Member Comments are provided by individuals and reflect their personal opinions only. Under NO circumstances should you act on any advice or opinion posted in this forum. ALWAYS check with your personal physician before taking any action regarding your health! MedHelp International and our partners, sponsors and affiliates have no obligation to monitor any comments posted on this site, or the content and/or accuracy of such exchanges. MedHelp International does not endorse the views of any user.
STDs (Expert Forum)
dry flaky patches on penis
Answered by
University of Washington
Seattle - WA
Welcome to the STD Forum, which is intended only for questions and support pertaining to sexually transmitted diseases other than HIV/AIDS, including chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, human papillomavirus, genital warts, trichomonas, other vaginal infections, nongonoccal urethritis (NGU), cervicitis, molluscum contagiosum, chancroid, and pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). All questions will be answered by H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D. or Edward W Hook, MD.
dry flaky patches on penis
by perplexed03, Feb 24, 2005 12:00AM
Hi, I out of character had unprotected sex with a female with whom i just met. She said she was on birth control and i thought it would make it that much better without the risk of getting her pregnant. I noticed two months after i had sex an open sore right up under the head of my penis. I went to the Dr and had an HIV test, syphillis test, gonorrhea and herpes test all came back negative. The Dr told me it was sort of like a paper cut from having unprotected sex. Well i put, neosporin on it and it went away in a couple of days. It came back in about a week to two weeks time. I did some reasearch on this site and discovered 1% hyrdocortisone which i used and again it went away but came back in about 1 to 2 weeks time. That was two months after i had unprotected sex it's now been 6 months and it appears to have spread i have about three or four dry flaky patches up under the original sore and on the other side of my penis I have about 2 more flaky patches and I have a dry patch on my scrotum. It all looks like where i had exposure to the female who i had sex with. I frequently masterbate and everytime i masterbate it removes the flaky patch and the patch becomes an open sore. I've made another appointment with the Dr. in about two weeks time, I will take another HIV test just to be sure. The patches do not itch or hurt but i am concerned. I don't know if it's contagious or what it is or if it's spreading. please help
perplexed03
perplexed03
Doctor's Answer
by H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D., Feb 24, 2005 12:00AM
, Feb 24, 2005 12:00AM
Except when there is overt, obvious trauma during sex (e.g., oral sex with playful biting that becomes too vigorous), almost no genital ulcers or sores are caused by injury. And certainly a sore due to injury doesn't first show up 2 months later. So although I don't like to challenge the diagnosis of a doc who actually has examined a patient, your doc was wrong.
By far the most common cause is herpes. I don't know what herpes test you had, but if it was a culture of the lesion, that probably isn't reliable; a positive culture always confirms the diagnosis, but a negative rarely excludes it. But if you had a proper HSV blood test at least 2 months after your exposure, then herpes probably isn't the cause.
However it started, it sounds like it has evolved or been superceded by something else--and your current symptoms don't sound much like herpes. Steroid creams (hydrocortisone etc) can trigger fungal infections; or you might have eczema, scabies, contact dermatitis, psoriasis, or something else. Also, steroids can screw up the diagnosis when you see a health care provider.
Stop the steroid and make an appointment with a dermatologist for at least 2 weeks afterward.
Good luck-- HHH, MD
By far the most common cause is herpes. I don't know what herpes test you had, but if it was a culture of the lesion, that probably isn't reliable; a positive culture always confirms the diagnosis, but a negative rarely excludes it. But if you had a proper HSV blood test at least 2 months after your exposure, then herpes probably isn't the cause.
However it started, it sounds like it has evolved or been superceded by something else--and your current symptoms don't sound much like herpes. Steroid creams (hydrocortisone etc) can trigger fungal infections; or you might have eczema, scabies, contact dermatitis, psoriasis, or something else. Also, steroids can screw up the diagnosis when you see a health care provider.
Stop the steroid and make an appointment with a dermatologist for at least 2 weeks afterward.
Good luck-- HHH, MD
