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Balanitis - Management
Basis for recommendation
These recommendations are based on expert advice from review articles [Edwards, 1996; English et al, 1997] and the UK national guideline on the management of balanoposthitis from the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV [BASHH, 2008].
- Hygiene advice:
- Testing partners for candidal, streptococcal, and Gardnerella infection:
- Testing and treating partners who have a proven candidal or Gardnerella infection will prevent reinfection and recurrent balanitis.
- Studies have shown that in men with candidal balanitis, their partner is more likely to have a candidal infection [Davidson, 1977; Mayser, 1999].
- Studies have shown that in women with Gardnerella vaginalis, their male partners have high rates of Gardnerella in their urine or urethra [Edwards, 1996].
- The primary reservoir for group B beta-haemolytic streptococci is the female genital tract, and sexual transmission is the most likely cause of streptococcal balanitis [English et al, 1997].
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