White thing on penis head - Men's Health Message Board

sbrubles · 06-03-2003, 07:56 PM

Hello all. Any help would be much appreciated.

For the past few months I’ve noticed some strange white thing on my penis. I went online to do some research but could not find anything similar to my problem. It has a kind of bad smell and I have to rub the head of my penis to get the white thing of. It looks like cheese when I rub. When I shower everything goes away including the smell. However it comes back the next day. Should I use some type of anti-micro bacterial soap? Sometimes the smell get strong and I have to shower often to make it go away.

Thanks a lot.

Lance2 · 06-04-2003, 03:14 AM

Are you uncut? Sounds like smegma to me. A naturally occuring substance that helps the foreskin move over the head of our penis (those of us uncut) No big deal as long as you clean under the foreskin every day to remove it!

focus · 06-04-2003, 11:47 PM

What you described is exactly what smegma is. Its a thick, cheese textured sticky substance, usually white or yellow in color that collects under the foreskin between the head, and just behind the corona (ridge of the head). Its completely normal in intact guys (uncut).

Smegma is a mixture of dead skin cells, oils, sweat, pheremones (genital odors), and sometimes a bit of excess urine and/or semen. You should retract the foreskin while in the shower and wash the smegma away with water and just a little bit of soap. Doing this daily should keep the odor minimized and non-offensive (although there will always be a slight odor). It is normal for more smegma to appear everyday.

If you still have a powerful fishy odor from the foreskin and excessive smegma even after washing daily, you may have a fungus infection under the foreskin. Fungus infections can be treated with anti-fungal ointments prescribed by your doctor.