Balanitis

Balanitis is inflammation of the glans penis, the head of the penis. When this inflammation extends to involve the foreskin (prepuce), the condition is termed balanoposthitis. The inflammatory process increases blood flow and makes small blood vessels more permeable, resulting in redness, swelling, tenderness, and discharge affecting both the glans and foreskin. Clinical assessment should include inspection of the glans and foreskin for erythema, edema, fissures, erosions, discharge, ulcers, vesicles, or other unusual lesions. A swollen but normally positioned foreskin typically indicates local inflammation. It is important to assess and document the glans appearance, noting redness, swelling, discharge, lesions, and odor. The patient's history, distribution of inflammation, associated lesions, urinary function, foreskin position, and response to treatment guide the next steps in management. Persistent or recurrent inflammation warrants reassessment. When the presentation is atypical, severe, recurrent, associated with unusual lesions, or when the causative organism is unclear, diagnostic tests such as culture, Gram stain, or nucleic acid amplification testing may be employed. A sexual-health assessment may be necessary if the history or lesions suggest a sexually transmitted infection. Prompt escalation...