Topical Steroid On Tip Of Penis!?

[buckeye2010]

Alright... so I was  perscribed Lotrisone by a urologist for irritation at the tip of penis (urethra opening) and applied it there liberally for about 5 days (2x a day /10 applications) not knowing how strong the steroid was. My doctor gave me no warnings or precautions and acted as though the stuff was not harmful in anyway, contrary to what I have been recently reading!  Eventually I noticed it was getting more red and irritated so I stopped. Now I feel as though my skin at the tip is discoloured and gets "misaligned" all the time (the urethral opening does not perfectly match) which I think it used to! It's like the skin is not as elastic and when the skin at the opening gets offset it rubs on my boxers and causes more irritation. Anyways could only five days use of this cream cause this and was I wrong to listen to my doctor and apply it there at the opening? Initially it was the skin inside the urthera that was red and irritated and the cream was to absorb into skin and treat it. I did not put it in the urethra but on top the skin right around the opening which some could have gotten in there. Was this even a reasonable treatment and why would he give me such a powerful steroid for my penis? Also, it's been about 9 months since I used it and still very irritable and the skin just does not look the same; will the skin eventually get back to normal (is it permanent?) and is there anything I can apply to it (vitamin creams / ointments) besides just moisturizer as I have to speed up the recovery? Please doctors help me find some answers!

[buckeye2010]

I appreciate the response, however it would really be helpful if you could answer each of the following questions here to the best of your knowledge. I did take your advice and consulted with a dermatologist recently who claimed that he thought only 5 days of using lotrisone would not cause permanent skin effects, do you agree with that? Let me add that I still feel my skin was never so sensitive and loose on the areas where I applied the lotisone including my meatus! Also he said it appeared to be dermatitis as you stated and I was prescribed elidel since I was not interested in using steroid creams anymore. I have read that elidel is linked to cancer and has a fda black box warning, do you think elidel is appropriate/safe or not? Understand that I am not looking to make things any worse than they have already become from the prior treatment! Also my main problem here is that the skin at the meatus (urethral opening) seems to be weak, sensitive, and it gets dis-aligned so to speak, sometimes even to the point where the inside of my meatus is sticking outwards a bit and sticks like that until manually corrected and meanwhile is very uncomfortable when rubbing against underwear. I wear 100% soft cotton boxers and use ceptaphil for cleansing my penis. So my main question here is there any type of special cream or ointment I could apply to this area that would strengthen & tighten the skin at my meatus or make it so that it is less senstive and doesn't get disaligned like how it used to be? Maybe something that I could ask my dermatoligist to prescribe at my next appointment which is coming up here in less than two weeks!? If you could asnswer each of these questions that would be great that way I can make sure the dermatologist I am now seeing is doing the right thing to help me find an answer. Please get back to me as soon as possible and thanks in advance!

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
It can be due to contact dermatitis. Oral antihistamine, such as Benadryl can also be used. You should take a comfortably cool bath and wear smooth-textured cotton clothing. Covering the affected area with bandages and dressings can help protect the skin and prevent scratching. You should choose mild soaps without dyes or perfumes and use a mild, unscented laundry detergent when washing clothes.

Please take a second opinion from a dermatologist if the symptoms persist.

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.