Candida Balanitis

by lewis
(seattle)

I'm a 23 year old male. Until 2 days ago I've never encountered smegma in any form other than a small build up of rubbery flakes (only if I don't shower for a few days for whatever reason). Now, the area under my foreskin is constantly wet with this yellow-white fluid and I have to wipe it down every hour or so to prevent it from staining my underwear. What's going on???

My foreskin became inflamed this afternoon after a particularly painful shuffle from the office to the bathroom. I've since showered and cleaned it and now it's swollen. It stings a lot, even if I’m just dabbing at the smegma with a tissue. Pulling back the foreskin is getting prohibitively painful.

I've also developed some flu-like symptoms in the last 24 hours. Is this all happening at once for a reason? I had protected anal sex 2 months ago, and frotted (penis to penis) 5 days ago... is that a factor?

Picture of Candida Balanitis

This isn’t smegma; this is a balanitis, likely to be Candida balanitis or a fungal balanitis. This is an infection that occurs on the skin on the prepuce or end part of the penis. It causes redness, swelling, soreness and discharge which you are mistaking for smegma.

How is Candida Balanitis diagnosed?

It is normally diagnosed on appearance alone, but can also be diagnosed by taking a swab from the area. This can be examined for fungi and also to exclude other causes.

How is Candida Balanitis treated?

The candida is normally treated with topical antifungals such as Clotrimazole, Itraconazole and Miconazole. You can also take a tablet called Fluconazole. The topical antifungals usually come as powders or creams.

You can purchase Clotrimazole (also known as Canesten) at Amazon. For your convenience, here's the link for this: Canesten Cream 2% Thrush 20g Health and Beauty

Complications of Candida Balanitis

The skin can become secondarily infected and your symptoms of feeling flu-like may suggest this. You might need a course of antibiotics in this situation or a combination cream consisting of an antifungal and antibiotic. The infection can also be passed to others and I note you are sexually active so it is important that your partner is aware. If having sex whilst infected, make sure you wear a condom to help prevent spread to your partner.




My name is Dr Peter Thatcher MBBS, MRCPI and I am a consultant physician and gastroenterologist in the UK. I have an interest in internet based medicine and administer this site in my spare time. I hope you find this site useful and informative. If you have any suggestions, please Contact Me or if you would like to comment on my site, please do so by Clicking Here. If you like the site and would like to make a donation to support what I am doing please do so by Clicking Here. Thank you for visiting and please drop by again!