Red spot on penis glans (pics). Skin shaffed or something else?

Men's health
1

Hey everyone, I had previously posted about this in another group but I have not received many responses. This is something that has had me extremely anxious, and has completely taken over my mind. Today marks 8 days since I discovered what seemed to be a red spot on my penis glans, on the corona. Initially noticing it I obviously had all the worries about STD’s, but after researching I feel like what I have doesn’t really compare to anything like herpes, warts, or syphillis, but I still have extreme anxiety over this. 

I first noticed the spot after masturbating in the shower. Based on experience, water and friction don’t really mix too well. I had also engaged in sexual foreplay the day before where I received oral sex, and masturbated. There was also a lot of rubbing involved. Besides that, I had been masturbating more frequently in general. So this led me to believe that it could possibly be injured. Only thing is that the spot didn’t seem to hurt, only time I may have felt a slight something was right after noticing it after I had masturbated within that following hour.

Anyway, after a week I hadn’t really seen any changes until the day before yesterday, and yesterday as well. Saturday night I took a picture where it seems like the spot was a bit dry and less red, but the following day after I showered  it seemed to be more red and what seemed to be more raw? I have not masturbated since last Tuesday to see if maybe it heals, but it seems to be taking a while. 

The photos I have posted are from the night that I noticed the drying, and from the following morning after I took a reasonably long shower. So I don’t know if maybe that caused it to look more raw? Is it possible that because I am uncircumcised it is not able to really breathe and heal faster? Mind you, I tend to have my foreskin retracted often just because I am able to and I feel like my glans stay cleaner like that, but the bunched up foreskin still tends to go over that area a bit. 

I have been EXTREMELY anxious about this all week and worry that it could possibly be something bad but I am just not too sure. It looks like maybe the skin on that spot is shaffed or ripped? I’m just not to sure. 

I would greatly appreciate any thoughts, opinions or suggestions as I feel very alone in worrying about this. Thanks. 

2

Sorry to hear about your issues mate! It can’t be easy especially worrying all the time! I know you’ve said you’ve done some research but I would sleep a lot better after going for a full STD check. Have you done that yet?

3

Hey man, thanks for hearing me out. It hasn’t been easy with this weighing on my mind. I have not done a full STD check, but I do have to get annual blood work done at the doctor so I may just ask for everything to be screened while I’m at it. Just makes me nervous I guess. Keep hoping that this is just nothing and that it gets better. So far what gives me just a little peace of mind is that it doesn’t compare to a lot of what I’ve seen. But I just can’t help but still feel so anxious about it.

4

Hi Help., I can fully empathise with how you are feeling about what is going on on your penis head right now.  I have suffered many issues with my penis and I can assure you that the actual cause is likely to be very straightforward.

All the stuff you mention about masturbating, taking showers, friction, having your foreskin retracted and the need for fresh air to get at this area are all issues I have previously dealt with.  Here's what to do:-

> it is unlikely to be STD / STI but it does no harm to get the Tests and take precautions with sexual partners

> it is likely to be a skin irritation you have so do this first ... use an Anti-Septic ointment or cream and place a small amount on the area only.  As you acknowledge, because that area is generally covered you do not want a whole load of anti-septic to build up on the head of your penis.   So, try a little and see what happens ...

> this may make it worse, which will then give us a clue as to what you actually have going on - if this is the case, you may either have a Dermatological issue, or the beginnings of a skin condition such as some form of Balanitis.

* I will now post general information I have shared on here many times as to what else to do ... PLEASE be aware the enemy of healthy skin of the Gland / Head of the penis is soap and other body cleansers, and, not being dried sufficiently after being washed, a build-up and retention of body fluids following sexual arousal and ejaculation, under the foreskin itself.  So here is what to do in detail: -

>>>>>

Penile Hygiene

The best approach is not to use ANY SOAP on the Glans - wash with water only EVERY time you have urinated, after sexual arousal, and ejaculation.  If you are not circumcised, protect the Glans of your penis every time you take a shower by drawing the foreskin as far forward as you can, then wash everywhere else, thoroughly rinse off all the gels / shampoo and suchlike, then expose your glans wash it with the water only, then each time you have washed it you must make sure it is 100% dry immediately afterwards.

