Picture of pearly papules on glans penis

Pearly papules are small reddish papules located in the coronal sulcus of the penis and around the glans penis. They usually occur in adults, usually between 20 and 40 years old. They are common in young people with long foreskin and habitual flopping. They are considered physiological abnormalities and are not considered sexually transmitted diseases. They usually have no active symptoms and are easily misdiagnosed as condyloma acuminatum.

The cause of male genital pearly papules is not completely clear. Long foreskin, poor local hygiene, long-term irritation of the coronal sulcus secretions and stains, or other factors, such as infection causing local swelling and other inflammatory sensations, may be the direct cause of the disease.

Clinical symptoms

Male genital pearly papules are common in men around 20 to 40 years old. The lesions mainly occur at the junction of the edge of the glans penis and the coronal sulcus and/or the frenulum of the penis. The main manifestations are papules of 1 to 3 mm in size, located on both sides of the frenulum of the penis. The top of the papules is round and smooth, and some papules are hairy or flocculent. The papules are combined with each other, mostly clustered and arranged in one or several rows, which are prominent between the glans penis bones and may partially or completely surround the glans penis. The color is mostly pearly white, very few are dark red, skin color, and some may be slightly swollen. There is no pain, no rupture, and the patient has no obvious active symptoms.

Confirmation and diagnosis

From the perspective of clinical medicine, histopathology and human papillomavirus testing, it can be distinguished from genital warts, and the diagnosis is not difficult.

The key point of diagnosis of male genital pearly papules and condylar warts is that the former type of lesions are limited to the edge of the glans penis, with a large number of lesions, pearly milky white papules, smooth surface, and no enlargement with the increase of medical history, and the glacial acetic acid test is negative; while the latter type of lesions are not limited to the edge of the glans penis, but are mostly scattered alone, with large lesions, uneven surface, and mostly cauliflower-like growths. They gradually expand with the increase of medical history, the glacial acetic acid test is positive, and histopathological examination shows hollow cells.

Healing

Male genital pearly papules are a kind of benign disease that can disappear on its own after a certain period of time. Some people can persist for decades without change. Since the disease is non-infectious and goes with the body and mind, it usually does not require special treatment. To prevent the symptom from worsening, you should pay attention to daily cleanliness and keep dry. If the patient requires treatment, laser treatment, cold treatment or topical medication can be used, but remember to avoid excessive damage to cause scarring and pain to the patient. Some patients may have relapses after the above treatment. If the patient has a long foreskin, circumcision surgery is suitable to prevent irritation from urine scale.