Balanitis is inflammation of the glans penis. Balanitis involving the foreskin or prepuce is termed balanoposthitis. Inflammation has numerous causes, including irritation by environmental substances, physical trauma, and infection by a wide variety of pathogens, including bacteria, virus, yeast, or fungus — each of which require a particular treatment. Good medical practice includes careful identification of the cause with the aid of a good patient history, swabs and cultures, and pathologic examination of a biopsy. Only then can the proper treatment be prescribed.[1] See flowchart for diagnostic procedures.

Escala and Rickwood, in a 1989 examination of 100 cases of balanitis in childhood, concluded: "[T]he risk in any individual, uncircumcised boy appears to be no greater than 4%." [2]. Øster reported no balanitis in 9545 observations of uncircumcised Danish boys.[3] Balanitis in boys still in nappies must be distinguished from the normal redness seen in boys caused by ammoniacal dermatitis.[4]

Some studies indicate balanitis to be more common in uncircumcised boys,[5] [6] [7] [8], but others believe that circumcised boys who lack a foreskin have more balanitis.[9]

Lack of aeration and irritation because of smegma and discharge surrounding the glans penis causes inflammation and edema. Adherence of the foreskin to the inflamed and edematous glans penis causes phimosis.[10] [11] [12]

Balanitis may cause oedema,[13] resulting in phimosis, or inability to retract the foreskin from the glans penis.

The most common complication of balanitis is phimosis, or inability to retract the foreskin from the glans penis.[14]

Many studies of balanitis do not examine the subjects' genital washing habits; a 1993 study by Birley et al. did so and found that excessive genital washing with soap may be a strong contributing factor to balanitis.[15]

Zoon's Balanitis

Zoon's Balanitis also know as Balanitis Circumscripta Plasmacellularis or plasma cell balanitis (PCB) is an idiopathic, rare, benign penile dermatosis [16] for which circumcision is often the preferred treatment. [17] [18] [19] Zoon's Balanitis has been successfully treated with the carbon dioxide laser[20] and more recently Albertini and colleagues report the avoidance of circumcision and successful treatment of Zoon's Balanitis with an Er:YAG laser.[21] Another study, by Retamar and colleagues, found that 40 percent of those treated with CO₂ laser relapsed.[22]

External links

• Balanitis - InteliHealth

• Zoon's Balanitis - InteliHealth

• Edwards S. Balanitis and balanoposthitis: a review. Genitourin Med 1996;72(3):155-9.

• Edwards S. (for the Clinical Effectiveness Group) National guideline on the management of balanitis. Association for Genitourinary Medicine (U.K.) and the Medical Society for the Study of Venereal Diseases (U.K.), 2001.

Images of balanitis

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