's not an STD of any sort because I'm still a virgin.I talked to a few people and none of them knew what it was.Some said a fungus, some said a skin disease, and then I talked to my grandpaw and he told me it was something called an infected hair and use neosporin on it.I have ben using neosporin on it and it's ben going away, I just wanted to know if anyone else knew what it was and if he was right? Another concern of mine is a white line on the tip of my penis.It's sorta like a small line but kinda bumpy, hard to explain.Does anyone know what this may be?I would make my own topic for it but i'm only 15 and I don't have any money for it.I was hoping at least one person would read this and help me.

[veryconcerned123]

I am sorry that you are having problems. I have no idea what your problem could be. You said it is a black bump. Do you mean the whole bump itself is black?

If you have never had sex of any kind it couldn't be an STD. Your grandfather may be right. I would think that if Neosporin is making it go away that it probably isn't anything serious.

I am just confused about the black part.  

As far as the white line goes.  Do you mean it is on the tip of the head or on the rim of the head itself?

If it is on the rim it sounds like something called Pearly Penile Papules.

They are normal and nothing to worry about. Here is a link to a picture of this.

http://www.studenthealth.co.uk/leaflets/NormalVariantsInAnogenitalSkin.htm

I wish could offer you more help. Since you mentioned this to your grandfather maybe you could ask him to put this $19.00 on his credit card so you can ask Dr. Rockoff.

I hope everything works out for you.

[Haldir]

Thank's you made me feel alot better but there is a new concern.Today everything was going good and then I masterbated and then a red looking thing appeared.My first thought was like a blood clot from like masterbating (masturbating) to hard but i'm not sure.I read a few places and they said that could be it, another thing is to much stress, im not entirly sure.

[ray27]

I have a problem, on the part of my penis closest to my testicles that are quite a few tiny bumps but hardly any on the other side.  what can this be?  I haven't seen anyone because I am actually to embarrased to ask, I am still a virgin as well if anyone was able to help me that would be great.

[dryalot]

hope you are both feeling better. I had a red & painful bumpy problem on my penis' tip for the duration of 6-10month, about a year ago. I saw lots of Drs but everyone was like, we don't see any problem. all the tests negative. tension between my wife and I increased. we couldn't have sex, i couldn't masterbate, either.

know what fixed the problem? 2 things:

1) using Goldbond (over the counter cream) on my penis everyday, morning and at night. this avoids dryness which generally interfares with skin's normal healing process.

2) replacing the latex condom with lambskin condom. I somehow developped latex reaction overtime, I guess. Lambskin condom doesn't prevent STD, but I don't have sex except with my wife.

it is only my experience and these may not work for you. #2 maynot help haldir, the 15 year old. but it may help checking what type of underware you are wearing. if possible, wearing only 100% cotton and loose in clutch area type pants may help.
goodluck,
dryalot

[boomer_0101]

Your symptoms are exactly like mine....it's extremely painful and distracting.  Don't let anyone even suggest there is nothing wrong...it hurts like hell, continuous and dosen't stop.

The redness and sensitive area is on the tip on my right side of the penis and appears to be slightly raised like a chafed area.  I originally thought it was from running since I run three to four miles but it's not.  I've tried everything I know to minimize the pain and the closest thing I've come to finding relief is over the counter oragel but even that does not dull all of the discomfort.

I've had this now for three weeks and will be reluctantly scheduling a visit with my doctor.

[peasnuts]

Well there is three to four persons experiencing the same exact symptoms.  So far the combined total of approximately 12 doctors of varying specialties all say we have absolutley nothing wrong.  I am really at my wits end.  Does anyone feel like a tingling sensation down the urethra to the prostate area?

[veryconcerned123]

I have read with interest your posts. I too have had a similar problem.

I read the following post:
http://www.medhelp.org/forums/urology/messages/C30770-6.html

Now this guy is convinced that Herpes is causing his problem. (I hope he is wrong).  

What do you think? I didn't really have a tingling sensation, mine was just like the head, right at the rim was ultra sensitive for about 4 days a few weeks ago.  It wasn't really painful just electric like feeling when I touched this one area right at the rim.

I don't think what me, you, or the other guy feel could be herpes because especially in your case, it has lasted to long.

The guy in that post said he had a blood test showing type 1 infection. All that means is that at sometime he was exposed, and he admitted in the post that he didn't know for sure that it was on his groin. He could have been exposed to it on his mouth.

Anyway I just wanted to get your take on this guys post. He is convinced that he has herpes. I on the other hand I am TRYING to convince myself that I don't. Never been tested. Never had an outbreak.  Just that one thing.

Let me know what you think.

