redness on foreskin

[hazeltine]

hello doctor,

i have had a small area of redness on the inside my foreskin as long as i can remember. or at least back 12 or more years.
the area is under my foreskin, visible when pulled all the way back. there are no growths or bumps but it is a red colored patch about the size of a small blueberry.
i never worried much about it, but on 3 occasions in the last year (probably by over analyzing the area) it has slightly bled. besides looking at it and touching the area i didn't do anything vigorous to cause this. this happened again last night.
there has been no unusual fluid build up or puss or smegma or anything like that. i've cleaned my foreskin daily by pulling back the skin for many years.
i just have no idea what it is. i thought it was just an old scar from some early trauma caused to the skin but now i'm worried about it. it doesn't cause me pain usually. the only pain i can report is in the shower, with really strong pressure, if the water is sharp and hits the area while cleaning it has hurt a few times. but that could just hurt anyway i suppose.
please let me know your thoughts.
also, please let me know if i should have it checked out and if i should go to a urologist or a dermatologist. i'm not quite sure who to see.

thank you very much!

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

I'd put nothing extra on it.  A millimeter growth, if it's real, wouldn't mean anything.

Dr. Rockoff

[hazeltine]

thanks for your advice. do you recommend putting anything on it ointment wise since i have irritated the area?
also, i'm not totally sure, but i feel in the last 10 years the area may have grown just barely about a millimeter. would that be abnormal? but as i mentioned i've had it so long that i never thought much of it.
thank you.

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

I can't imagine that redness of that duration means much of anything.  I advise you not to rub or irritate it in any way so as not to cause confusion, and to see a dermatologist.  That way you'll probably be able to forget about it.

Best.

Dr. Rockoff