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Best care for keeping a moist and healthy glans?
Hello everyone. Male, 33, not circumcised.
Almost two months ago I went to an urologist, turns out I had a fungal infection for excess moisture, so he gave me oral fluconazole and topic miconazole for 2-3 weeks.
All the little cuts on the inside of the foreskin were gone, all the annoying itchiness gone. But now I notice that my glans is rather dry, the inside of my foreskin looks dry as well, and there's some redness in my glans (like when having mild balanitis), and I think it is because of friction between the two dry surfaces (which itch a little when they move). Curiously, the tip of the glans which is not covered by the foreskin doesn't look red or itches at all.
After I have an erection and the glans returns to normal, it looks "wrinkly" and with a more dry appearance. It's like your (face) lips when they are dry and you expand them and when they return to normal look dry and with little wrinkles and cuts. Something like that.
For preventing infections and for general hygiene, I wash my glans and inner foreskin everyday at bath, I even use my thumb to "massage" all the area to remove any smegma and keeping it 100% clean. I don't use any soap at all in that area.
1. Could that excessive washing be responsible for the dryness?
2. What's the best way to promote the healthy moisture of the glans?
Thanks in advance :)
Almost two months ago I went to an urologist, turns out I had a fungal infection for excess moisture, so he gave me oral fluconazole and topic miconazole for 2-3 weeks.
All the little cuts on the inside of the foreskin were gone, all the annoying itchiness gone. But now I notice that my glans is rather dry, the inside of my foreskin looks dry as well, and there's some redness in my glans (like when having mild balanitis), and I think it is because of friction between the two dry surfaces (which itch a little when they move). Curiously, the tip of the glans which is not covered by the foreskin doesn't look red or itches at all.
After I have an erection and the glans returns to normal, it looks "wrinkly" and with a more dry appearance. It's like your (face) lips when they are dry and you expand them and when they return to normal look dry and with little wrinkles and cuts. Something like that.
For preventing infections and for general hygiene, I wash my glans and inner foreskin everyday at bath, I even use my thumb to "massage" all the area to remove any smegma and keeping it 100% clean. I don't use any soap at all in that area.
1. Could that excessive washing be responsible for the dryness?
2. What's the best way to promote the healthy moisture of the glans?
Thanks in advance :)
Live yogurt is the same as natural yogurt.
Natural set is better to use than the thin runny one.
Don't get the ones with added fruit and sugars in it if you are going to use the yogurt on your body.
Natural set is better to use than the thin runny one.
Don't get the ones with added fruit and sugars in it if you are going to use the yogurt on your body.
Balanitis tends to happen due to poor hygiene or from a bacterial infection.
Antibiotics do not work on fungal infections and can in fact bring about fungal problems due to killing off the good bacteria as well as the bad bacterial.
For fungal infections, which usually cause itching, soreness or a white discharge with or without redness a good home remedy is to apply natural live yogurt to the cleaned and gently dried area. This can be applied without causing any problems for as long as is required.
Fungus loves sugar, warmth and moisture to multiply, so like Dalubaba says it is important to have a good balanced diet as well as cutting down on sugary foods. Drinking live yogurt will also help with regard to keeping fungal problems at bay, sometimes though that is not enough and an antifungal medication may be required.
As there is a lot of dryness and flaky skin a moisturiser suitable for the genital area should be used frequently.
Antibiotics do not work on fungal infections and can in fact bring about fungal problems due to killing off the good bacteria as well as the bad bacterial.
For fungal infections, which usually cause itching, soreness or a white discharge with or without redness a good home remedy is to apply natural live yogurt to the cleaned and gently dried area. This can be applied without causing any problems for as long as is required.
Fungus loves sugar, warmth and moisture to multiply, so like Dalubaba says it is important to have a good balanced diet as well as cutting down on sugary foods. Drinking live yogurt will also help with regard to keeping fungal problems at bay, sometimes though that is not enough and an antifungal medication may be required.
As there is a lot of dryness and flaky skin a moisturiser suitable for the genital area should be used frequently.
when you follow the treatment given by urologist, you may think of some home remedy.
Home Remedies for Balanitis: Apart from conventional medication, there are home remedies to treat balanitis as well. These include changes to your diet such as cutting down on your intake of sugar and high carbohydrate foods to reduce recurring yeast infections. A healthy balanced diet high in antioxidants and active enzymes will also help reduce infections and boost immunity. Other home remedies for balanitis include:
Increase your intake of fresh garlic. The allicin present in garlic helps fight bacterial infections and boost immunity.
Fresh cayenne pepper added to your meals may help reduce the pain and soreness associated with balanitis. Cayenne contains vitamin A to boost immunity and capsaicin that acts as a natural painkiller.
Spilt open an aloe vera leaf and apply the gel to the head of the penis. Repeat this twice or thrice a day until the symptoms such as inflammation and pain disappear.
