Patient's question:
First, take a look at the dialogue below. Can you guess what illness the patient might have?Questioner:
I have many small red spots on my glans, and it has been about 7 and a half months. It doesn’t hurt or itch, but sometimes the skin on my glans may have folds, and it feels a bit rough when touched. I have phimosis, and I’ve had one or two instances of unprotected sex. I also sought treatment in Nanchang, and the doctor said it was xxx. However, after one course of treatment, it didn’t improve, so I stopped going. But after 7 and a half months have passed, it hasn’t worsened, nor has it gotten better. I usually use some medicine to wash it. What illness do you think I have?
Doctor's answer:
Your condition is balanitis, and balanoposthitis is a common disease. Infectious causes are often due to unprotected sexual contact, infection with Candida albicans, Trichomonas vaginalis, Chlamydia, Mycoplasma, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, or other bacteria. Non-infectious factors are usually due to excessive foreskin, inadequate hygiene, or the accumulation of unclean substances between the foreskin and glans, known as smegma, which can irritate the local foreskin and mucosa, leading to inflammation. The basic principle of Western medicine treatment is anti-inflammatory and antibacterial. Generally, both topical and systemic treatments are used. For acute superficial balanitis and annular erosive balanitis, erythromycin and tetracycline are the first-line treatments, typically taken at 0.5g per dose, four times daily. For trichomoniasis balanitis, metronidazole is the first-line treatment, taken at 0.2g per dose, three times daily, for a total of 10 days. For Candida-induced balanitis, itraconazole or griseofulvin is commonly used. Griseofulvin at 100,000–200,000 units per dose, twice daily, or itraconazole at 100mg per dose, twice daily, for a total of 7 days.