Narrator: What are these small cracks in the head of my uncircumcised penis?
Sheldon Marks, MD: Very commonly, men can develop problems in and around the foreskin or under that foreskin on the penis, called balinitis and that's just from chronic irritation. It could be a yeast infection.
It could be that it got dry. Often times it could be a hygiene issue. The first thing you want to do is keep it clean and dry, and try anti-fungal creams, over the counter.
If it continues to be a problem, then you probably should see a urologist who can assess and determine if there's something more serious. Though very rare, penile cancer is a concern.
You want to make sure that there's nothing going on there. Then if it turns out that there is a problem, chronic infections that are not resolving, then you want to look at the options.
One of them is formal circumcision, which is the last option.
Another one is called a dorsal slit, where instead of removing the foreskin they simply cut through the scar that develops so that you can retract it easily and maintain good hygiene.
Sometimes it's simply changing the medications or aggressive medication. Sometimes lesions on the penis can be actually drug reactions, that manifest themselves, or allergic reactions.
So you should never assume that it's just one thing, you know, if you've got a recurrent infection and jump right to a circumcision. You want to know why you're getting the infection.
Maybe it's the first warning sign of being diabetic. These are all things that can play into it.
That's again where a good doctor can see the big picture and look at more than just what's obvious to try to figure out what's going on.
And then help you decide what's best for you because ultimately you have to decide what you want for yourself.
The doctor is really there to provide a service and ideally provide you the pros and cons of the options so you can choose intelligently.