Syphilis inside penis issue?

Sexual health
1

hi,

is it possible for syphilis to cause discomfort inside the urethra of a penis? Even 3 month after a possible exposure

2

Hi Potts,

The simple answer to your question is YES. But it’s now 3 months since possible exposure and the best thing you can do now to allay your concerns is to get tested for syphilis. If the blood test is negative, that should be the end of it, as the incubation period for syphilis is up to 90 days.

In clinical terms, if you had syphilis inside your penis (i.e. urethral or meatal syphilis) your penis would be sore and swollen and your lymph nodes in your groin would also be quite swollen. And, if it’s now 90 days into your (suspected) infection, you’d be showing signs of secondary syphilis. Typically, you’d be unwell with a whole-body rash (classically, including a rash on the palms and soles), a mild fever, hair loss, etc. I think you’d know that something wasn’t right if that was the case.

Please get tested.

Rgds,
Adhari.

3

Hi Adhari,

How common is it for syphilis to cause discomfort inside the penis?

The whole time since possible i have never had any feeling of unwell or rash etc so taking this as a positive. Just have this irritation inside the penis.

Is there anything else that could cause me this discomfort other than an std that you could think of?

thanks

4

Dear Potts,

Syphilis is a pretty unusual cause of urethral discomfort. I think I’ve seen maybe only two cases in 30+ years of clinical practice.

Far commoner are infections like chlamydia and gonorrhoea.

So try to get to a sexual health clinic and ask for a ‘full screen’ which entails urine tests for chlamydia and gonorrhoea but also blood tests for syphilis and HIV.

Rgds,
Adhari.