Six year old with peeling skin on penis.

My son has been battling some sort of "rash" on his penis for quite some time now. He is circumcised. The whole head of the penis has a strange look to it. It looks like dead skin then it hardens and peels off. Where the skin of the head meets the shaft of the penis it is quite irritated. We started with Neosporin to treat, then an anti-fungal, then two different types of antibiotics, then the urologist recommended Hydro cortisone cream, which worked for a while but it has came back. Next step is a dermatologist but I'm getting pretty frustrated at the medical community at this point. Anybody have this happen before?

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
One possibility for such kind of red,dry itchy rash is eczema. Topical low potency corticosteroids and calamine lotion are helpful in relieving the symptoms. More severe cases require oral corticosteroids. For that you need to consult your dermatologist. Also keep the area well moisturized.
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.