Red, shiny skin on penis

[ced21]

I'm a 45 year old circumcised male. About 2 months ago, I noticed what I thought was a small, circular abrasion on the side of my penis, and also on the top of the shaft, just below the glans. I've had similar before from sex, and they usually go away in a couple of days. These have not. Now there are two spots about the size of a pencil eraser on each side of the shaft just below the glans, and a spot about the size of a dime on the top, with a little extension from the shaft onto the glans. The spots are not painful or itchy, are not raised, and are dry. Sometimes the skin flakes a little, and beneath is red and very shiny. The spot on top has spread just a tiny bit, and where its spread is noticably redder and shinier than the rest. I used lotion for a couple of weeks, which cured the flakiness, but not the discoloration. Also tried 1% hydrocortesone for a couple of days, and also Lotrimin anti fungal, nothing seems to help. I am sure this is not any kind of STD. Ideas?

[ced21]

Thanks for the response.

It doesn't really look like any of the pictures I can find on lichen planus, and the spots are not really "bumps" at all. If I pinch the affected areas between thumb and forefinger, the skin feels normal (no bumps, lumps, or thickening.
What's really strange is that after 2.5 months of no improvement, it suddenly looked much better over the last couple of days, through no intervention on my part. There are still a couple of light spots on the side (look like minor abrasion), and the spot on the top is still shiny, but not nearly as red.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
From the symptoms it can be lichen planus. It is characterized by small, flat-topped, many-sided (polygonal) bumps that can grow together into rough, scaly patches on the skin. Treatment is available only on prescription and consists mainly of steroids, retinoids, hydroquinone and phototherapy.

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.