A Common Cold Linked to Penis Irritation?

[mr_e]

I'm circumcised and the head of my penis becomes irritated whenever I get a cold. I get a runny and/or stuffed up nose, mild fevers,cough. I get colds every 4 months because I work w/kids. My simultaneous cold & penis irriation only began to happen recently. The head of my penis gets a little red, really wrinkled. This isn't funny, but I would say that the wrinkles remind me of pictures of a dry desert floor that is cracked. However, there isn't any unusual dryness & the skin isn't broken. The skin on the head of my penis becomes swollen/raised.
-The first time it happened was at the beginning of Jan. '07 and my penis head was very itchy. I went to Drs. on Duty and the dr. asked about my sexual history. 3  weeks before this, I had unprotected contact with a partner's genitals. During this time, I had a TINY nick on my penis shaft (however, the skin on my penis was broken). The only time I had unprotected oral sex was in June '07. He didn't know what it was, but prescribed Nystatin Cream and said to come back if it reccurred. It went away a few days later.
-The second time was about a month later in Feb. 07 and I went to my GP, who I didn't go to the first time because I didn't have insurance. The same cold and penis irritation symptoms happened, but this time it was less itchy. However, the symptoms on my penis went away quickly and he only got a look when it was going away. He had me tested for HIV, Chlamydia, Syphilis, and I had a blood test(IGG) for HSV 1 and 2. All came back negative. He said he didn't know what it was, he first thought HSV2, but was unsure.
-The last time it happened was 1wk.ago. The same cold and penis irritation symptoms happened, but this time it wasn't itchy. I haven't had any sexual activity since the end of Dec. '06. I got retested for everything above including another blood test(IGG) for HSV1 & 2 on July 30. I got the results & everything is negative. The symptoms came and went so fast that I wasn't able to get to my doctor in time.

[Shlad]

A related discussion, Red, flacky, thinning skin on penis was started.

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

I have absolutely no idea why your penis gets irritated when you get a cold.    No connection there that I can think of.  As for the wrinkling itself, that certainly does not sound like a fungus or yeast.  It's probably just irritation that means nothing and requires nothing more than lotion and gentle handling.  You ought to consult a skin doctor, I think, who can set you straight so you can worry less and look at your penis less carefully.  None of this sounds like any kind of STD, by the way.

Take care.

Dr. Rockoff