Homoeopathy
In one reported case, after 6 months of frustrating attempts with cortisone, a homoeopath was consulted. Homeopathic cures are specific to the individual and related to the condition of his whole body, nevertheless it appears recognised that "Thuja" will often cure balanitis. In the reported case it was administered with a LM12 potency as a liquid 2 drops morning and evening for the first 3 months and had a 90% success. After the first 3 months the higher potency LM18 was recommended to complete the process.

Dave wrote:
Life was great until two years ago when some tiny white nodules appeared under the "corona", they gradually developed into small patches which have remained localized. Essentially the little nodules become the classic white patches which resemble scar tissue.

LSA is not an infection in the viral sense, otherwise an antibiotic may defeat it, it is an immune reaction.

Mine appeared 8-12 weeks after starting taking seldane, a histamine blocker for allergies to pollen etc. (prescribed for sinus problems, another story in itself). My doctor denies this, but I figured it out during peak hay fever season, the seldane dosage increased and LSA went wild. I've stopped Seldane and gotten less trouble.

Greatest concern is the loss of skin elasticity and resulting "phimosis".

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Phimotic Ring
At the moment, Flaccid retraction is not a problem, but I can't retract during erections.

>Are you talking about a generalised tightness throughout the foreskin,
> or is there a particular tightness at the end of the foreskin?

It seems to have ended up being a ring of tissue approx 2mm axially behind the coronal flare, which has less elasticity than the rest of the member. When flaccid, it is forward of the above mentioned rim.

>Do you get an hourglass effect round the shaft of the penis
>when the foreskin is retracted?

Yes.
There is an hourglass form, approx. 2mm "thick/wide" located 1/4 of length away from coronal ridge. It spans the circumference, with patches of less density.

>So is your ring going parallel to the join between inner and outer foreskin?
>If you look from the side, the hourglass doesn't go straight
>round, it slopes in to where your frenulum was . . .

Yes, although its not much of a slope.

The band of tight skin is roughly 1/8 wide, so it is not the whole foreskin that's tight, it is difficult to determine what is scar tissue versus what is LSA, but there has been noticeable improvement where the ring has patches of near normally elastic in it.

I'm wondering how many layers of skin are affected, I believe there are 7, but how many are damaged ?

>layers of skin? there are ridges, I have about ten ridges,

These letters continued with the use of vitamin E and stretching.
See: Stretching

It's been about 5 years and the foreskin appears to be getting longer. While nowhere near as long as it previously was, it can be pulled to cover the entire glans. I recognize some folks on the net would be happy about this, but I prefer myself cut. Has anyone else had a similar experience? I'm considering going in for a second time. How much can be taken off without a problem?

PS - notice to the anti circ crowd - this is a single incident for an adult male - not a political statement about neonatal, routine circumcision. Let me be please.

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Dear S.K.
>You can get any amount you like to cut off, A consensus of opinion (which is quite a surprise around here) suggests that a surgeon who can perform with the freehand method, would be able to give you the trim you choose.

>Can I ask, previous to your first operation, did you have any problems with retracting your foreskin, - often the doctors don't ask this question, and often this is the cause of balanitis.

>(maybe e-mail contact would be mutually profitable)
>Robin Stuart.

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From e-mail
I had some trouble with phimosis as a teenager, but was too afraid to deal with it and it eventually cleared up on its own. According to my urologist at the time, the cause of the balanitis will likely never be known - "some people get it" was his comment. It was a chronic problem that went on for several years.

One of the reasons for my current question - the problem seems to be coming back. After several years of no infections, my wife and I have both gotten them recently (me at the fold of excess skin at the edge of the corona).

The balanitis began (at least as something I recognized) when I got married at age 27 and manifested itself as trading yeast infections back and forth with my wife. We tried dozens of remedies over a few years, but the infections always returned. Our doctors never identified a root cause, concluding that for some reason, we were susceptible to them. The partial circumcision was effective in stopping the problem for both of us for five years (until now).
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TREATMENT

Hi Robin:
Good to hear from you again. Let's see, the saga of the balanitis. What we developed over the course of about 5 years was:

To avoid:
1. wash at least twice per day and immediately prior to and after sex
2. refrain from oral sex
3. wear as loose fitting clothes as possible, including boxer shorts

If the balanitis flared up, so to speak, I used one of the prescription creams. Sorry, it's been a while and I don't recall which one. It was one of the Lotrimin family, but had a different cream base (because the Lotrimin caused some irritation and itching itself).

With the help of the doctors, we tried perhaps a dozen different creams out there, most of the Lotrimin or hyrdocortisone varieties. I tried a couple with the most recent bout and the hydrocortisone seemed to work best this time. Evidently, according to the urologist, everybody reacts differently to different creams and it takes some experimentation to get the correct one.

As we discussed, the partial circumcision was highly effective and I've only had a couple of back-to-back cases in the 5+ years since then. Likewise, my wife has had very few cases of vaginitis since then.