Just got out the shower and discovered this, freaked right out. Doesn’t hurt and isn’t sore, any ideas?
J, are you sexually active at the moment? Have you had unprotected sex in the last two months?
The term Balanitis is not very helpful as it simply means irritation on the head and / or foreskin of the penis and suggests nothing about what caused it or how to treat it.
What you actually have is some of this marking on the head and the foreskin of your penis, which can give a clue as to what is going on. I wonder if it is possible that there is moisture present between the folds of skin in this area, so this can be caused by when you shower or wash the penis you do not completely dry the skin in this area.
Any fluids can cause this, so if you are an active sports person and sweat a great deal, or you do gym workouts where there is a great deal of sweat, these can be sources of moisture being present in the area?
When you do wash or take a shower you need to have a clean dry towel that only you use. Each time you urinate, take a shower or wash the penis - and you need to use water only - you need to make sure the entire head and foreskin area is completely dried, rather than giving a cursory wipe and get on to what you want to do.
This is one potential cause, there are of course many others. The reddening could be blood that has leaked and is showing just below the surface of the skin, this is why I ask if you are sexually active - here rough or extended sex or masturbation can be causes of this …