After you have put this in place and you still have the situation going on you need to look at what else your penis is coming into contact with on a fairly regular basis.  The likely suspects are:-

> any chemical compounds such as skin cream / lotions, baby oil, oil based lubes, chemicals inside condoms (e.g. easy-on and spermicides) - you need to exclude these one by one to discover the culprit

> if non of these make any difference you need to look to things such as washing powder in which you wash your clothes, and underwear in, in particular.  The simple alternative to washing powder is Liquid Soap Flakes, most sizeable supermarkets stock this in their own brand names - and you use this in your washing machine instead of powders or ANY fabric conditioner type additives.

If all this produces no resolution to what you have, or your condition dramatically worsens, seek medical advice from your regular Doctor - but please note, many do not fully understand the differences between the potential skin conditions you may potentially have.  Therefore, the better course of action may be to see a Dermatologist, or alternatively, go to a Specialist Sexual Health Service and ask to see the duty Urologist. <<<<<<

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Hi Dugie, thank you for the detailed response, it is very much appreciated! Definitely feels better to see that there is someone that has experienced similar issues and empathizes with you, as this has been very nerve wracking for me. 

This has just taken so long to heal and I want to go back to being normal and not worrying about this. This morning (now day 9 since I noticed it) the mark did seem to have a little dry spot but has since then seemed to have rubbed off. It’s tough because I want it to dry up, but at the same time I’m sure rubbing against my clothing doesn’t help the cause, and if I have my foreskin pulled down I think it will be too moist. So for now I am making sure to just leave my foreskin retracted to try to let it breathe as much as possible.

I will take a trip to the pharmacy and try out the anti septic as you mentioned and hopefully it helps out. I do tend to have somewhat sensitive skin in general so I’m sure that may not help the healing process either. 

I had come across some of the info you posted here before and have begun to put it into practice. Like when I showered yesterday I remembered to bring my foreskin down to cover it up, and I tried to only wash it with water as well. Prior to yesterday I had been cleaning it with soap, which now I know definitely not to do. So let’s see what happens, I am desperate to go back to normal as I this has consumed my mind on a daily basis for over a week now, and I have other things to worry about. 

Thanks again for your input, it is greatly appreciated!

6

An update on this. It has now been two weeks and two days since noticing this spot. I had begun applying some anti septic on it for about two days, but it seemed like this was not letting it dry. The day after i stopped applying anti septic it seemed to really start drying up, to the point where a lot of dry skin formed over it. It stayed like that for an entire day, then over night the dry skin came off. the spot still seemed red, but possibly fading.

I had the thought that maybe the anti septic helped it dry after all, so i tried it again yesterday but once again i felt like it wasn't helping it dry, then as much as i tried my foreskin kept falling back into place overnight. Now this morning it seems like it is even more red. Not sure what is going on here and if its just not drying up or what, but it still doesn't hurt or itch or anything and has not spread.

The photos i am posting are from when it had really dried up, then after the dry skin came off before i decided to apply more anti septic, then after (after sleeping overnight with my foreskin covering it).imageimageimage

7

Hi again, although many people would regard what you have as very minor and would not do anything about it you are right to get on top of this, just in case, in the unlikely event, that it should spread even further. The problem is, the place it is in and trying to get fresh air to it as often as possible. Due to various penile conditions I have frequently had to deal with issues like this. I am not sure if I have recommended Liquid Antiseptic to you before? This is one of my 'go-to' regular cures for issues like this anywhere on my penis. It may be worth trying if you have not already - but you may need to keep your foreskin fully retracted as long as you can. Perhaps when you go to bed, or you are lounging at home (I know, not easy when other people are around).
One thing I do is to draw my foreskin back when I go to bed, then try to get to sleep on my side. What I do when I do this is to place my entire scrotum (ball sack) at the back of my legs then gently squeeze my legs together so that the entirety of my glans is exposed. It may take a little while to perfect this and it is easier if you do not wear anything to bed (if you have a partner with you at the time, explain what you are doing as this may seem strange to them) ....

