Red mark on my penis won't go away

Men's health
1

For the past 2.5 years, I have had a red mark on my penis. It is mostly just below the glans (the neck of the glans..?) but also partly on the glans. It doesn't hurt and I don't think it is a raised bump, but the skin must be thinner as it does occasionally start bleeding during sexual encounters. It is clearly visible when my penis is flacid. It is less noticeable when I am erect. It first appeared shortly after my initial outbreak of genital herpes had cleared up and has remained ever since. It is in the approximate location of where the biggest canker was during this herpes outbreak. I have always assumed it was caused by the herpes but it may be unconnected. It mostly resembles some form of balanitis. I assume that's what it is... but it just won't go away. I have always kept it clean and wash it regularly with warm water, but after all this time I don't believe that alone is going to rid me of the problem. Recently, I started applying an anti-fungal cream morning and night. The mark improved significantly (but never disappeared completely) but after two months of this, when I stopped applying the cream, the mark quickly returned to its original prominence. This makes me believe that the anti-fungal properties were probably doing nothing, and the improvement was likely due to the basic emolliating effects of applying a cream. Does anyone have any suggestions? I was thinking of trying a different type of anti-fungal, but if anyone has any better suggestions I'd be grateful to hear them. I know that the best course of action would probably be to go and see a specialist but I am frequently out of the country so waiting around for appointments and referrals is not always possible.

2

Adam, you need to post a photo or two to show what you are talking about …
Are you using the antifungal because you are currently sexually active and not using condoms … ?

3

Thanks for the reply.
I’ll post a photo over the weekend when I have more time.

I’d have thought it was obvious that I was using the antifungal cream because I believed the red mark may have been caused by some sort of fungal infection. I’m not quite sure why you would think it had anything to do with not wearing condoms.