Balanitis
You can usually reduce your chances of developing balanitis if you avoid potential irritants and infections, and keep your penis clean.
Possible irritants to avoidinclude:
You can buy Emollients to use instead of soap and latex-free condoms made for sensitive skin.
To keep your penis clean, you should:
This advicealso applies to children, although young boys may not yet be able to clean under their foreskin because it may not fully pull back. This should not be forced and should eventually become possible as they get older.
Babies and young children who still wear nappies may also be at a higher risk of balanitis due to the warm and moist conditions, so make sure you change your child's nappy regularly.
Read about how to wash a penis .
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) can sometimes cause balanitis, so reducing yourchances of picking up one of these infections may lower yourrisk of developing the condition.
STIs can oftenbe prevented by using appropriate contraception and taking other precautions, such as:
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Balanitis, or balanoposthitis, is inflammation of the head of the penis. The foreskin (the loose flap of skin that covers the head of the penis) is also often affected.
Your GP should be able to diagnose balanitis by examining your penis.
Treatments for balanitis include corticosteroid creams for skin irritation, fungal creams for fungal infections, and antibiotics for bacterial infections.
You can usually reduce your chances of developing balanitis if you avoid potential irritants and infections, and keep your penis clean.