To maintain your sexual health, your penis needs to be healthy in the first place. However, penis health is not just all about erections and ejaculations. If you’re experiencing problems with your penis, it can be a symptom of an underlying medical condition.
When you’ve got penis problems, it can spill over to other aspects of your life and affect your overall quality of life. Penis problems can adversely affect your self-image and confidence. It can also impact your sexual health as well as your interpersonal relationships. Take a look at the following five symptoms of penile problems.
#1 Burning Pain During Urination Or Ejaculation
When you feel a burning pain in your penis while you’re urinating or during ejaculation, it can be a sign of either urinary tract infection or a sexually transmitted disease. A gonorrhea infection, for instance, can cause your urethra to become inflamed. The inflammation then causes the burning pain whenever urine or semen passes through the urethra.
When the burning pain is accompanied by a frequent need to urinate or pain just above your pubic bone, you may be suffering from a urinary tract infection. This may also be accompanied by blood in your urine.
#2 Bruises On Your Penis
Bruises on your sex organ can give you a purple penis. This can happen if the blood vessels found under the penile skin break. When these tiny blood vessels break, they leak blood which leads to bruising. If you’ve had a zipper mishap or if you masturbated intensely, it could cause your penis to become bruised.
If the bruising was caused by a severe sports injury or physical trauma to the penis, make sure to get medical attention right away as there may be more internal damage to the penis than just broken blood vessels.
The bruise may turn reddish as the damage heals. However, if you notice that the bruised area has become bigger or if you continue to feel tenderness and pain, you should consult your healthcare provider.
If it’s just a minor bruise, the bruised spot will usually feel soft or tender. However, if it’s hematoma, the purple spot will feel lumpy or firm. This could be a sign of a bleeding event. Because the nerves and tissues in the penis are very sensitive, a penile hematoma requires immediate medical attention so that the doctor can find out what caused the bleeding and treat it right away.
Blood spots can also turn your penis purple. Unlike hematoma or minor bruises, blood spots are more serious because they usually herald a more serious medical condition such as blood vessel inflammation or a clotting problem.
#3 Penile Discharge
When something other than urine or semen comes out of your penis, that’s considered as penile discharge. If you got infected with Trichomonas, gonorrhea, or chlamydia, the infection can result in a greenish or yellowish penile discharge.
Any type of bacteria, virus, or yeast can cause abnormal penile discharge. Depending on the cause of the discharge, it may be foul-smelling or odorless, and the color may also vary. If it’s a chlamydia infection, the discharge will look white or cloudy and it will be watery. A gonorrhea infection, on the other hand, is usually accompanied by a yellowish discharge.
If you’re also experiencing testicular swelling or if you notice that there’s pus or blood in the discharge, it would be best to consult your doctor as soon as possible. Note that a smelly discharge, accompanied by other symptoms like a bleeding sore on the penis or lumps in the penis, may be a sign of penile cancer.
#4 Growth On The Penis
When you’re seeing things growing on your penis like bumps, warts, or blisters, that’s definitely not normal. Penile bumps can be as benign as pimples or pearly penile papules which are typically harmless. The papules are normally located on the glans and are usually arranged in a row. These are different from penile warts.
Warts growing on the penis, unlike bumps, are more dangerous. Genital warts or venereal warts are almost always caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), which is a sexually transmitted disease. HPV-caused warts grow in the genital area as well as in the area surrounding the anus. These warts can be itchy and painful, causing a lot of discomfort.
Sores or ulcers on the penis are common signs of a sexually transmitted infection. It may be caused by syphilis or herpes. If it’s herpes, it will start out as a watery blister. When the blister disappears, it will turn into a pit or shallow ulcer that’s usually painful or itchy.
If you’re feeling other bumps or lumps inside your penis or on the penile skin, and you’ve recently had unprotected sex, be sure to see your doctor. It may be nothing, but just to be on the safe side, have it checked anyway.
#5 Swollen Tip
Balanitis is a common condition affecting uncircumcised men. The condition is characterized by the swelling of the penis tip or foreskin and is often painful. Balanitis is usually caused by bacterial or yeast infection in the foreskin.
Irritation of the foreskin can also lead to balanitis. When the soap you’re using causes the foreskin to become dry, it can cause irritation leading to balanitis. Applying scented lotions or scented soaps on your penis can also cause penile skin irritation.
There are also instances wherein balanitis happens as a side effect of taking certain medications. The swelling may also be caused by sexually transmitted diseases and uncontrolled diabetes. Balanitis is often accompanied by painful urination because the swelling puts pressure on the urethra.
Tips To Keep Your Penis Healthy
Many of these penis problems can be prevented by maintaining proper hygiene. Uncircumcised men need to pay more attention to their penis than circumcised men do, simply because the foreskin is an ideal place for bacteria and yeast to grow.
This can be avoided simply by making sure you also wash the area beneath your foreskin. After sex, you should also make sure that your foreskin is returned back to its normal position.
Practicing safe sex is a great way to keep your penis healthy. Using condoms every time you engage in sexual intercourse can help you avoid various sexually transmitted diseases. You should also consider getting an HPV vaccination. This can help you avoid genital warts.
