What Is Posthitis?

I have been diagnosed with this, and also for a few months have been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. I am looking for the best treatment to clear and heal the posthitis. I have found it very sensitive. When dry it became very rough and sensitive and very itchy. But with the itching. I am worried about damaging the foreskin around the penis. It bleeds like a little leak after itching. Washing with warm water soothes it. But there's no right treatment cream. The best I have been told about Tarsal cream.

I have had the condition some little time. I am diabetic, and have found out that Invokana, which increases sugar excretion can have an effect of build up of sugar and yeast in the urine and trigger the condition. I will stop the Invokana for a period and monitor the results.

I am a 68 year old male, 6'7" tall and weigh just under 300 lbs and am in fairly good health. However, for about the last six years, my foreskin has been turning red, cracking and occasionally bleeding and when it does, it burns like mad.

It usually happens during sleep when a full bladder causes an erection (Nocturnal Penile Tumescence). Sex is out of the question and my wife and I haven't had intercourse in a few years (fortunately, neither of us has much of a libido).

A very small bit of the foreskin has actually healed onto the base of the glans, which aggravates the problem during an overnight erection.

I've tried keeping the area clean and have used neosporin to keep it from becoming more infected, but the issue persists. If anyone has any ideas as to how I can treat this condition, I would appreciate the input.

I have had the same issue for several months and applied anti-fungal spray and steroid cream without seeing improvement. Finally, I managed to control it by just pulling the foreskin over and letting the penis glans dry (after bath, I wipe with tissue), and it recovered very soon. There was no need apply medicine. The moisture and warmth is the cause of infection.

I've suffered with Posthitis a few times and the cause was always the same: .wearing sports shorts with a nylon mesh lining as underwear which caused excessive rubbing and irritation of the foreskin. While wearing them I did not feel any rubbing, however after removing them, my penis felt sore and the last inch of my foreskin was crusty and sore and especially sore and red if I got an erection.

The cure was rubbing Cannestan cream onto the foreskin three times daily which after application, relieves the sore feeling and eventually the condition. I'd also recommend not pulling the foreskin back until it's nearly healed and washing the penis head by inserting a finger inside the foreskin with mild soap and rinsing with clean water.

I've been having foreskin infections recurring at random for 40 years. I went to the doctor for the first time, and was given pills. Whatever they were, they didn't help, but in desperation (skin was breaking down and bleeding) I coated it with Tincture Merthiolate. It stung like hell, but cured the infection within two days. I used that for years when needed, and it always worked.

Finally, the Tincture Merthiolate ran out and could not be replaced. Again in desperation, I tried Clearasil. It definitely helped, but another product, Acnomel (sulphur 8 percent, resorcinol 2 percent) works better. I'm just getting over one of the worst cases yet. The skin was breaking down and bleeding, as usual, but Acnomel cured it in two days. What kind of infection am I having? Is it always the same? I have no idea, but in my case, this over the counter acne cream works. Oh, and yes, I retract the skin and wash it daily, keep it very clean, yet every few months, there's another infection. Wish to God I had been circumcised as an infant.

So no masturbation then. Wish someone told me. I've had this going on two/three months now, but I had a blister which has gone now. It's just red and inflamed on the head and the foreskin. I also have trouble pulling the foreskin back all the way like I could before while erect.

My doctor prescribed me steroid cream, but was concerned it could be an STD and mentioned the GUM clinic. I told him I had not had sex recently, and am always protected (common sense really) which is true. I do not go anywhere without a fresh condom in my wallet.

I left it untreated for a month, then used clotrimazole for a month which helped clear the blistering, but not the redness.

I must also add the rim of the helmet is a little bit swollen and used to be purple, but the clotrimazole helped with that.

So it seems masturbation has not helped me with healing. I just want it gone so I can have sex again soon.

People mention the possibility of this kind of an infection as a reason to have your sons circumcised. But to me, this seems like serious overkill! Can you think of any other body part that you would remove from a *healthy* person just to prevent infection?

I do know that evidence is also mounting that circumcision can help prevent sexually transmitted diseases. But I plan to simply explain to my son that he should be careful (as should everyone!).

He could always choose to be circumcised as an adult. To me, it just isn't OK for an adult to make an irreversible decision like that for an infant. In the meantime, his father and I are teaching him to keep himself clean "down there."

@simrin-- I've had this a couple of times due to a fungal infection. I think not showering immediately after my workouts contributed to it. So I also recommend that you keep the area as clean and dry as possible.

One other thing that helps is to draw a bath, add sea salt or rock salt to it and sit in it for a while. Salt has antibacterial properties and prevents the accumulation of germs.

And in case your doctor forgot to mention this to you, avoid sex and masturbation until your posthitis heals. I made this mistake before, not only did it make the infection worse, but it caused a lot of pain too. It's not worth it, just wait until it's all better.

@simrin-- I had balanitis and posthitis together several years ago. I believe it took around three to four weeks for it to completely heal.

It takes at least three to five days for antibiotics to take effect so I'm not surprised that you haven't seen improvement with your condition as of yet. But hygiene is really important. Are you doing the warm water and soap cleaning technique? You need to retract the foreskin, soak it in warm soapy water and wipe it every day. If you don't keep the area clean, it won't get better.

I'm not sure what you can do for the swelling, it's probably best to advise with your doctor or a nurse about it. I did have some swelling, as well as a rash when I had posthitis. It slowly went away with the antibiotic treatment.

You can also use a topical antimicrobial cream on the area to speed up recovery time. You might need to have your doctor prescribe it for you. If you still don't see an improvement in several weeks, make sure to see your doctor again. You might need another course of antibiotics or maybe a corticosteroid cream. Get well soon!

When the article says that a posthitis will recover in less than one month, how long is that exactly? Has anyone experienced posthitis before? How long did yours take to heal?

I have been taking antibiotics for a couple of days now for posthitis but my foreskin is very swollen and painful. It's uncomfortable and even more painful while urinating.

I don't know if I should be doing anything else to speed up recovery. My doctor only prescribed the antibiotics and didn't suggest anything else.

If anyone has had this condition before and has any suggestions, that would be great.