[pdb4577]

I am very relieved to have found this new thread.  Now I know I am not the only guy with these strange symptoms.  My worries began about 5 months ago and have grown worse ever since.  I have been to three different doctors (GP, dermatologist and urologist).  The urologist said it sounds like prostatitis while the dermatologist said it looks like exzema (eczema).  He prescribed Elidel, which has had no effect yet.  My symptoms are as follows:  There is a varying degree of redness surrounding my urethra.  One minutes it's not that bad and the next it's a very unnatural red color.  When I take a shower in the morning, the whole tip of my penis is a very deep red/purple color.  There is occasional burning during urination, but it's not too bad.  However, after ejacualtion, there's a fairly intense burning sensation at the tip and down into the urethra.  I too am at the end of my mental rope.  All the doctors say there is nothing wrong, but I think I know my penis better than anyone, and I know this is not right.  I don't know what else to do.  I feel like a hypo going back to the doctor, not to mention the fact that the co-pays are adding up.  I have  to think that this has something to do with the circulation in that area of the penis.  I'm sure some of it's mental, but the redness is there.  If anyone learns anything new, please share on this site. And I will do the same. Your help would be most appreciated.  
Thanks.

[percy'ssong]

hi all -
i couldn't help but notice this thread, i've been in the same boat myself.  i was extremely stupid about 6 weeks ago and had unprotected sex with a girl i barely knew.  about 10 days after that i developed a thrush on my mouth, which went down, and then had recurring discomfort on the tip of my penis.

got tested for std's, all negative. i sometimes see and/or think i see mild white spots on the tip of my penis.  i went to a urologist who told me it was nothing, maybe prostratitis, which is a *stress* related condition, really.

i've found that gold bond helps a bit.  i also went to an ear, nose throat dr because my tongue thrush went down but has stuck around since it came, and she diagnosed it as a yeast infection. i have begun taking diflucan and a mouthwash which i swallow.  the irritation on my penis hasn't gone down yet (it's the first day of treatment) but i would encourage everyone to remember that the genitals are among the most sensitive areas to begin with; stress certainly contributes to it, like constantly thinking, "i don't feel anything now, why not?" etc etc.  

i've found that warm water helps me feel better, as does gold bond powder occasionally and mosturizing.  i don't want to encourage any revisiting a doctor, but it's quite possible that my condition is related to a yeast infection in both my mouth and penis, and especially if you're someone on this list who's had unprotected sex at any point of intercourse, it may be the same for you.  

if this goes away with the diflucan treatment i'll write again to this post.  good luck everyone!  stay healthy!

[pdb4577]

You mentioned something about mild white spots.  That's one symptom I forgot to mention in my last post.  The spots are very small and only seem to appear when the redness is at it's strongest.  I have one small white spot along the opening of my urethra, while the other spot is on the left hand side of the glans.  The spots almost look like a loss of pigmentation; like the blood is not flowing to that area.  They come and go but are always in the same spot.  It's very stange.  But I do notice that the less I think about the whole thing the less the "symptoms" present themselves.  I didn't have unprotected sex, but I did have oral sex/genital contact with a girl that was begin treated for HPV.  However, several doctors assured me that this has nothing to do with HPV. My urologist said I have prostatitis and that it can present itself in odd ways.  I listended to him but naturally started looking everything up on the internet and began freaking out over what I read.  Sometimes too much knowledge can be a bad thing.  
But please do share if you find out any promising information. Thanks!

[head]

I too have been having this problem for about two months.  This thing is driving me insane.  Several visit to my doctor and urologist and to no avail.  My urologist is attributing it to the fact that I'm not circumcised.  So now I'm schedule for surge on 2/24/04.  Not taking this lightly, I going for a second opinion tomorrow from one of the top urologist at North Western.  For what its worth, I have been under tremendous amount stress for the last six months.

[justwanttohelp]

This may sound funny but what someone posted earlier about the pinched nerve may have something. You may want to try seeing a chiropractor to see if you have any pinched nerves and if they can fix them. Again it sounds funny, but not all nerves relay cutaneous sensations and you may have a nerve probblem that doens't allow you penis to tell the body that it needs Healing. You spent all that money on other specialists, you might just see if your problems with healing are of the spinal variety. How's your other health in general? If you get sick more once every three or four months it could be because of spinal problems. Since I began regular care I haven't been sick in years. Just my $0.02.

[pupil]

Maybe this is the same thing I got too.... Was with shady chick for a while and started noticing raw bumpy glans on top left side.  I thought it was from masturbation (which the redness might have been), but the skin didnt go back to normal.  By a month later the small area had turned slightly larger and started developing what I initially thought was PPP.  My opinion changed about this over time though because the condition kept spreading.  Now, I have what appears to be a cracked pattern that has bumps and redness on the entire head of the penis.  On the glans area, it is also red, bumpy and appears to be cracked.  None of the bumps are quite circular, rather they are mostly random.  The skin is not dry though, and overall, the texture would appear normal to look at... but I know that theres something wrong.  6 different doctors of course have said theres nothing wrong.  But, the gentleman who said that he though it felt like sandpaper hits the nail on the head for me.  I've dealt with this for more than a year now, and it has only seemed to get worse with steroidal creams or antifungal.  On the plus side, I have been able to focus on things that are somewhat more important than girls, but i really wish i had a clue whats up.

Oh... and on a side note, I did sustain nerve damage which still affects my life from a series of football injuries in highschool.  Strange coincidence, but who knows....

