One group of men is safe
Up to 11% of men in the UK are affected by a common penis condition, which can get confused with penile cancer.
Sensing that something down there isn’t quite right is always an unpleasant feeling, but a condition known as balanitis is where the head of the penis gets enflamed, and this can be triggered by multiple different causes.
Metro asked a urologist to explain the unpleasant condition and how men can spot and treat it.
Dr Jeff Foster, a medical director of men’s health at Voy, told Metro that “balanitis is massively common”, and that this is especially the case in “diabetics and men with anatomical penis issues.”
While the main symptoms are not serious, they can get unpleasant. The symptoms include redness and swelling of the head of the penis, itching, soreness or irritation, and pain when urinating.
Dr Foster adds that you may also get discharge under the foreskin (sometimes with an unpleasant smell), difficulty pulling back the foreskin, and occasionally bleeding or thick discharge.
“It can be really painful if you get an erection”, he adds.
However, there is one precursor which may determine if you are likely to get this condition or not, the doctor revealed.
“It tends to occur in people who are not circumcised. In fact, you can only really get it if you still have a foreskin”, he says.
This is because balanitis can develop due to irritation or an infection under the foreskin, which tends to be bacterial or fungal.
Dr Foster explains that “this can happen due to poor hygiene leading to a build-up of smegma”, adding that “fungal infections such as candida can also cause it, as can bacterial infections, reactions to soaps or other irritants, skin conditions like eczema or psoriasis, and a tight foreskin (phimosis).”
This means that those guys who are circumcised are safe from the condition.
According to the doctor, you can also get balanitis from retaining your wee, or not cleaning your penis properly. However, you can also get this inflammation from cleaning your penis too much.
However, doctor Foster points out that this confusion doesn’t happen often, despite the symptoms being very similar.
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