TOPIC: Smalljay's glans infection (possible FBG or biofilm)

Thanks for the update, and glad you\'re doing better!

smalljay wrote: Hey guys, just an update.

I tried the topical Desonide steroid cream and it definitely helped. But after four days of use twice per day and wrapping a bandage around it (which actually makes the cream more powerful because more gets absorbed into your skin), I noticed my glans was very wrinkled like a clear thin film over the top. The parts of the shaft I put it on were also causing this and turning the skin white. So I immediately stopped use. It looks like I experienced some short-term skin Atrophy from the steroids, which has greatly improved in the days that followed after applying moisturizing ointment.

The rash is so much better I\'m happy to report. I\'ve been more than a week off the steroid creams and it hasn\'t gotten worse. Almost un-noticeable at this point but there is still a sharply defined red area if you look closely at the glans, and the underside of my midshaft still has an almost perfectly circular red area that the steroids never completely got rid of, which is still rather prominent.

The Atrophy and hypopigmentation I experienced from the steroids has me too worried to use them in this area again. I\'ve now opted for a topical ointment called Tacrolimus .1% (brand name is called ProTopic). It\'s less studied than steroids and actually has a black box warning for cancer, but some people disagree with that claim and the odds seem low. It\'s supposed to be a good alternative when steroids are unacceptable. Still haven\'t applied this cream though as I\'d like to do a tad more research, but I have it on hand. Another option is for me to try the steroids just once per day - but man, that Atrophy looked so bad. If it were permanent my whole glans would\'ve been ruined.

So the point is, the rash is so much better and I\'m very relieved. But a small bit remains that I still need to knock out. I will keep you all posted. Thanks so much for your support through this. BigBen was right - this has definitely taken a lot of time, money and humility.


As a side note - I went back and read an email from Dr. Cho (guy who injected Lipen in my glans) when I told him about this rash. He had suggested this was a \'Fixed Drug Eruption\' - a diagnosis I initially blew off. But upon closer research more recently, what I have does meet the description of this. They typically happen on the genitals or other areas, as a result of some medicine (soemtimes Tylonol I think). I havent been taking any of the medicines known to cause this, but I have been experimenting with stopping the ingestion of certain vitamins and other meds just to see. So far regardless of what I\'ve taken, nothing has triggered it to get any worse after the steroids, but it hasn\'t fully gone away either. This whole rash started as a sharply demarcated, perfectly oval rash, then spread. The lines are still sharply demarcated (as if drawn by a fine pen) and the remaining patch on the underside of my shaft is a perfect circle as well.
Doesn\'t mean that\'s what this is, but something for me to consider. I don\'t really feel like it was Fungal since the rash never improved at all during my time on powerful oral antifungals. But who knows *shrugs shoulders*

No I do not believe it to be a fungal.
What you described sounds a lot like what I experienced. It's a skin condition that as of about 10 years ago had no name. It started as a thin circle and exploded into something very awful. Looked as if a bomb went off in my pants. I was advised yeast infection, it was not. I was advised it was an std, it was not. And also advised it was a fungal, it was not. It was a skin condition that the Dermatologist prescribed the desonide which cleared it. Triamcelone will also completely dissolve it.
Make no mistake Smalljay, it will come back. Not to the initial severity but it will come back. Use the steroid cream and it will be gone again in 24-48 hours.

Best wishes.

smalljay wrote:
You were right, Thinkitstime. It\'s started to come back. Not to the original severity (so far) but it has gotten decently close on some days and then receded, etc. Going to need another round of roids soon if it doesnt clear up in a few days. Not to worried about it so far, but it is depressing that it wasn\'t knocked out for good. I was clear for about 3-4 weeks though.I recently tried using another round of desonide gel on it for a couple of days, to knock out the remaining very faint redness. I think this may have triggered the return of the worsening of the rash because the times coincided just a few days after I stopped this second steroid attempt. May be unrelated though. That was lighter ointment though - I think the cream I have will be able to knock this returning rash out. That\'s what I used the first time when the gel version seemed a tad too weak. (steriod creams are stronger than gel bc it sticks there longer).I never got the faint redness to 100% go away - there may always be a discolored scar in that area covering most of my glans. But it\'s nowhere near as bad as it was - I can tolerate how it looks. But now it\'s flaring up again so...time to bust out the desonate again.

I'm sorry to hear that buddy. It will persist for some time but the steroid will take care of it every time.
It's a skin condition that I had on my groin and in my armpits. You just have to keep using the cream during any flare ups.
Keep the areas clean, dry, and with loose fitting clothing.
In total it lasted about 8 years off and on. Never on for more than a day or two after the original, as long as you keep using the cream.
It's completely cleared up now in all areas and I haven't seen it in a few years. I also suspect cleaning up my diet (no sugars) and alcohol consumption has helped.

Is there a medical name for this condition?