Indian man had "whitish eruption" on genitalia - but no STIs and insisted he hadn't cheated on his wife

Doctors have been stumped after a man came to hospital with an unexplained "whitish eruption" on his genitalia.

According to health experts, a man in his 20s arrived in hospital with lichen planus - a white lacy coating - on the shaft of his genitals. He told doctors in Wardha, India that it had been there for more than five months, with "mild itching and discomfort".

There were no signs of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and the man insisted he had been faithful to his wife too.

Reporting the case to the BMJ, Dr Bhushan Madke said: "A young man in his late 20s presented with a whitish eruptionon his glans penis for the past five months. There were no symptoms during sexual activity.

"He was in a monogamous relationship with his wife and denied having sexual activity outside his marriage. Genital examination showed lacy reticular eruption extending onto the shaft. There were no skin lesions on his body.

"Laboratory work-up for sexually transmitted infections was negative. The patient did not give consent for a biopsy from the lesion. He was prescribed a superpotent topical steroid cream to be applied once a day."