Hello,
I'm hoping someone can take a look at the attached images to tell me if this looks like balanitis caused by candida or if it could be something else. I had a risky sexual exposure 2 months ago, so I'm worried this may be caused by herpes or chlamydia. I'm going to get tested in a few days, and i have started treatment with canestan, but I was hoping I could get a professional opinion to calm my nerves. I'm barely experiencing any itching, just patchy redness. There was specks of white stuff under my foreskin this morning even though i showered last night. Also, there are no raised bumps or anything on the shaft.
Thanks!!
hi mate I have something similar , its hard to say without proper diagnosis, the lack of itching is promising, the white stuff not so much. i have zero itching ,but damaged skin and very bad rash (has eased) . i been treating with fungal cream and sure it not doing anything. having it "moist" helps. as soon as dry , the skin looks pretty bad in the "trauma" site . so balanitis under the surface sure, but the cause, could be allsorts . without proper testing it hard to know. and often the doc will try a few things to search for answer. could be fungal, bacterial, viral etc.
i think best to get to see doc asap is only way , as also trying wrong creams and angles of treatment can damage the already trauma'd skin and make things worse. i feel your worry mate it really freaked/ freaking me out too
J, you say you had sex around 2 months ago, I take it you did not use a condom, or perhaps you had unprotected oral? If the patchy redness was linked to the sexual experience you had then normally the symptoms would show within a matter of hours. Can you confirm whether or not the patchy redness showed up the day following when you had sex or not? Candida is often naturally present on the body anyway, however it is when conditions allow them to breed out of control that disease conditions can result - so if the redness has only recently developed this could be linked with your hygiene practices ..... ?
Hi there and thanks for the reply!
I found out the issue was a new soap that I started using recently. I've treated the area twice per day for the past 3 days with Canestan and the redness has resolved completely! What a relief.
Thanks again for the reply!
Soap and other forms of body wash are the No. 1 enemy of healthy penile skin - this is because the skin on the head of the penis and the foreskin are more sensitive than any other skin on the body. The best thing to aim for is not applying ANY form of body wash to the penis at all, and this includes ALL soaps - use plain water, and when in the shower, keep the foreskin covering the entire head of the penis. When you have washed and fully rinsed everywhere else, expose the head of the penis and simply use the running water and the inside of the hand to wash the head and the fully exposed foreskin with. Make sure you fully dry the entire penile skin whenever you have washed the penis as ANY moisture trapped behind the foreskin can cause problems ......
always wash with water? even if you have sexual encounter? or what type of soap you recommend?
How it looks in when your penile is erected ? I have something similar.
No soap or form of body wash is safe on penile skin, particularly the head/glans and foreskin. This is why any Urologist or Dermatologist who is willing to give unbiased advice will state that the skin of the male genitalia is too sensitive for any form of shower gel, soap and suchlike. Yes, you are also right to point out that following sexual stimulation anything secreted from the genitalia should be immediately cleared away on conclusion of activities. I will look to a regime similar to this: paper tissues to clear main secretions, toweling face clothes that are ONLY EVER used on the genitals to clear away fluids from the general area of the genitals. This can also be augmented by towels that are kept for the SOLE purpose of clean-up following sex and masturbation. Then to finish, wash the genitals with water only, or when possible/necessary due to sweat and suchlike, take a shower and use the running water and the inside of the hand to fully clean the entire groin region - paying particular attention, obviously, to the glans/head and foreskin area of the genitals. Toweling used on the genitals ONLY should obviously be changed for freshly laundered ones as often as possible. Just as important is following washing, or having taken a shower, you should only EVER use a towel that only YOU use to throughly dry the entire groin region, again paying particular attention to the glans/head and foreskin area of the penis to ensure no moisture remains. This kind of regime is particularly important for those with compromised skin, such as those with a yeast/fungal or bacterial infection, those with Balanitis, or those with any form of ongoing skin condition affecting the genitalia ......
bro did you find out what it is
hi there, which Canestan did you use? can you remember?
clotrimazole cream works just aswel same ingrediants as canesten
ok great thanks
I've been having the same situation for months, I've been tested for herpes 2, gonorrhea, chlamydia , but all came back as normal. so ima get tested again in a few weeks to see if its balanitis or herpes 1. plus I had a sexual intercourse with a female because I didn't know that I had it before we did it. she had the red patch, itchy and burning on her Virginia after an antifungal cream hers went away. they gave me mine it went away but I ran out of cream so it came back the small red patch. so I have a new cream but makes me itch
Because of the length of time this was posted I suggest you post your issue here elsewhere on this web site: . https://patient.info/forums/discuss/browse/sexual-health-2124
still no dramas?
Hi. I was just wondering if you can share what happens with red patches you had and the findings Please? Am having the same issue.
thanks
This is an old post bit wanted to share the cure i came across. I struggled with balanitis for several years. At times it was severe but is now completely cleared. The first thing to do is keep the head of the penis clean with water (not soap) and dabbing it dry, particularly before bed. This helped but the cure was undiluted organic lavender oil dripped generously under the foreskin. Lavender has powerful anti fungal properties. There is an article on lavender oil on science daily.
From the day I started this treatment, I have had no issues :)
The discovery has been such a blessing, so i wanted to share it. Best wishes to all with your health