Question: Hey doctor last night I had sex and now I have a flare up of balanitis. The penis glans are quite red and irritated but for the last 4 weeks I have had this fungal infection on my glans I had a swab done it was identified as a heavy growth of “Candida Albicans”. I was first prescribed an anti fungal cream called Canesten Clotrimazole 1% which I used for 2 weeks and it seemed to help with the initial discharge symptoms but then the area started to become quite red so I was switched to Hydrozole for a week which has a steroid cream with the same antifungal and I felt that really only masked the symptoms. So I then came off all the creams for 4 days and everything calmed down and I finally was prescribed a single dose of Fluconazole 150mg which I took 3 days ago now but having sex last night and flared up the redness. What exactly can I do to help with this it’s just really irritating I’ve read having a bath with salt water helps would that work or even just using salt water in a cup if so how long should I use it for and is there anything else I can do since I’ve already had the anti fungal tablet? Can you take Hydrozole which has the steroid and antifungal cream at the same time if I’ve had the Fluconazole on Thursday I just need to calm down the symptoms some how?

Hey doctor thanks for the follow up would taking Panadol or Nurofen help for reducing the pain and inflammation as well? It’s just super inflamed I’m going to visit my doctor on Monday do you think it could wait another day? Would the salt baths help at all as well to soothe irritation and how long do you think this infection will take to clear up it seemed to have gotten better with be Fluconazole but now it’s worse after sex it’s just super frustrating?

Does it also matter with using the Hydrozole cream if you’re using two anti fungal at the same time with the Fluconazole already being taken?

Would using a steroid not just prolong the infection as well or?

Hey doctor just a follow up so I visited my GP for a follow up on this and she thinks the Candida infection has cleared but we have done another swab to confirm so I will have to wait for that. However she believes I may have a sensitivity or allergy to the condom I’ve been using.

So far I have been using these three ive linked below and the first time I had ever had sex was 3 months ago and over the last three months I’ve been having a gradual build up of symptoms of redness, dryness and irritation.

Skyn Original Condoms:
https://www.chemistwarehouse.com.au/buy/64835/skyn-original-condoms-20-pack

Skyn Ultra Thin Condoms:
https://www.chemistwarehouse.com.au/buy/87940/SKYN-Elite-Condoms-10-Pack

Lifestyle Zero Uber Thin Condoms:
https://www.chemistwarehouse.com.au/buy/87116/lifestyles-zero-condoms-20-pack

Is there any alternatives to these that fit in a similar way that may be worth trying that I won’t have a allergy to? Also in addition would it be ok to use something like QV lotion on the glans and foreskin to help with the dryness would this be okay to use even if I roll my foreskin back over? I just don’t want to bring back up the Candida infection.

QV Lotion:
https://www.chemistwarehouse.com.au/buy/4027/ego-qv-skin-lotion-250ml

Thanks for the follow up doctor my main concern is the moisturiser I am unsure what I should be using on the penis glans and foreskin? It seems to be that area is a lot more sensitive and regular moisturiser aren’t recommend. Is there anything in particular you’d recommend would the QV lotion I linked be any good and safe for the penis glans?