What Causes Small Tender Area On Shaft Of Penis?

Posted on Tue, 23 Sep 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Tue, 23 Sep 2014 Answered on

Fri, 17 Oct 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : Hi, for a year now I've had a small area (about half the size of a dime) on the side shaft of my penis that is tender to the touch but gets very irritated from wearing underwear. I've gone to two dermatologists and two urologist - all four of these doctors say they see nothing abnormal and that "these things tend to go away over time". Well it's been a year, and it's driving me crazy every single day to have this irritation just from simply walking with the friction against my underwear. I have tried every single type and pair of underwear you can imagine. Only silky boxer shorts help but not 100%. What kind of doctor should I go to next?

Answered by Dr. Vaishalee Punj (6 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Seems allodynia

Detailed Answer:
Hi
Thanks for your query.

It seems to be allodynia that is painful skin. It is a small lesion. Let me know if there is any discolouration or rash in the area. Also what do you mean by irritation of the area? Does it get more painful or red? If it gets more painful then it maybe allodynia. If it becomes red etc, then a biopsy may be taken to find the cause. Thus you may want to see your dermatologist again.

There can be many causes for it e.g. herpes infection, vit B12 deficiency, diabetes etc. It seems that a single nerve may be getting irritated. If you have done basic blood tests recently, please upload the reports. If there is some deficiency, then we need to treat it. Thus the treatment depends on the severity of pain and the cause.

Hope it helps.

Dr Vaishalee

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vaishalee Punj