[poster12]

My symptoms are EXACTLY the same as yours, pdb4577. I have managed to pool every ailment I have and convince myself at one point or another that I have half of the diseases out there...and of course, this is all contributing to a real disease -STRESS -

True, I know my penis better than any dr. and I know what I am seeing is an effect of something since it's out of the ordinary in my 30+ years of living and want to know the cause.

If anybody has insight, you will make alot of people happy by posting it here!

[pupil]

Interestingly, I may have the same thing.  I certainly relate to the sandpaper feeling all the time.  Also, I have noticed that the texture of the skin has what appears to be a cracked pattern to it.  There are also bumps and redness, and its only on the head.  Of course, I have been to quite a few doctors and everyone of them has said that it is nothing, but I certainly know otherwise.  Especially since this occoured about a year ago directly after I was with a somewhat shady girl.

ALthough even more interesting... I have had several pinched nerves in my neck and have sustained nerve damage from highschool football.  QUite a coincidence.  

Ive had this for a year, and am pretty pissed about it.  On the plus side, I no longer focus on girls, but this just sucks ***... daily misery.

[Windsurf3]

To anyone who is experiencing burning and sensitivity in the gland head. Has anyone tried drinking cranberry juice? Not the sugary cranberry juice drink sold in the food stores, but a pure cranberry juice unsugared that you can get from health food store.

I have a burning sensation and sensitivity and when I drink some unsweetened cranberry juice both symptoms disappear.  I would like to hear anyone elses experience with this treatment.

[Sensitivity]

I just started having the same redness problem on my head recently although it is not as serious as what I have read on this thread thus so far.  This started happening recently and occurs after masturbation.

After all the reading and research I have done on the Internet, I believe the main cause is due to the weakening of the skin on the head and I believe much of this is accredited to the fact that I have been masturbating hard almost every day in recent years, since I have lost interest in getting myself involved in another serious relationship.  I am not circumcised and i masturbate without pulling the forskin back, thus probably creating a friction between the head and the inside of my forskin with a back and forth motion.

I should also include that I experience discomfort during sexual intercourse as well.  

I believe my problem with my head may also be a contributing factor in my development of an embarassing problem, premature ejaculation, as noted on some websites I have visited.  I went to see a sex doctor and they told me there was nothing wrong as well.  I of course, disagree.

Perhaps over masturbation causes the head to weaken and not have time to heal.  Due to weakened skin, infections can become a problem.  Neosporin has helped relieve the pain as it kills bacteria but I believe this may only be good for mild infections.  For more serious cases, perhaps Goldbond might be a better solution as I have read.

Maybe I need to stop masturbation for a significant amount of time (i'm talking about several months at least) and perhaps continued use of goldbond or neosporin will help.

[Sensitivity]

I just started having the same redness problem on my head recently although it is not as serious as what I have read on this thread thus so far.  This started happening recently and occurs after masturbation.

After all the reading and research I have done on the Internet, I believe the main cause is due to the weakening of the skin on the head and I believe much of this is accredited to the fact that I have been masturbating hard almost every day in recent years, since I have lost interest in getting myself involved in another serious relationship.  I am not circumcised and i masturbate without pulling the forskin back, thus probably creating a friction between the head and the inside of my forskin with a back and forth motion.

I should also include that I experience discomfort during sexual intercourse as well.  

I believe my problem with my head may also be a contributing factor in my development of an embarassing problem, premature ejaculation, as noted on some websites I have visited.  I went to see a sex doctor and they told me there was nothing wrong as well.  I of course, disagree.

Perhaps over masturbation causes the head to weaken and not have time to heal.  Due to weakened skin, infections can become a problem.  Neosporin has helped relieve the pain as it kills bacteria but I believe this may only be good for mild infections.  For more serious cases, perhaps Goldbond might be a better solution as I have read.

Maybe I need to stop masturbation for a significant amount of time (i'm talking about several months at least) and perhaps continued use of goldbond or neosporin will help.

[Sensitivity]

I just started having the same redness problem on my head recently although it is not as serious as what I have read on this thread thus so far.  This started happening recently and occurs after masturbation.

After all the reading and research I have done on the Internet, I believe the main cause is due to the weakening of the skin on the head and I believe much of this is accredited to the fact that I have been masturbating hard almost every day in recent years, since I have lost interest in getting myself involved in another serious relationship.  I am not circumcised and i masturbate without pulling the forskin back, thus probably creating a friction between the head and the inside of my forskin with a back and forth motion.

I should also include that I experience discomfort during sexual intercourse as well.  

I believe my problem with my head may also be a contributing factor in my development of an embarassing problem, premature ejaculation, as noted on some websites I have visited.  I went to see a sex doctor and they told me there was nothing wrong as well.  I of course, disagree.

Perhaps over masturbation causes the head to weaken and not have time to heal.  Due to weakened skin, infections can become a problem.  Neosporin has helped relieve the pain as it kills bacteria but I believe this may only be good for mild infections.  For more serious cases, perhaps Goldbond might be a better solution as I have read.

Maybe I need to stop masturbation for a significant amount of time (i'm talking about several months at least) and perhaps continued use of goldbond or neosporin will help.

[hope_seeker]

A related discussion, Redness and pain on tip of penis was started.