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Anxiety or Balanitis or Something else
Hi All
I had an encounter with CSW on 8th Dec with uncovered genital rubbing for a min and unfortunately one stroke of unprotected penetration post which I had stopped the activity.
In the first week of Jan, I had noticed swollen penis especially in the night, urgency to urinate frequently and not much comes out and very warm foreskin. I had tested negative for Chlamydia, Gonnohrea, Syphillis, HIV, Hep A,B,C.
My doctor says that he hasn’t got any diagnosis to provide treatment and had prescribed a anti-fungal cream and few anti-inflammatory tabs. I had used these for 3 weeks now but still experience the swollen penis glans and irritated tip of penis which keeps me awake at night.
Is there any further testing I need to go through? Is this anxiety or STI? Please help
I had an encounter with CSW on 8th Dec with uncovered genital rubbing for a min and unfortunately one stroke of unprotected penetration post which I had stopped the activity.
In the first week of Jan, I had noticed swollen penis especially in the night, urgency to urinate frequently and not much comes out and very warm foreskin. I had tested negative for Chlamydia, Gonnohrea, Syphillis, HIV, Hep A,B,C.
My doctor says that he hasn’t got any diagnosis to provide treatment and had prescribed a anti-fungal cream and few anti-inflammatory tabs. I had used these for 3 weeks now but still experience the swollen penis glans and irritated tip of penis which keeps me awake at night.
Is there any further testing I need to go through? Is this anxiety or STI? Please help
When you say your penis is swollen, is it visibly swollen or does it feel swollen?
Your chances of an STD are slim with such a brief exposure, but of course, not zero. The only test you haven't done is mycoplasma.
However, and I am very surprised your doctor missed this, is your symptoms of urgency of urination and not a lot coming out can be symptoms of prostatitis.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/prostatitis/symptoms-causes/syc-20355766
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/15319-prostatitis#symptoms-and-causes
The irritation at the tip of your penis - at the meatus, or opening - is also another sign of this.
https://www.healthline.com/health/burning-tip-of-urethra-no-std
Is your doctor a urologist? If not, you should ask to be referred to one. I hope this helps.
Your chances of an STD are slim with such a brief exposure, but of course, not zero. The only test you haven't done is mycoplasma.
However, and I am very surprised your doctor missed this, is your symptoms of urgency of urination and not a lot coming out can be symptoms of prostatitis.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/prostatitis/symptoms-causes/syc-20355766
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/15319-prostatitis#symptoms-and-causes
The irritation at the tip of your penis - at the meatus, or opening - is also another sign of this.
https://www.healthline.com/health/burning-tip-of-urethra-no-std
Is your doctor a urologist? If not, you should ask to be referred to one. I hope this helps.
2 Comments
Thank you Auntie Jessie for your response. Doctors had done Ultrasound KUB and the results were normal. Also the urine flow rate drops only in the night when I am anxious or when I have the foreskin inflammation.. 90% of the time, the urine flow is normal. I had increased my intake of water too to have a better flow.
The swelling of opening is not visibly swollen, I find the top part of the glans to be hard/swollen when I feel the foreskin to be warm.
For mycoplasma, I will remind the doctor about it. Is it a prevalent STI and what are the chances from my encounter? I have no discharge in urine.
I am currently applying hydrocortisone cream for the past 2 weeks? Could the peeling of foreskin be due to that? The foreskin color turned pale white except for the red patches where it peeled off.
The swelling of opening is not visibly swollen, I find the top part of the glans to be hard/swollen when I feel the foreskin to be warm.
For mycoplasma, I will remind the doctor about it. Is it a prevalent STI and what are the chances from my encounter? I have no discharge in urine.
I am currently applying hydrocortisone cream for the past 2 weeks? Could the peeling of foreskin be due to that? The foreskin color turned pale white except for the red patches where it peeled off.
True prevalence rates of mycoplasma are kind of hard to know since it's a newer STD - or at least more newly known - and a lot of doctors don't even know about it. In the US, the FDA just approved a test for it in 2019.
The CDC has a bunch of different stats on it - https://www.cdc.gov/std/treatment-guidelines/mycoplasmagenitalium.htm
Rates where you are may be different, depending on how prevalent STIs are. Typically, the higher the prevalence of STIs are in an area, the higher the prevalence a certain STI will be.
The peeling could be from the hydrocortisone. Be careful with that. I wouldn't use it much longer. It can thin the skin and leave you with damage. Was that prescribed to you?
Could this be a foreskin issue?
There is something called posthitis, which is an inflammation of the foreskin - https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/posthitis
There is balanitis, which is irritation and inflammation of the glans of the penis (the head of the penis) - https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21186-balanitis
Then there is balanoposthitis, which is inflammation of the foreskin and the glans - https://www.healthline.com/health/mens-health/balanoposthitis
All of them can be caused by bacteria or fungus.