8

Hi again Dugie, you had suggested antiseptic in your previous reply and in my update I stated that i tried it. I had purchased an antiseptic wound gel that stays on after drying. I had tried this for about two days, then stopped because it seemed like it was keeping it moist instead of drying it up. The day after i stopped using it, it really started to dry up. That is the first pic in my update reply from yesterday.

After an entire day of it really drying up, overnight the dry skin that had formed fell off. The next day I had the thought that maybe the wound gel helped dry it up so i applied once again, but once again it seemed like it was keeping it moist instead of drying it up. Looked even more red the next day (third pic in my update) so i did not apply again. Since not applying yesterday it does seem to be less red and drying up a bit more.

In regards to my foreskin, I can actually manage to keep it retracted throughout most of the day without it falling back into place (i have purposely done this before just because i feel like it stays cleaner and i think it has somewhat adjusted). The thing is that this spot is located right on the corona where my bunched up foreskin meets the head, therefore keeping the spot somewhat covered most times so it is tricky. I do have a partner who is aware of the situation so it would be understood. The main issue is overnight that i have no control over it, so i may attempt your technique. I just worry that i will move in my sleep. Wish i could just tape my foreskin down with medical tape or something for the time being. I really want this thing to dry up already.

In your experiences how long did it take for something like this to heal?

9

So, the secret I found with healing skin problems on the penis is to be guided by what works elsewhere on the body. Thus, sometimes a antiseptic ointment or cream will work some places / types of skin injury on the body, other times ONLY liquid antiseptic will have a positive impact. I have never used an antiseptic gel, so I don't know about that. What you get with gels / ointments / creams / liquids is what the active antiseptic ingredients are suspended in - and depending which it is that is being used does not always provide the best outcome (at least, this is what makes sense to me). In terms of how long it takes, once you have gotten right what it is that you are applying, it should only take 2 to 3 days, 4 max. In terms of sleeping in the 'sideways' position, you may be surprised how long you can stay in that one position - I have often woken up after anywhere between 1.5 and 5 hours or so of being in this one position. Another tip is, once you have found the comfortable position with your foreskin fully retracted place the top leg immediately behind the straightened lower leg and this helps keep you in the one position. Yes, it is a mater of trial and error with this until you find what you feel is comfortable, while at the same time, achieving what you are setting out to do.

10

Hey Dugie, thanks for the reply again. I think at this point I am just going to leave it alone, not apply anything, keep my foreskin retracted and see if it finally just dries up and goes away. Today is the third day since I stopped applying the antiseptic and it seems like it is drying up and somewhat lightening up in color. I can't believe how long this has taken to heal. It has been two and a half weeks now since it occurred. I think that my lack of proper care negatively affected it at the beginning though. I had been taking hot showers with my foreskin retracted and using soap on it at first. Then i tried the antiseptic, which i don't think helped either, then i tried it again and definitely saw that it wasn't helping.

So i am just going to continue letting it air out as much as possible and see if it finally goes away. I just want to go back to normal. I have not even been masturbating, and i find myself trying to avoid being sexual with my partner. Tired of this affecting my personal life and consuming my mind. Hopefully is gets better within the next few days.

11

Believed me, most men wait until there is something really serious going on, and it cannot be ignored any longer before they would even think of doing anything. As you have shown from being proactive, nip things in the bud before they become a real unavoidable issue is the best way to go. Hopefully, the airing will do the trick and you can get back to your usual pleasurable activities. Ohh, and the 'consuming my mind' bit, if I were a counselling psychologist rather than a Social Psychologist we could look at that ... perhaps you just need to chill for a while, maybe with your partner so you can look forward to spending future pleasurable days together - but, hay-ho - there we go!

12

Hey everyone, figured I'd give an update here for anyone who may be going through the same. All I have to say is one word... DESITIN. After nearly a month and a half of trying to get this friction burn to heal i finally came across the solution on a different forum and i decided to give it a try as it seemed to work for others. After this seemed to be healing and then not for nearly a month and a half Desitin seemed to be a miracle! It helped it stay dry (i used maximum strength by the way), almost to the point where the cream was hard to even clean off which i considered to be a great thing! I started to notice it get better just days after using it. Finally after about 2 weeks of use i can say that it is fully healed. I highly recommend this to anyone experiencing any type of friction burn on the penis or anywhere else really.

