For the past few months, I have had these red spots/dots on the head of my penis and my foreskin that will sometimes be very red and visible (and sometimes my foreskin will itch but rarely) but other times be completely invisible. Its always on and off and can be gone for a few days at a time then back for a few days at a time. It can even be red and itchy for a couple hours in the morning then disappear by the evening or earlier. I also notice that it tends to happen around my pee opening when i dab my penis with toilet paper after i urinate. I wash my penis at least once but usually twice a day and pat dry with a towel everytime. I have had sexual history but i have had no other symptoms beside this. I am seeing a doctor next week but I was wondering what this could be?
YJ, you do not say whether you are currently sexually active?
Something is irritating the sensitive on the head and foreskin of the penis. Many men get this problem and what can make the situation much more noticeable is following masturbation or sexual activity.
Regular things such as soap, body cleansers such as shower gel, skin creams and lotions and many forms of Lube can become a severe irritant - but what you likely have is something you occasionally apply, or your penis has contact with is causing this irritation.
When you are at home wash the penis after urination as frequently as you can, this MUST be with water only - and the second part of this is that the skin of the penis must be 100% dry. It is so easy to think that it is dry, but a slight bit of moisture can be sufficient to be a source of irritation.
An accumulative effect can be the situation for many irritated penile skin types, so there is regular contact with a number of things, and these are usually chemical based, but then it is something that is only sometimes being sufficient to trigger the irritation. Essentially, remove all sources of irritation and there will no longer be a problem.
The other thing to do is to draw the foreskin as far forward away from the body when you take a shower to protect the skin on the head, and on the inside of the foreskin. When you have washed everywhere else and rinsed all the cleansers away, expose the head and use the water only to wash the head and foreskin, when you get out of the shower, dry your penis first. Try getting in the habit of using a clean dry towel that only you use for contact with the penis.
If you can update your Forum Post here once you have seem the doctor, then, following that, you can update if any further issues occur …
Hi thanks for replying. i am currently not sexually active and havent masturbated in about a month. i did however start using different shampoos and body wash around the same time i really started to notice them so thats a little reassuring. i make sure all the urine is out everytime i pee before i wipe the tip with toilet paper to dry it off for good (although sometimes small flakes from the toilet paper get stuck to my glans and is super annoying). Everytime I wash my penis i make sure to pat dry it with a towel completely (at least it feels completely) before putting it away. I used to blowdry it as well but it started to dry out my foreskin so I stopped. Should i stand in front of a heater? would that be a less harsher option for drying it? Will update you after my doctors appt. Appreciate the answer and any further advice you could give!
No, no heater required. What I think many of us do when we pop for a pee is merely get in there and out again without really thinking through the explicit hygiene we need to practice on every occasion.
So in essential terms: make sure the bladder is completely emptied out, by relaxing and being patient about the whole process - for men who wear tight jeans for example, this can disrupt urine flow and a few remnants of urine can leak out afterwards.
As you state use the toilet paper or paper tissue, what I sometimes do is give an initial wipe with the tissue, then if I know my fingers are clean, get a little saliva and rub the pee-hole area to ensure any remnants of urine are cleared away and wipe with tissue again to dry. When at home use a clean dry towel that only you use. I often place my penis in the palm of my hand after washing and drying and lightly grasp the shaft with the the head and foreskin fully exposed and draw my hand from the bottom to the top of the shaft of the penis to check that it feels completely dry., particularly around the head area, obviously.