A37-year-old married man presented to his GP with a 4-day history of itching and painless swelling of his penis. He was treated with a compound antifungal, anti-inflammatory disinfectant cream (Timodine cream, Reckitt & Colman, Hull) without response. Three days later, the patient attended the accident and emergency department at his local hospital with the same complaint. He was diagnosed as having an ‘infected penis’, and was advised instead to attend the genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinic. At the GUM clinic, the patient denied any history of allergy or genital trauma before his complaint. He was in a monogamous sexual relationship with his wife, and only practised peno-insertive vaginal intercourse. He had sexual intercourse 2 weeks previously. There was no significant past medical history. On examination, he was overweight and apyrexial. There was a painless diffusely swollen penis with a ring of crusts at the tip of the foreskin and purulent discharge around the glans penis. There was no urethral discharge and no inguinal lymphadenopathy (Figure 1). There was tenderness on attempting to retract the foreskin. Routine urinalysis for pyuria and proteinuria were negative. Screening for urethral gonococcal and chlamydial infections were negative. However, culture of the purulent discharge taken from the subpreputial sac grew beta-haemolytic group A Streptococcus pyogenes. The patient was initially treated with a 2-week course of amoxycillin and flucloxacillin, and his condition improved dramatically after 4 days.