What causes penis dryness after stopping steroid cream?

Question

Hi doctor,

I am experiencing dryness on the head of my penis and it seems to be not self-lubricating. If I do not put any lubricate on the head of my penis it will become dry and there is a stinging pain. For the last four months, I have been applying steroid cream to the head of my penis as well as the foreskin to treat it for phimosis. I have stopped using the cream for a few days now and I am still having the dryness. I have seen a few doctors and they said it is a side effect of the steroid cream. I wanted to get your opinion on this matter and to know what I can do to help fix it.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I have gone through your queries. You are having dryness of glans penis. And from the photograph, (attachment removed to protect identity) what I assume is, you are having balanitis. You had phimosis. And you applied steroid cream for that. Now your foreskin is retractable beyond the corona glandis. That means you are not having phimosis as of now. The redness which you are referring to is due to balanitis. Please apply some coconut oil or some moisturizers over the glans penis. It will take care of the dryness. You can take Azithromycin 500 mg once daily for five days. You need clinical examination too. Hence you can contact your local urologist and get treated.

I hope this helps.

Answer 2

Hello,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

I have gone through your queries. You have rightly guessed that you have inflammation at tip of your penis, i.e. external meatus. You have balanoposthitis. That is why you have redness and the dryness may be due to application of steroid cream. You can follow my advice written in previous answer or you can wait and watch. It will heal up by itself. If it does not resolve, you can contact your local urologist and dermatologist and get treated. Thank you.