Texture on head of penis has changed, extreme irritation / pain

[veryworried1]

Two weeks ago, I had unprotected sex with a girl that I met on a New Year's Eve Party.  Two days after the incident, I started to have symptoms much like a UTI;  Irritation at the very tip of my penis, with some mild redness coupled with frequent and burning urination.  I went to an urgent care facility and they put me on Doxycycline and Cipro, which would cover a UTI, Cyphlyis and Ghonnorea.   With only a few days left of medication this week and with symptoms not improving I went to see a urologist, who examined my penis and saw “nothing wrong”, and sent out some urine for further testing.   He told me that it would be difficult to test for herpes without any open sores, and judging by the symptoms, he/I felt that it was unlikely that this is the cause.

Not being satisfied, as I was clearly still irritated, I started doing research on the internet as to what other problems it could be.   I came across the possibility of being either a yeast or fungal infection, so I started putting a combination of monistat, ketoconazole, and hydrocortisone on the exterior, which helped the symptoms a little, but I still do not believe that it is anywhere closer to healing.  

What really concerns me are these posts that I found on these forums from a few years ago:
http://www.medhelp.org/forums/dermatology/messages/32569.html
http://www.medhelp.org/forums/STD/messages/1636.html

The symptoms that I am experiencing today are exactly similar to the ones who made those posts.   Notably, the change in texture in the head of my penis is what is really bothering me.   There are far more “cracks and crevices” than there has ever been before, and touching the area causes a great deal of pain.   The “rim” around the head is extremely sensitive to touch, and the area around the tip is still red and inflamed.    

The people in that thread seem to have been experiencing these symptoms for months on end, and by the time the thread had closed, they seemed no closer to an answer.  I spoke to my dermatologist today and he seems convinced that it is not a std but rather one that the creams that I have been putting on should clear up.  However, given only the very minor progress I have seen in the past few days, I am less than convinced.

What further steps should I take to further diagnose and ideally solve the problem?  I have made an appointment with the dermatologist on Tuesday, and have considered seeing an infectious disease specialist.  

Has anyone else experienced similar types of symptoms? Again, I am very concerned and want to nip this thing in the bud as soon as possible.  It is extremely uncomfortable and I am getting increasingly anxious and nervous that this will not clear up.  

Any help or insight that you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

I doubt that you have anything wring with you at all, so there's no improvement to see and nothing to nip in the bud.  The most you have is irritation, perhaps from masturbation or continual manipulation of the penis to look and examine.  It also sounds nothing like a fungus or yeast.  My experience tells me that the less medicated creams you put on, the faster the condition will clear up--slowly (weeks) but surely.

You say that after your last visit you are "less than convinced."  I'm not sure how many opinions it will take you to become convinced, but unless you stop obsessing about this problem, it's likely to persist and take you around the mulberry bush of doctors and treatments--and all for no good reason.

Good luck.

Dr. Rockoff

[2468]

I have the same thing in every detail.  its been 2.5 months and i have been to 3 doctors.  they just give me cream and say it will clear up.  It is as bad as the day it started.  Redness and burning pain on the head of my penis.  Every post i read about this it seems nobody knows what it is.  I1ve been tested for std's that came back negative.

  Any help would be great.

[sk00b]

I also have the same symptoms. They started about 3 months ago.
I the skin of the head of the penis looks wrinkled. Also, I notice for a while I had very dry skin on the head of my penis. My doctor asked me to try anti fungal creams, but they seem to worsen the condition. If I do not put any cream on, after about a week or two the symptoms go away, but once I have sex with my girlfriend, they come right back. I get what looks like a rash on the head of my penis.

[sjmark]

I've had similar symptoms for 5 months now that started immediately after having sex with my girl friend who was having a yeast infection at the time.  We have both been tested (she has no symptoms) for common and uncommon STD's, fungus, bacteria, viruses, parasites.... you name it.  Been seen by several specialists in the infectious disease field and they all say the same thing - There is nothing wrong you!  Very frustrating because I have never had anything like this at 37.  I've taken every course of drugs for all of the listed possibilities with no results.  I've even tried herbal medications and folk remedies... and nothing.  The only thing that helps slightly is a .1% steroidal ointment but it doesn't help for long.  I have seen many posts with people dealing with this for years but none with the symptoms just going away.  

Good luck and be sure to post if you find something that works.