hard white skin under foreskin

D_Dick_Master

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I have been to the doctors 3 times with this and once to the clinic. I think it may be lichen sclerosis. Under my foreskin, just under my head on the skin there, a white, raised patch of skin has grown and has been there for ages.

After I went to the clinic they gave me some daktacort (I think that's how you spell it, it's a hydrocortisone cream [I'm not sure if I'm spelling that right either!]). The cream worked for a while, now I don't think it is. Either that, or I'm not putting it on as regularly as I had been.

I can pretty much scrape the surface of it all with my nail and it more or less comes off. Yet the skin underneath is grey and it gets bigger and smaller at random. Then it comes back. It always grows back. It's so embarrassing!

I'm posting to see if anyone else has this problem, if anyone else can give me some advice?

And before anyone says it, circumcision isn't an option for me. Not only due to where it is, but I'm rather attached to my foreskin!

Thanks for reading if you got this far.
 

Tattooed Goddess

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Lichen Schlerosis could definitely be the issue. Or even Candida since you are able to scrape it off. Some nystatin cream would help with that if it is Candida. Prescription strength steroid infused cream would help with the Lichen.

Hope this helps. Can you take a picture of it for us so we can better help you?
 

mascvers

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I had a hard white plaque right over my frenulum and just onto the edge of my cockhead (the corona)( I was uncut) and it would often slough off or it could easily be sraped off. It was not sore, and I went to a few doctors who told me not to worry about it. This was when i was in my early 20's. Eventually by age 32 it would become irritated on occasion and one doctor diagnosed it as leukoplakia, which can occur in mucous membrane areas and is regarded as a precancerous condition. I was told to monitor it. It began to creep toward my piss hole and restrict full urine flow so a doctor excised it all in his office but it came back after 2-3 yrs. Went to another doctor and he recommended circumcision as it was getting more irritated especially when the white plaque would get scraped away or fall off. Did the circumcision at age 36 and it solved the problem. The area where it had been had a dark colored splotch not very large. This past summer (age 58) i noticed a small bump on the edge of my cockhead, same color as cockhead, barely visible, where some of that white plaque had been before. Went to doc, did a biopsy and he said it was carcinoma and i would need surgery. Went for 2nd opinion and same diagnosis but that i should try an anti cancer cream first. Did that for six weeks and it disappeared, but will have to have another biopsy in a few weeks to confirm. Both docs said it was related to the white plaque being there as a precancerous condition and that had i not had the circumcision to stop it from reappearing constantly, that i would have developed the cancer much sooner and it would have been more widespread. Over the years i have had lots of needles (anesthetics) stuck in my dick dealing with this problem, including most recently for the biopsies, which were removing thin slices of the skin. But most recently with the carcinoma diagnosis and the first suggested treatment being surgery to remove a portion of the cockhead..... I freaked. I hope the cream cleared it up. Bottom line get multiple opinions and take care of it right away. Still miss my foreskin though.
 

Uncutsouthernboy

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Are you talking about the little bumps on the rim of your cock head? Those are Pearly Penile Papules, if that is what you are talking about. They are present in about 60% or so of all men, uncut or cut. They are more prevalent in uncut men. Otherwise I can't see what you are talking about. Maybe post another pic with the area circled?
 

Uncutsouthernboy

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BTW Pearly Penile Papules are benign. Nothing to worry about. Have them myself. Asked the Dr about them years ago. They are considered normal variation. They can be removed by laser. I'm fine with mine.

Also, if you post another pic, please dry your dick off first. The light glares on the wet spots and makes it difficult to tell the white highlights from what you are wanting us to see.
 

erratic

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I don't recognize it; regardless, I would suggest someone more knowledgeable than a doctor or nurse at a clinic. (I'm assuming you went to a general practice clinic.) I would suggest trying to get referrals to both a urologist and a dermatologist. I don't want to pooh-pooh whomever you saw at the clinic, but when you have a problem that's not readily identifiable it's time to see specialists. It's impossible for general practitioners to know everything about every condition, right?

Though it wasn't the same thing, I too had an embarrassing crotch condition at one point. I went to a clinic, and the doctor there referred me on to a urologist after shaming me over how gross and weird the condition was. The urologist she sent me to was, to be polite, not entirely competent (prescribing surgery without examining the condition), so I asked for a second opinion. The second opinion was on the ball and everything got sorted, with no knives, anaesthetic, or otherwise scary procedures involved.

It can take some persistence, but I'm confident there's a specialist out there who knows what's going on.

Good luck.