None would cause an urgency to urinate, probably, but anxiety, a UTI, dehydration, etc., can all cause that.
A doctor should see this, though.
The CDC has a bunch of different stats on it - https://www.cdc.gov/std/treatment-guidelines/mycoplasmagenitalium.htm
Rates where you are may be different, depending on how prevalent STIs are. Typically, the higher the prevalence of STIs are in an area, the higher the prevalence a certain STI will be.
The peeling could be from the hydrocortisone. Be careful with that. I wouldn't use it much longer. It can thin the skin and leave you with damage. Was that prescribed to you?
Could this be a foreskin issue?
There is something called posthitis, which is an inflammation of the foreskin - https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/posthitis
There is balanitis, which is irritation and inflammation of the glans of the penis (the head of the penis) - https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21186-balanitis
Then there is balanoposthitis, which is inflammation of the foreskin and the glans - https://www.healthline.com/health/mens-health/balanoposthitis
All of them can be caused by bacteria or fungus.
None would cause an urgency to urinate, probably, but anxiety, a UTI, dehydration, etc., can all cause that.
A doctor should see this, though.
You might look up the incubation periods of sexually transmitted diseases, it is possible that for some of those that take longer to develop, you were tested too early. One resource (out of many) is:
https://www.verywellhealth.com/how-long-before-std-symptoms-appear-3133026
https://www.verywellhealth.com/how-long-before-std-symptoms-appear-3133026
5 Comments
I got my STI tests done 6 weeks after exposure and also 8 weeks after exposure.. both of them were negative.. the urine test was also clear of wbc and protein and leukocytes.. are these conclusive at 8 weeks?
Any further tests are recommended at this point?
Any further tests are recommended at this point?
Auntiejessi, who writes on this forum, is the one to ask, and I believe she is off on the weekends. (All the community leaders here are volunteers.) I actually know more about balanitis than I do about STIs, the only thing that hit me about your post was that maybe you had tested too early for some of them. I suggest you wait for her response, she's totally the best when it comes to this kind of question. My other suggestion would be to consider other things. I don't know if men get urinary tract infections much, but if you were female I would be suggesting getting checked for a UTI. It doesn't sound a lot like balanitis, it sounds like your foreskin is irritated by something, but that doesn't necessarily make me feel like it has to be an STI. Keep in mind that when someone has done something they are anxious about (such as unprotected penetration with a CSW), they can focus so hard on it, that they miss something else obvious.
In case you haven't found this link, try:
https://www.healthline.com/health/swollen-penis#causes
One interesting idea there is that if someone has diabetes, they can have this complication. I'm not suggesting it in your case, just pointing out that it doesn't all have to come down to a sexually transmitted disease.
Good luck!
https://www.healthline.com/health/swollen-penis#causes
One interesting idea there is that if someone has diabetes, they can have this complication. I'm not suggesting it in your case, just pointing out that it doesn't all have to come down to a sexually transmitted disease.
Good luck!
Thank you Annie for trying to help out with the information.. I really appreciate your guidance on this matter.. the reason I mentioned Balanitis are due to red shiny patches on my penis glans as of the white layer of foreskin was peeling off..
My current symptoms are very dry foreskin, small painless shiny red patches on glans which appear on and off, inflamed and warm foreskin and slightly swollen penis head/tip especially in the middle of the night randomly .. no pain or discharge passing urine but when having the foreskin inflammation, there is urge to urinate but little urine comes out.
Also I had taken 1g of azithromycin and 2g of metrogyl out of anxiety at around 6 week mark despite the STI tests being negative.. could they be the reason for my foreskin issues? My blood tests, cholesterol and diabetes are normal, MSU urine test is clear. What’s wrong with me? This experience is so horrible and hope I can get back to my normal life again .. please help
My current symptoms are very dry foreskin, small painless shiny red patches on glans which appear on and off, inflamed and warm foreskin and slightly swollen penis head/tip especially in the middle of the night randomly .. no pain or discharge passing urine but when having the foreskin inflammation, there is urge to urinate but little urine comes out.
Also I had taken 1g of azithromycin and 2g of metrogyl out of anxiety at around 6 week mark despite the STI tests being negative.. could they be the reason for my foreskin issues? My blood tests, cholesterol and diabetes are normal, MSU urine test is clear. What’s wrong with me? This experience is so horrible and hope I can get back to my normal life again .. please help
Try looking up genital psoriasis.
https://www.papaa.org/learn-about-psoriasis-and-psoriatic-arthritis/further-resources/genital-psoriasis/
https://www.papaa.org/learn-about-psoriasis-and-psoriatic-arthritis/further-resources/genital-psoriasis/
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STDs can't be transmitted by casual contact, like hugging or touching.
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Discharge often isn't normal, and could mean an infection or an STD.
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