Ginger has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties that help reduce symptoms of balanitis. You can add fresh ginger to your food or sip on ginger tea twice a day for the best results.
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Home Remedies for Balanitis: Apart from conventional medication, there are home remedies to treat balanitis as well. These include changes to your diet such as cutting down on your intake of sugar and high carbohydrate foods to reduce recurring yeast infections. A healthy balanced diet high in antioxidants and active enzymes will also help reduce infections and boost immunity. Other home remedies for balanitis include:
Increase your intake of fresh garlic. The allicin present in garlic helps fight bacterial infections and boost immunity.
Fresh cayenne pepper added to your meals may help reduce the pain and soreness associated with balanitis. Cayenne contains vitamin A to boost immunity and capsaicin that acts as a natural painkiller.
Spilt open an aloe vera leaf and apply the gel to the head of the penis. Repeat this twice or thrice a day until the symptoms such as inflammation and pain disappear.
Ginger has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties that help reduce symptoms of balanitis. You can add fresh ginger to your food or sip on ginger tea twice a day for the best results.
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Thank you for all the tips. And yes, I'll visit the urologist tomorrow to make sure everything is ok.
My advice is to see your urologist or doctor and get a swab taken to make sure that the fungal problem or any other bacteria has gone. If the swab shows that the fungus is still there, you may need to be on a longer treatment course with the fluconazole. There are different strengths of this medication, and also different types too.
Washing with plain water every day will not dry out your skin to that extent. And you are right not to use any soaps or shower gels - these are the things that would dry your skin. You may find that when you have a bath a squirt of baby oil may help or washing with a baby wash.
You can also purchase from the pharmacist or the doctor can prescribe for you an emollient that is used instead of soap and it also lubricates the skin and your genitals Dermol, Doublebase, Dibropase (just a few). Emollin is a pure liquid and white soft paraffins BP and comes in an aerosol spray. It is ideal for sensitivie , sore or dry skin and is fine to use on the genitals, but can only be used on unbroken skin.
You may be sensitive to latex, so only use latex free condoms, wear cotton underwear and only use non-biological detergents.
When a rash or balanitis condition is healing, the skin should start to look normal in appearance. It there has been surface skin damage, then that will start to flake and peel leaving new skin. This may be thin to begin with too.
Cortisone creams, can thin the skin, so caution needs to be taken when using them and they do need to be applied sparingly and instructions followed.
Avoid having sex until you are well healed. Any fungal or bacterial problems on your penis will also contaminate your sexual partner. They too may need to get checked to make sure that they do not have any fungal or bacterial problems.
When you do have un[protected sex, do use a water based lubricant.
Best wishes.
Washing with plain water every day will not dry out your skin to that extent. And you are right not to use any soaps or shower gels - these are the things that would dry your skin. You may find that when you have a bath a squirt of baby oil may help or washing with a baby wash.
You can also purchase from the pharmacist or the doctor can prescribe for you an emollient that is used instead of soap and it also lubricates the skin and your genitals Dermol, Doublebase, Dibropase (just a few). Emollin is a pure liquid and white soft paraffins BP and comes in an aerosol spray. It is ideal for sensitivie , sore or dry skin and is fine to use on the genitals, but can only be used on unbroken skin.
You may be sensitive to latex, so only use latex free condoms, wear cotton underwear and only use non-biological detergents.
When a rash or balanitis condition is healing, the skin should start to look normal in appearance. It there has been surface skin damage, then that will start to flake and peel leaving new skin. This may be thin to begin with too.
Cortisone creams, can thin the skin, so caution needs to be taken when using them and they do need to be applied sparingly and instructions followed.
Avoid having sex until you are well healed. Any fungal or bacterial problems on your penis will also contaminate your sexual partner. They too may need to get checked to make sure that they do not have any fungal or bacterial problems.
When you do have un[protected sex, do use a water based lubricant.
Best wishes.
Thanks!
Do you (or another one on this community) know how does the healing process looks on the glans? Does it produce "skin layers" like with other parts of the body when they heal from injury? are there residual tissue which is washed off when I bath? I mean, over the days, how should it look while recovering from something like a rash or balanitis?
Do you (or another one on this community) know how does the healing process looks on the glans? Does it produce "skin layers" like with other parts of the body when they heal from injury? are there residual tissue which is washed off when I bath? I mean, over the days, how should it look while recovering from something like a rash or balanitis?
Hello :) Yes you can be drying it out by washing excessively. You sound like you take extreme care to be clean and that's great. When you wash be sure to get every area expecially under your foreskin and try to use just warm water or an extremely mild soap. most are detergents, so be a label reader. Getting circumcised might help but that's something for a doc to answer. Also if you have *rough* sex, apply a natural lubricant to it so there is not too hard of friction. Good luck :)
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