P.S. Further to uncutsouthernboy's posts, I was able to make out the white patch (though it takes a bit of looking - kinda like magic-eye ;) and pearly penile papules are totally normal and OP's aren't obvious at all.
 
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D_Crystallized Ginger

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Alfie, it definitely looks like lichen to me hun.

Agree. It looks like the white firm ring around your cock head.. Also i have myself a white depigmented patch near my head tip-you can see pics in my album- and i used to be wirried about cancer... I stll have to go to a doc and that thing is there since 2003... hope i have time... Btw cancer needs year to develop like the previous poster s story tells..si we should be on time still.. And don t worry bout your fireskin..you can live without it mate.. ;)
 

D_Judith K Rantz

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(If it is Candida) My mother had Candida around her mouth, a repeated steroid prescription only made it worse. She ended up having to take probiotics everyday. Apparently taking so many antibiotics in the past made her practically immune to it now. Her body built up a resistance to it. Probiotics should be taken by everyone. It's the good bacteria your body needs.
Could you go get a second opinion?
 
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Gaydoc

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It's lichen, fella. Normally treated with steroid creams, BRIEFLY! It is caused by a chronic inflammation on a mucus membrane, in your case because you are uncut, probably from candida, although you lesion from what I can seen doesn't look like candida. Lichen sclerosis does have the potential to degenerate into leukoplakia which is always a pre cancerous lesion. The definitive way of diagnosing is with a biopsy, and just throwing pills and cremes at a sore without a definitive diagnosis is really lousy medicine. This physician would recommend steroid creme for 2-4 weeks, and if it fails to clear, you would have to be out of you mind not getting it biopsied. Yes, I am a proponent of circumcision, of little boys, and not adults unless it is unavoidable. You don't want it to go that far. Just understand that what you have does have the potential to degenerate into a much more serious condition, which could result in not only the loss of your beloved foreskin, but also of you whole penis and potentially your life as well. Get it biopsied, please. - Real, free medical advice from a real medical doctor.
 

mandoman

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I'm not disagreeing with your diagnosis. But I will disagree with this statement:
"It is caused by a chronic inflammation on a mucus membrane, in your case because you are uncut, probably from candida, although you lesion from what I can seen doesn't look like candida."
There is no chronic inflammation which occurs because someone is uncut.
Circumcised men get candida infections as well, all the time.
 

D_Dick_Master

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Thank you everyone for so many responses. Although that makes two sleepless nights now, I am up at 6am exactly and checking up on opening hours for the doctor's. Nothing's open on the weekend... :-(. Anyway - what do I say to get them to take me seriously and get it biopsied as soon as possible? I feel certain that they will dismiss me when I say "I want a biopsy"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :-(

One more thing: I wasn't posting about the papules. I was posting about the little white raised area of skin just below it all. And my cock WAS dry and wiped, thank you very much!
 

erratic

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Alfie: Don't panic :)

Some kindly, and by all indications very-knowledgeable, people online have given you what sounds like good advice. That advice is that you may well have lichen sclerosis, which can turn into leukoplakia, which is a pre-cancerous condition. That would scare the shit out of me, too, but no one's saying you have cancer yet - or even leukoplakia. And not to second-guess Gaydoc, but the US National Institutes of Health has this to say about leukoplakia: "Leukoplakia is usually harmless. Lesions often clear up in a few weeks or months after the source of irritation is removed. Rarely, it may become cancer." So one way or the other, it sounds like you have room to breathe.

It sounds to me that you run the risk of overestimating the threat here. That's totally understandable. If someone told me that I might have foreskin cancer, I'd shit a brick, too. It's my favourite fucking part of my favourite body part. But no one is saying that yet. No one is saying you have cancer, or even leukoplakia.

Write down what your concerns are - about leukoplakia, about biopsies, about cancer - and why you have them. Write down how your hydrocortizone treatment has been working. Take all that to your doctor - if you write it down, you can't forget in-the-moment (like I do). Tell your doctor that this is causing you a great deal of anxiety, sleepless nights, and so on. Remember that your doctor is there to serve you, and it is your doctor's responsibility to address your concerns. If you feel your doctor is simply not taking your concerns seriously, it is your right to ask for a second opinion (at least, it is in Canada).

One way or the other I still say that, if I were you, I would ask my doctor for a referral to a dermatologist.

Good luck, man. Let us know how it goes.
 

