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Slight redness a couple centimeters inside urethra, mild stinging while urinating

Hello,

So I have some concerns, and strictly need to ease my anxiety. About a year (April 2011) ago I noticed some stinging at the tip of my urethra after urinating. Over time I also developed what appeared to be frequent urination, dribbling after going, and the feeling that I still have to pee after emptying my bladder. This occurred sporadically, coming and going, and I simply ignored it.

Back up to December 2010. I had unprotected sex with a girl I was dating, and for the next fourteen months I lived in a state of fear and panic that I had herpes. This was based on nothing more than my own anxiety, as I never exhibited symptoms. In fact, the girl claimed she got tested AFTER we had sex, and revealed she was 100% negative.

Fast forward to February. I'm dating a new girl, and things are going well. The slight stinging came back, so I went to the doctor and she gave me a full work-up, including an IgG test for HSV1 and 2. The results were incredibly negative - 0.04 and 0.05, so I know without a doubt that the girl I had unprotected sex with did not give me herpes. You'd think  my paranoia would end, but alas, it did not.

Now within the past week it's been stinging pretty bad after urinating. I finally went to a walk-in clinic, and the doctor there peered inside my urethra with a light, and said he noticed some redness and, I quote, "it looks like a lesion." I panicked. He then went on to say that "lesion" was a catch all term for any sort of redness on  thin mucus membrane, and I asked that we look again.

So we looked again, and upon closer examination, he basically said "That doesn't really look like anything. It's just some redness. If it was herpes, it would hurt all the time, and be bigger and probably coming out of the tip of the urethra. Don't worry about it."

When it comes to what a herpes sore looks like, I suppose he's right, but I'm still scared. He prescribed Cipro for the other symptoms, but stated that prostatitis wouldn't cause redness in the urethra like that. A Urologist I spoke to online said that it can, so I'm kind of freaked out about the differing diagnoses. Both, however, suggested Cipro.

Does this sound like herpes? I've had sex all of six or seven times since the unprotected incident, all protected, with my now ex, who is 100% adamant she's clean. She's never had a single symptom. I imagine if it were herpes that I caught from her, and this was my first outbreak, I'd be having other symptoms, such as the flu-like symptoms, and the "redness," or whatever it is, would be far more painful. But there's also the case that I A) tested negative, and B) have had this stinging pain for over year off and on, and C) have other symptoms that line up with prostatitis.

Am I worried over nothing? All urine tests also came back clean as well - no bacteria or anything was detected.
15 Responses
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Avatar universal
Same issues here. Redness, inflammation, swelling at the very tip and an occasional purplish bruised area. All texts negative including 3 herpes tests over the course of 6 months cus i too am paranoid
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Did this ever get resolved? I am experiencing the same symptoms and my provider is baffled.
Helpful - 0
3149845 tn?1506627771
Hi, this is very old post
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I've had similar symptoms to you for 9 months, mine started out in complete agony and now it's just a constant burning.. Inside the tip on the left hand side is red and sting (like a cold burning) to touch. My glands are all bumpy (circumcised) and red (only red on the left side). Is this the same symptoms as you? Is yours worse depending on what you eat? I also now has a coldness in my penis and an itchy rash on my testicles/anus you don't have these though, do you?
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Avatar universal
I literally have the exact same symptoms. After unprotected sex i have purpleness and bright redness inside urethra...it stings when i touch the inside of it, or it rubs up against shorts. It also came w a light pink rash on glans near meatus that doesnt go away w any creams. Ive tried 10 days of cipro, also flagyl and zpak. Also tried diflucan and miconazole and clomitrizole in case it was fungal...nothing makes the stinging or rash go away...this doesnt come and go its just been consistent for 6 months, no outer lesions. Urologist recommended a biopsy on the lesion inside....did you ever have anything done? Did you get the problem solved?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Thanks. My ex has been saying the same thing. It just seems weird to have all this weird **** going on inside my urethra, and I think the fact that i merely think "herpes" is causing me to stress out. I just wish I knew what was causing it. The purplish spot on the right side doesn't really hurt or anything, though it feels weird still on the left, which is red and just looks like a recession. Right now that's my new biggest fear, but I guess I should just trust my test results, as you said.
Helpful - 0
101028 tn?1419603004
indeed you should be trusting your provider and your test results :)
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Because I'm horribly paranoid? I saw a urologist today - he said everything looked more or less normal, and that it doesn't look like herpes. Still, it's causing me concern. The doc basically said to keep taking the Cipro and see what happens. A prostate exam also revealed pretty bad pain when he pushed. I just want to know WHAT it is that's causing it look that way. I still don't buy the notion that the purplish area and the redness (it almost looks like it's recessed on one side) is caused by prostatitis or normal. C'ets la vie I guess. Guess I should just trust the doctor and my test results.

Any more reassurance would be awesome.
Helpful - 0
101028 tn?1419603004
why are you still thinking herpes???
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Avatar universal
Grace, if I may ask: What does urethral herpes look like? Would it look white? Would there be more than one? There is still slight pain when I urinate, and the right inside tip of my penis looks almost...engorged? Like there's a small purplish bump that looks like a swollen vein of some sort. Also, like you said, I imagine by this point (at least five days later), the pain would be unbearable.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Thanks. That really does put my mind at ease a bit. Considering I tested negative a month and a half ago and always had protected sex with my now ex-girlfriend, it seems unlikely that this would be herpes. A doctor the other day told me herpes travels along a nerve pathway, which is why it usually appears in the same area. Since no part of my urethra was uncovered during sex...yeah.

I did, however, look at it today and noticed the right side was all purplish and appeared mildly swollen, while the left looked like it was slightly shallow. Probably nothing, and just how it normally looks, and I'm just projecting a potential HSV diagnosis onto it.

If there's anything else you'd like to say to put my mind at ease, I won't stop you.
Helpful - 0
101028 tn?1419603004
urethral herpes hurts like crazy - it also doesn't cause the dribbling issues and such that you've had.
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Avatar universal
Grace, by that do you mean is urethral herpes something I KNOW I would have because of the pain/appearance?
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Avatar universal
i need help with my issue i also feel anxious . what do you think.

Please if your reading this leave some input. Advise thoughts any comfort. I went to the doctors today because i have paper like cuts on my vagina they always seem to come beofe or around the time i start my period. sex is also a pain when he penetrates. I have with the same person for 6 years but have had unprotected sex with 3 others in this past year. I left the doctors office in tears i have been crying all day. he tested me for herpes since i have a paper cut he was able to sample it. I dont know what to think. he also did an under the microscope test for yeast it was negative. i cant wait 5 days for my results. im so depressed :( HELP. why do i have paper cuts on my vagina.
Helpful - 0
101028 tn?1419603004
I've had herpes recurrences inside the urethra and trust me, what you are experiencing isn't it. It sounds more like a prostatitis issue than a std issue.

there is limited value in asking questions on various online forums to be honest. the best thing to do is to follow up with an urologist for a consult in a clinic.

grace
Helpful - 0
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