Grey Patches on inner foreskin

[dokster]

I have a small problem that i am a little worried about.... I am an uncircumcised male in my early 20s and about 9-10 months ago i noticed a small patch of gray skin on my inner foreskin, absolutely painless....This patch is fully visible once the foreskin has been fully retracted.... Althought I knew it was not normal i had ignored it until now.... over the months it has grown in size and has now been surrounded by a raised white edge... and what's a little more worrying is that more of these gray patches seem to have appeared over the last 3 months or so..  all on my inner foreskin(i can count maybe 3 more).... they usually start out as small white raised dots and spread into a gray circle with a white edge.... I have no idea what this is...all these patches are not painful at all....

when i was in my late teens I had a case of lichen planus of the skin (I had a few small itchy gray patches with raised white edges on my arms and legs)... the patches on my foreskin however don't itch at all!  they aren't even sensitive.... I thought it could be Balanitis but the symptoms don't seem to be the same... no soreness, no discharge, no redness, no itching... just spots that turn into gray patches... I the area clean under my foreskin almost twice a day so I am quite sure hygiene could not be an issue.... if anyone knows what's happening here please do share some information or advice with me....I know I should go to a doc to get this sorted out but given my current location, language barriers and time schedules work against me...so please do help me if you can...

[dokster]

Thank you Ms. Lacuesta for your uselful advice....

I managed to finally visit a dermatologist and she too believes that the lesions may be due to my history of lichen planus.  She prescribed some steroid cream and told me to apply it twice a day for 2 weeks after which I'm supposed to visit her again to determine whether a biopsy is required or not.... she believes that the lesions are NOT malignant but she can't be 100% sure unless a biopsy is done.  She said it is NOT a fungal infection and it is NOT Lichen Sclerosus or BXO  because there is no itching, no pain and no inflamation.

In the last case of Lichen planus I had, the lesions disappeared over a couple of months.... My dermatologist at that time had prescribed corticosteroid cream and it got rid of lots of the small lesions and considerably reduced the skin irritation.  He had also given me some steroid pills since the lesions were scattered all over my body.  It seemed to be pretty effective.

Although I do know a little about lichen planus (the cause is usually unknown and it takes a long time to heal) there is very little detailed information on the web about it.  I would greatly appreciate if you could please share any information you have about this condition. Could it develop into something more serious or troublesome?  What effects is the steroid cream supposed to have?  How do I know if it's working?  Are there any side effects of using this cream?

Thanking you in advance....

[Vanessa Lacuesta]

Hi,

Your history of lichen planus may help explain these lesions in your foreskin. This has to be evaluated by a dermatologist to determine if this is indeed lichen planus, Lichen planus do present in the genitals and this is the area where they may occur for the long term. At this point I can not tell you the best mode of management for this, or whether circumcision will be an alternative ( if you are thinking along that line). Discuss this with your physician when you have the time. Just keep yourself from unnecessarily touching the area.Infections may cause pain and tenderness but this seems not to be  your case. Fungal infections and dermatitis may present with itchiness which you do not also have.A complete medical and sexual history are important when you see your physician.

Do keep us posted for anything.