His Rod Looks More Like Bad Road

These days, the head of his penis looks less like a “trouser snake” and more like a dried-up worm. His attempts to address the issue have, so far, proved temporary. What has happened? Is it permanent? And more importantly, can he repair it? Read on, get the facts and find out!

Case #: 1673

Concern：

I have started to notice something weird in my penis. I have skin on the head of my penis that dries up, cracks and then flakes off to show the new skin under. It is scary because the dry spot is red. I have used Vaseline and lotion to help my situation out and it works for a few days but then after that it starts to dry again. I am concerned about this because it will not stop and also I am frightened to have to show this to my new partner. We have not had sex yet.

Discussion：

No matter where you live on Earth, you've got to take care of your skin. In the tropics, you've got to watch out for sunburn. In the Arctic and Antarctic areas, you could get frostbite. And in the temperate zones between, you have to worry about both, depending on the season. The key concern for both conditions (and many more besides) is maintaining your skin's hydration levels, but it's not enough to just drink a gallon of water each day.

Peeling Back The Layers

The skin on almost every part of your body consists of two distinct layers of tissue; your palms and the soles of your feet have an extra one. Medical professionals call the “dead” outer layer the epidermis, and the inner “living” layer is the dermis. The epidermal layer is dead in that it contains no living cells, but it does form a barrier between the nutrient-rich dermis and infectious microorganisms in the environment.

To be clear: the dry spot is red because the epidermis has not completely formed before it dries out and starts flaking off.

Check Your Fluid Levels

Structurally, the dermis and epidermis consist of a lot of water, getting dryer as you get closer to the surface but still requiring a lot of water to maintain cohesion. When it dries out completely, the skin flakes away. Under normal circumstances, the dried-out skin cells become dust that you can simply wash away, but there's more to it than that. Your skin also secretes various oils to keep the water from flooding out of your skin when the air is dry, or flooding into it when you go swimming.

When you wash your hands repeatedly, stand in hot sunlight or dry wind, or just rub a patch of skin vigorously for extended periods of time, you remove the oils that keep the moisture inside your skin. In turn, this lets the water in the skin evaporate. The dried-out skin cells shrink and can't maintain contact with the adjacent cells, so they crack.

Surface Repair

First things first. Depending on your sexual history, especially how recently you may have had unprotected sex, you should consider visiting your health-care provider to make sure that you have not contracted an STD, because certain ones can cause your penis skin to dehydrate. Petroleum jelly will start the healing process by preventing the moisture inside your dermis from escaping into the environment, but you need to go further in order to restore your penis to normal. Make sure you're drinking enough water; call it a gallon per day. I also recommend cutting down your masturbatory habits as much as possible while you're letting your penis heal.

Finally, you should consider using a skin cream or lotion designed specifically for use on your penis. (TRY: Penile Dryness Relief with Creams and Lotions) Whichever of these products you choose will help maintain the water-balance in the skin on your glans while the epidermis repairs itself. Successfully healing your penis hinges on following the directions, especially the warnings about not scrubbing or drying too hard, or using too much product with any application. Good luck!