irritated penis tip (meatus) especially after ejaculation

[concernedpatient2011]

it's been several months since i had unprotected oral and protected vaginal sex, and seemingly from that time i've had a re-occurring rash/irritation on my penis, around the pee-hole. see the picture. it gets especially red like that when i ejaculate from masturbation, otherwise it is not so bad. after a while, the skin around that area gets dry and starts peel off. if i don't ejaculate, the rash lessens and nearly disappears. what could this be? what should i do?

thanks

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
It looks like balanitis skin. The other possibilities are of eczema, sexually transmitted diseases like Chlamydia and contact dermatitis. Oral course of antibiotics is needed. In addition, 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 ruling out STD’s and antimicrobials and steroids prescription. I hope it helps. Take care and regards.

[concernedpatient2011]

i should also note that these are my only symptoms. i am otherwise fine.