White Crust around the head of my penis

[TurtleMuncher]

Hi.

In the past few months, on and off, I have realized the appearance of a whitish/yellowish crusty substance under my foreskin, and around the head of my penis. I am only young so it will not be an STD, although I have never payed a lot of attention to the cleaning of my penis, so there is a chance it could an infection. The substance is also quite pungent, and really does not smell good. I normally try to clear it out when I get the chance, just with some tissues, but my head is quite sensitive, and also a little red, like it is irritated. Normally I notice it when I have an erection, but when I am not erect and notice it, i pull my foreskin back, and it is quite tight and is not comfortable at all, and try to get it out.

I am a little worried, and will soon be seeing a doctor, but I really would like some sort of a heads up about all of this.

Thanks

[Joey9]

I accidentally ripped/ tore my foreskin off of my penis tip and now the base and the foreskin where they were attatched it very red but not bleeding. Whenever I touch it, it stings and the red lining Is at the base and on the inside of the foreskin. Will the urine infect it? Plz respond asap

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
From the symptoms it looks like balanitis due to some fungal infection. Please don’t use any cosmetics on the penis, instead use some topical antimicrobials like Bacitracin or Lotrimin. Also corticosteroids and topical immunosuppressants can be used but they are available under prescription. Also retract the foreskin daily and soak in warm water to clean penis and foreskin. In case the symptoms persist then please consult a urologist/dermatologist for evaluation and antimicrobials and steroids prescription.
Hope it helps. Take care and please do keep us posted if you have any additional queries. Kind regards.

[nighthound]

Ok there are a couple of possibilities here. Firstly don't worry :)

1.  If you have been masturbating at all then there is a chance that some ***/precum has gotten lodged under there.  The first thing to try is whilst sitting in the bath, try rubbing it off (the crust I mean ;) )  and if that doesn't work use baby lotion - Works a treat.

If 1. doesn't work then it is likely that you have a yeast infection.  Go to any pharmacy or high-street drug-store and get yourself some  athlete's foot cream (Canesten is a good brand)  as the breakdown of athlete's foot works the same way as this - use it for a week or so and see what happens.

If 2. doesnt work then it is best that you go and see your doctor - don't worry, they see this stuff all of the time.
I know this post is 10 months old however I hope it will help someone with a similar situation.