Let’s talk about venereal disease and genital skin disorders.

In many cases disorders of private parts are harrowing, for some patients even dangerous, and almost always accompanied by a heavy sense of shame. Not all those affected realize that dermatologists are also trained in the diagnosis and treatment of venereal disease and other genital disorders and deal with these afflictions in daily practice.

Once diagnosed correctly almost all venereal disorders can be cured completely. Untreated, however, they may result in major long-term damage ranging from syphilitic changes in the brain to inflammation of the ovaries and peritoneum, and even infertility, in gonorrhoea.

Not every itch in the genital area is caused by inflammation. Differential diagnosis must also include allergic and metabolic disorders such as diabetes. A much rarer disorder is lichen sclerosus where the penile or vaginal skin turns into callous connective tissue. While the initial phase of this disorder is dominated by itching, later on when the skin becomes rigid and inflexible there may be significant pain. If diagnostic work-up has ruled out an organic cause, psychosomatic complaints must be considered. Apart from standard medical care we also promote maintaining the immune system balance of the genital mucous membranes by natural measures, e.g., with lactic acid bacteria, homoeopathy and tannic baths.