Aa
Bacterial Infection?
I'm a 27 y/o male.
5.5 months ago, had unprotected oral and vaginal sex with a female I met at a bar. No unprotected sex since. Nothing "showed up", so I thought nothing of it. 3 weeks ago, I noticed smegma (I'm uncircumcised), and had strange smelling urine/semen (asparagus-y). Used lamisil topically, which has seemed to help. Got tested for STDs just to be safe 11 days ago, and the free clinic still doesn't have results. Couple days after the test, my urethra became red and sore, and has remained that way. My testicles are super sensitive. Doesn't hurt when I pee, except for some discomfort at the tip where the irritation is. Clinic tested for syphilis (blood), chlamydia/gonorrhea (swab), HIV (negative). Not NGU or Trich. Q's:
-Likelihood of developing symptoms 5.5 months later for any STD?
-Irritated urethra only AFTER testing? Any experience with a swab causing this? Is it indicative of any STD?
-If negative for Chlamydia, should I test for NGU/Trich?
-Is the smegma/strange urine/semen smell an indication of an STD, or can you speculate on whether its bacterial and/or fungal in nature?
-If one of my tests were positive, would someone have contacted me by now?
Not a paranoid or anxious person by nature, but this red urethra is a real bummer! Lol, thanks doc!
5.5 months ago, had unprotected oral and vaginal sex with a female I met at a bar. No unprotected sex since. Nothing "showed up", so I thought nothing of it. 3 weeks ago, I noticed smegma (I'm uncircumcised), and had strange smelling urine/semen (asparagus-y). Used lamisil topically, which has seemed to help. Got tested for STDs just to be safe 11 days ago, and the free clinic still doesn't have results. Couple days after the test, my urethra became red and sore, and has remained that way. My testicles are super sensitive. Doesn't hurt when I pee, except for some discomfort at the tip where the irritation is. Clinic tested for syphilis (blood), chlamydia/gonorrhea (swab), HIV (negative). Not NGU or Trich. Q's:
-Likelihood of developing symptoms 5.5 months later for any STD?
-Irritated urethra only AFTER testing? Any experience with a swab causing this? Is it indicative of any STD?
-If negative for Chlamydia, should I test for NGU/Trich?
-Is the smegma/strange urine/semen smell an indication of an STD, or can you speculate on whether its bacterial and/or fungal in nature?
-If one of my tests were positive, would someone have contacted me by now?
Not a paranoid or anxious person by nature, but this red urethra is a real bummer! Lol, thanks doc!
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome to the forum and thanks for your question.
I'm confident this is no STD, certainly not from the exposure 5+ months ago. As you suggest yourself, it's too long; no STD causing any such symptoms is likely to first show up more than a month after exposure.
Your initial symptoms were consistent with nonspecific balanitis (the medical term for inflammation of the head of the penis), which is common in uncircumcised men. A fungus may be involved, but most cases have no clearly defined cause. Your subsequent urethral discomfort might be an allergic reaction or other irritation from the Lamisil; and certainly passing a urethral swab can also be irritating. My guess is that the other symptoms, especially testicular "sensitivity", is the result of anxiety magnifying normal body sensations or trivial symptoms that would otherwise be ignored or not even noticed.
For those reasons, it is unlikely your STD tests will be positive. But with your continuing symptoms, I recommend you return to the clinic for reexamination and to discuss your STD test resuls in person.
Those comments pretty well cover your specific questions, but just to be very clear:
1) Very unlikely to have onset of STD symptoms this late after exposure.
2) No need to test for NGU or trichomonas. Even you had one of these from the exposure 5 months ago, they would normally have cleared up on their own long before now.
3) These are typical symptoms of "nonspecific" balanitis. The main treatment and prevention are simple hygiene, i.e. retract the foreskin and wash with soap and water every day.
4) I can't speak for the clinic's policy about automatic notification. Probably yes for positive results, but not necessarily for negative ones. Given them a call (or return) to be certain.
I hope this has helped. Best wishes-- HHH, MD
I'm confident this is no STD, certainly not from the exposure 5+ months ago. As you suggest yourself, it's too long; no STD causing any such symptoms is likely to first show up more than a month after exposure.
Your initial symptoms were consistent with nonspecific balanitis (the medical term for inflammation of the head of the penis), which is common in uncircumcised men. A fungus may be involved, but most cases have no clearly defined cause. Your subsequent urethral discomfort might be an allergic reaction or other irritation from the Lamisil; and certainly passing a urethral swab can also be irritating. My guess is that the other symptoms, especially testicular "sensitivity", is the result of anxiety magnifying normal body sensations or trivial symptoms that would otherwise be ignored or not even noticed.
For those reasons, it is unlikely your STD tests will be positive. But with your continuing symptoms, I recommend you return to the clinic for reexamination and to discuss your STD test resuls in person.
Those comments pretty well cover your specific questions, but just to be very clear:
1) Very unlikely to have onset of STD symptoms this late after exposure.
2) No need to test for NGU or trichomonas. Even you had one of these from the exposure 5 months ago, they would normally have cleared up on their own long before now.
3) These are typical symptoms of "nonspecific" balanitis. The main treatment and prevention are simple hygiene, i.e. retract the foreskin and wash with soap and water every day.
4) I can't speak for the clinic's policy about automatic notification. Probably yes for positive results, but not necessarily for negative ones. Given them a call (or return) to be certain.
I hope this has helped. Best wishes-- HHH, MD
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
I'm glad to have helped. Thanks for the thanks.
Thanks for the thorough response, I very much appreciate it.
You are reading content posted in the STDs Forum
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Millions of people are diagnosed with STDs in the U.S. each year.
STDs can't be transmitted by casual contact, like hugging or touching.
Syphilis is an STD that is transmitted by oral, genital and anal sex.
