I have an itchy foreskin. The doctor prescribed medicine, but it keeps coming back. Why?

Last updated on August 4, 2020

Question:

I have itching on my foreskin. I contacted a dermatologist and he prescribed Vytone, as he figured out yeast infection after doing a culture. It works, but the itching reappears after a few days with reddish skin. What should I do? I take care of hygiene and wash my foreskin twice daily.

Answer:

One common mistake people will sometimes make is to assume that if one of something is good, then two of the same thing is better. But this is not always the case.

The medicine your doctor prescribed contains two active ingredients. One reduces swelling and irritation, the other is a combination antibacterial and antifungal. It would be a good medication for a yeast infection. As with all medication, you are supposed to use it as the doctor prescribed it — that is, as often per day and for as long as he stated it should be used. Stopping too soon might lead to the infection not only coming back, but coming back resistant to the medication you were using.

On of the possible side-effects of this medicine is itching, so you might be having a reaction to the drug. It it persists, you need to contact your doctor. He will likely give you something different to use.

However, the problem might actually be caused by you. Good hygiene requires frequent bathing to remove bacteria from our skin. Bathing once a day is a good thing, but washing under the foreskin twice a day is too much. Soap removes bacteria and dirt, but it also removes oils from the skin. The inside skin of your foreskin produces oils to keep the foreskin and your glans soft. Washing with soap more than once a day will strip the oils from the skin and cause it to be irritated. Add to that the use of a medication that can cause irritation and you have trouble.

Wash under the foreskin only once a day when you regularly bathe. Use as little soap as you can get by with when washing under the foreskin. You can get rid of most of the accumulated oils and dead skin cells with water and a wet clothe. Make sure you rinse your foreskin thoroughly to remove all the soap from the skin.

It is possible that your too frequent washings irritated the foreskin which allowed the yeast to settle into your skin.

Question:

Thanks for your kind input! Regarding soap I’m using soap without glycerine content, as I read somewhere that glycerine aids in yeast growth. Is there any specific soap to use during this period, which may help in inhibiting yeast growth?

Answer:

Some yeasts have been shown able to digest glycerol compounds. It is not that glycerine promotes yeast infections, it is that they don’t do anything, by themselves, to stop its growth.

The effective part of soap is the lye or detergents in the soap. These ingredients kill bacteria, including yeast. But soaps which are made with lye are especially prone to irritate the skin. Some soaps include additional anti-bacterial agents, but these aren’t often necessary.

Since you are already using medication to kill yeast, using additional methods to kill yeast is overdoing it. Stick to washing under the foreskin once a day. Use a minimal amount of soap and then rinse very thoroughly to make sure no soap is left behind.