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Hello, nice to hear you got it fixed! Sorry I couldnt help as I did not come across your post. Did you happen to get that std check? Do you have diabetes? Do you smoke or do drugs? The glans typically heals a lot quicker/without scarring when you keep the glans covered. This is because it reduces the friction/daily wear on the wound, keeps it at an appropriate temperature and slightly moisturized. The fact that you keep your foreskin retracted kind of dries you out and prevents the amount of bacteria that formed a symbiotic relationship with your body- these are good bacteria that help your body so if you ever decide to put your foreskin back again then these "helpers" are still there it will just take a while for them to accumulate again. I would highly recommend to do this if you ever get friction burns again.

14

Hey Tangki,

No worries! I did not get an STD check as I did not really think this was an STD after I did research and did not find it comparable to anything i saw online or on this forum. It would just continuously dry up, then the dry skin would come off and it would look red again then start to dry up again and it would do this on and off. I started to think that maybe keeping it retracted wasn't helping in the aspect that it would rub against my clothes throughout the day, not allowing it to heal and causing the protective dry skin to rub off as well. When i started to apply desitin at one point i decided to put a bandaid over it and i think it may have helped a bit too.

I did worry about diabetes after this, but i went to my PCP and they did an A1C test and it was fine. As far as drugs, I only smoke marijuana.

What you are saying about the fact that i keep my foreskin retracted definitely makes sense, and i even had the thought throughout all this, but the fact that it would keep drying up without me putting it back kept me optimistic. I wasn't aware of the good bacteria it could provide and if this happens again i will definitely give that a try!

15

Hey Tangki,

No worries! I had written a reply out that for some reason needs to be moderated. Hoping this one goes through. Anyway, I was saying that I did not do an STD test, as it did not seem to compare to any I saw or read about online. My wound just seemed to start healing/drying, then the dry skin would come off either due to friction or getting wet when i would wash it and end up looking red again. This happened on and off a few times. I did have the worry about diabetes but I went to the doc and they did an A1C test that came out fine which ruled that out. I don't smoke cigarettes, but do smoke weed only at night time.

What you're saying about the fact that I keep my foreskin retracted definitely makes sense. I did have the thought that maybe the fact that it would rub against my clothes throughout the day didn't help and maybe my foreskin could provide protection in that aspect, but I didn't know that it could also provide good bacteria. I thought that it would just keep it moist and not let it heal. Especially since I keep my foreskin retracted and it may not be used to it anymore. I will definitely keep this in mind if I experience this again.

16

Hello Help and everybody

I have a similar red spot like yours, but i have 4 in a row on the right side of corona. I noticed the first spot on the same area about half years ago after having sex. The red spot faded away, so i didnt pay much attention that time. Then it become noticeable about a month ago after I masturbated. I noticed the spots are less reddish if I dont masturbate / no overnight erection.

I just applied the desitin max strength cream yesterday and again this morning, i dont see much improvement so far.

Did you stop masturbating and sex through out the healing progress for more than a month ?

First picture was taken a month ago and second picture was when i stopped masturbated for around 4-5 days

imageimage

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haha damn guys ive had the same stupid red spot for 3 going on 4 years now and it only ever bothers me when im done wacking it or just generally got my attention down there so i guess i just slap a bandaid and that desitin or whatever on it and ill be about my way. only ever scared me cause ive slept with some serious freakin whores lmao

18

hi i have notice this red spot for like 3 months now. recently i have tried desitin cream but it still hasnt improve. advice pls

19

bro i also have the same thing... at the same place im soo scared bro what i want to do

20

i need help with this, i got similar red spots randomly on my tip, they are barely noticeable but are noticeable after masterbation or after sex, if i stop having sex they get less red and start die down but wont go away completely. i got a skin irritation burn or skin friction i think on the side of my tip but im overall worried about the spots. I think the little light skinned streaks are my skin that has been friction burned off. PLEASE HELP ASAP

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