Balanitis: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments Explained

Description of Balanitis

In men who have been circumcised, such inflammations are less common and limited to the glans penis (balanitis). Those with diabetes mellitus are particularly susceptible to this ../../, and those who develop these inflammations should be evaluated for diabetes.

One must be aware of the real possibility that balanitis and balanoposthitis can be harbingers of other, more serious diseases and therefore cannot be dismissed as simple local unhygienic inflammations, especially if they become chronic or persistent.

Causes and Risk Factors of Balanitis

In almost every instance balanitis results from the presence of a foreskin, which may be redundant and phimotic, thereby predisposing to infections. This preputial cloak harbors beneath it normally desquamating epithelial cells, glandular secretions, and Mycobacterium smegmatis, and provides a warm, moist culture medium for any incidental organisms that may be present. It is obvious, therefore, that personal daily hygiene will prevent most instances of simple balanitis and balanoposthitis.

Symptoms of Balanitis

The incubation period varies from 3 days to 1 week. The first signs of involvement may be small red erosions on the glans or undersurface of the prepuce, with concomitant development of much preputial exudation; the purulent discharge may be accompanied by phimosis. If the disease is unchecked, confluent ulcerations will develop along with considerable edema of the penis.