seborrheic dermatitis on penis

[Chimu]

I am a 38 yr old male who has suffered from Seborrheic Dermatitis his entire adult life.  I can control rashs on my scalp and forehead reasonably well with cortisone creams and zinc shampoos.  However, my real problem is on my penis where cortsone creams, shampoos, and about anything else I have tried is only slightly effective.  The winters are paricularly bad as I experience raised red patches and extreme sensitivity all around the shaft of the penis.  I would greatly appreciate any advice you might have or if you have heard of these kinds of symptoms with many others.

[Dhaan]

Hey fellas! Ive got the same symptoms on my glans penis. My symptoms first started with pain and then skin gets red and inflamed. Masterbation and sex makes it worse. I battled with it for a year before finally finding something that worked for me! Initially i tried steriods and of course those worked, but long term use is bad. Protopic worked the best but like others have said, continual use is also risky. Also, protopic lowers the immune system in the area leaving you more susceptable to a herpes infection. No one wants herpes.
The whole problem is the skin is reacting to your normal skin bacteria and fungus. The protopic lowers the immune system so it no longer over reacts.
With all that being said i discovered that simple antifungals work best. My dermatolgist prescribed for use once a day after showering. It took me a while to get it all under control but let me provide  what works for me. I use Ketoconazole (broad range antifungal) after each shower whether once or twice a day. I use a soft powder to keep the skin from irritation and to prevent moisture. Fungus likes moisture. Do not hesitiate to shower immediately after working out to prevent moisture and fungus growth. Do NOT use moisturizers to masterbate unless u shower immediately after. I use silicon lubricant which works pretty well. Raw sex is ok, but using condoms is even better as the irritation is less. The antifungal needs 2 weeks to start working properly. Use powder and antifungul for 2 weeks and you will see a difference. It will not work as well as protopic but it works very very well. Contact me at off_beat_7***@**** if u have questions.

[mac_ad]

I was diagnosed with this as well, and if I use valerate.2% and cicloprirox olamate 1% together it clears up almost immediately, and as long as i use it every day only missing a few here and there it will stay away, but if not my skin gets red and dry again, not painful, but terribly annoying and hard to explain to partners.

Hopefully there will be a way to keep the skin free of these without daily treatment, and Id be curious to hear radical treatments from experienced dermatitis experts, but because its not super common I find not much help at all and was lucky to find a doctor who tried several treatments before finding the mixture that works for me.

I have no dermatitis anywhere else at all, and i've been cleared of all stds, so Im a little curious how this actually occurs in the first place.

[Carl166]

I have the same condition back again, this time it has been with me for 12 months, and is worse.  The first 2 times, it was just flaky skin - this time it develops into small red bumps which become mildly infected.

No-one really knows the cause, and I think that's why there is no definite cure.  My opinion: it must be some kind of fungus or virus.  In my case, the symptoms are only present under the foreskin and on the glans.  These skin surfaces are moist, so maybe there is some kind of fungus that only lives in moist conditions, or feeds on natural skin secretions? This would explain why the condition gets progressively worse - the natural oils of the skin are being removed and exposing the skin which weakens it, in turn inflaming the condition.
My condition definitely worsens when I am stressed.
There must be a cure.  Any medical research scientist who can definitively isolate the mechanism for this disease and find a cure will become very wealthy.
In the meantime, try exposing the area to sunlight, use whatever topical treatments that work (I use various combinations of 100% vitamin E oil, 100% emu oil, fresh aloe vera juice, manuka honey) no soaps, definitely no cortisone creams, eat healthy, try to avoid stress.  Sometimes active sex or masturbation seems to actually help!

[Chimu]

Well a couple years later since this first post.  After an intense flair I ended up at a whole new level of skin inflammation that I contend with daily.  I use protopic daily and there have been stretches of time that I have been sexually functional.  But I would describe the condition as being barely treatable.  Without protopic I would be in a bad state.  But with it I am still unable to live a normal life most of the time.  Dermatologist seem perplexed and I think that is the typical state after seeing many of them.  No one really understands psoriasis or SD.

[SRonn]

Hi Chimu,
Another 8 years since your comment have passed ... Has anything changed with your problem? They launched a car into space, but doctors and pharmacists still have nothing to do with seborrhea?
You know, my seborrhea is progressing. It began on my head, and now it's on the chest. In the off-season, there are cases when sores appear on my pubis. I'm afraid that everything goes to the penis...

[tswebb2000]

I have heard of people using Mona Vie Original Gel to treat other skin conditions.
Have you tried this?

[Carl166]

I have had this condition twice.  Both times the trigger seemed to be swimming in the ocean and having wet swimmers on for a little while.  Nothing topical seemed to work.  I went to the doctor twice and he diagnosed it as Seborrheic dermatitis.  He said "we don't know why, but usually it just goes away eventually"  In my cases, it did.

The only advice I could give is to use a moisturiser, and don't use soap.  I used a pine tar solution in the bath or shower.  It looks unsightly, but will eventually clear up of its own accord.  I found the cortisone creams useless.