Dear Doctor

Hi since long time I have noticed red, dry skin on my penis head. It does not itch or pain.

Its just red patches and when I don’t apply oil, it becomes dry and dry dead skin starts to peel off.

When I have erections, the dry skin cracks leaving cuts on the penis head.

I have been using many over the counter creams which contain steroids but doctors advised me not to use it as prolonged use will make my penis skin thinner.

I don’t know how to get rid of this problem and I request your kind assistance.

Dear Patient

Your symptoms are suggestive of penile psoriasis or psoriasis of the penis.

Symptoms of Penis Psoriasis

Symptoms of penile psoriasis include dry, red lesions which usually develop on the glans penis and the corona. There may also be some scaling especially on the shaft and in circumcised men.

 

Treatment of Penis Psoriasis

The treatment of penile psoriasis includes:

1. Bland emollients like Vaseline petroleum jelly  to moisturize the skin and reduce skin irritation.

 

2. Weak corticosteroid creams like 1% Hydrocortisone cream can be to reduce the inflammation. Moderate potency corticosteroid creams can also be used however they should be used sparingly since they can cause thinning of the skin.

 

3. Vitamin D analogues like Calcipotriol cream can be used alone or in combination with steroid creams.

 

4. Calcineurin inhibitors like Tacrolimus 0.1% applied twice a day for 10 days has been used to treat genital psoriasis successfully.

 

5. Dapsone has also been used effectively to treat genital psoriasis in some patients.

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