D_Dick_Master

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Alfie: Don't panic :)

Some kindly, and by all indications very-knowledgeable, people online have given you what sounds like good advice. That advice is that you may well have lichen sclerosis, which can turn into leukoplakia, which is a pre-cancerous condition. That would scare the shit out of me, too, but no one's saying you have cancer yet - or even leukoplakia. And not to second-guess Gaydoc, but the US National Institutes of Health has this to say about leukoplakia: "Leukoplakia is usually harmless. Lesions often clear up in a few weeks or months after the source of irritation is removed. Rarely, it may become cancer." So one way or the other, it sounds like you have room to breathe.

It sounds to me that you run the risk of overestimating the threat here. That's totally understandable. If someone told me that I might have foreskin cancer, I'd shit a brick, too. It's my favourite fucking part of my favourite body part. But no one is saying that yet. No one is saying you have cancer, or even leukoplakia.

Write down what your concerns are - about leukoplakia, about biopsies, about cancer - and why you have them. Write down how your hydrocortizone treatment has been working. Take all that to your doctor - if you write it down, you can't forget in-the-moment (like I do). Tell your doctor that this is causing you a great deal of anxiety, sleepless nights, and so on. Remember that your doctor is there to serve you, and it is your doctor's responsibility to address your concerns. If you feel your doctor is simply not taking your concerns seriously, it is your right to ask for a second opinion (at least, it is in Canada).

One way or the other I still say that, if I were you, I would ask my doctor for a referral to a dermatologist.

Good luck, man. Let us know how it goes.

Thank you for that amazing message. I really appreciated reading all that. I will write all that stuff down, as you suggest, since I too always forget in the moment. I think that's one of my biggest downfalls about going to the doctor. They make me so nervous. I'm sure we have that right, too, here in the UK. Though, I get the feeling the doctor I would be speaking to wouldn't be happy to hear it. I will ask for the referral. I will make it the first thing I say before I start reading off my list. Man, I'm gonna look like a head-case!

Thank you again, erratic, I will keep you and everyone else on this thread posted *no pun intended haha*.
 

erratic

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Thank you for that amazing message. I really appreciated reading all that. I will write all that stuff down, as you suggest, since I too always forget in the moment. I think that's one of my biggest downfalls about going to the doctor. They make me so nervous. I'm sure we have that right, too, here in the UK. Though, I get the feeling the doctor I would be speaking to wouldn't be happy to hear it. I will ask for the referral. I will make it the first thing I say before I start reading off my list. Man, I'm gonna look like a head-case!

Thank you again, erratic, I will keep you and everyone else on this thread posted *no pun intended haha*.

Well thank you very much.

About your doctor not being happy to hear you want a referral, you could say something like:

"I've been using the hydrocortizone cream and the spot keeps coming back anyway. I'm wondering if there's something else you'd suggest? Perhaps I should see a specialist? I'm getting really worried about this. I've asked around, and people are talking about lichen sclerosis, and leukoplakia, and that that can become cancer, and this all has me really anxious."

All that is is telling the doctor the truth about how you feel, right? Without saying something antagonistic or hypochondriac-sounding, like "I think you're wrong and I want a second opinion." You're saying, politely, that the treatment prescribed isn't working (yet), and that you're anxious about what to do next.

And by all means, listen to your doctor. Always listen to your doctor's advice. Your doctor is a professional and, I'm sure, knows more about your penis and your condition than we here do. My personal advice is to ask about a dermatologist (only because I read your original post as sounding like your doctor wasn't sure about what you have, and that your condition wasn't clearing up from treatment), but that should never be mistaken for professional medical advice.

I'll give you an example from my life: I have a great family doctor, and I trust him. He's a smart guy, totally competent. I went in because I thought I had a pretty particular condition. He agreed and treated it right then and there. Two weeks later, it was still there. Much more worried this time, I went back to my doctor and, sensibly, he said "Let's try one more time, and if doesn't work I'll refer you to a specialist." Tried again. Didn't work. Got referred to a specialist. I started worrying it was all sorts of things in the meantime - cancer, not the least of which. I got to the specialist, and he said it looks like what my doctor thought it was, but that it's really this other totally benign thing that looks very similar. He treated it. Treatment worked. End of story.

That makes sense, right? My doctor wasn't right about the diagnosis (but then, neither was I), but he was was still professional about my care: When it was clear that the treatment he prescribed wasn't working, he moved me on to a specialist.

I hope you get that sort of care, too.
 
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mandoman

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The advice to see a dermatologist is a great suggestion. In my experience, anything skin related, even if it's on the genitals, the dermatologists know what is going on more than the urologists. The urologists understand the plumbing far more. The dermatologists understand anything skin related much more.
Best of luck to you with this.