Penile Discharge

Discharge From The Penis

Discharge or fluid coming from the penis can happen for a variety of reasons. Penile discharge is often a symptom of an infection so seeking care quickly upon first discovery is important for your sexual and overall health.

What Is Penile Discharge?

Penile discharge is an all-encompassing term for the fluids (excluding semen and urine) that pass out through the urethra and out of the head of the penis. Penile discharge can come in a variety of colors and varying viscosity. Common patterns of discharge include everything from clear fluids to green, yellow and sometimes brown or red discolorations.

Penile discharge is often accompanied by one or more symptoms compounding the discomfort. Some of these symptoms include:

• Swelling in the Lymph Nodes around the genitals and groins

• A painful or itchy genital rash

• Overly frequent urination sensations

• Overly active urinary tract while sleeping

• Burning in the shaft and penis tip while urinating

What Causes Penile Discharge?

Penile discharge is caused by a variety of infections and health issues such as a urinary tract infection (UTI), a sexually transmitted infection (STI) or a number of other bacterium.

STDs that can cause penile discharge include chlamydia, gonorrhea, trichomoniasis, and least commonly, genital herpes. Other infections that cause discharge include mycoplasma genitalium infection, ureaplasma urealyticum infection, and urethritis.

How Long Does Penile Discharge Last?

Fluid may be continually discharged from the penis tip through the urethra for the duration of an infection. Once you have noticed any discharge fluid coming from the penis, or if you are experiencing any of the accompanying symptoms, you should consult with your healthcare provider or visit a sexual health clinic so you can get tested.

Just because you were experiencing discharge for a period of time and that discharge stopped or slowed down, you should still get a full STD screening as symptoms may come and go.

Most often any infection causing penile discharge can be easily treated with over the counter antibiotics and are harmless if caught and treated early. Untreated infections of the urethra could spread to other parts of the genitals and internal organs and significantly decrease fertility in the future.

Treatment of Penis Discharge

Depending on the type of infection detected there are a variety of prescription medications available for treatment.

Gonococcal Urethritis (Gonorrhea)

A single round of any of the following over the counter antibiotics will clear a gonorrhea infection:

• Ofloxacin

• Ciprofloxacin

• Cefixime

• Ceftriaxone

Antibiotics are prescribed on a case by case basis; a healthcare physician will assess a patient’s personal health history, existing medical conditions and medications before selecting the antibiotic.

Non-Specific Urethritis (NSU)

Non-specific urethritis can be caused by an infection associated with chlamydia, herpes, and multiple other types of bacteria.

NSU’s are most often treated with a full week cycle of broad-spectrum antibiotics such as doxycycline. Broad-spectrum antibiotics will clear out a wide range of bacterial infections which makes it a perfect solution for Non-Specific Urethritis.

Partners At Risk

Discharge from the penis is indicative of an infection from bacteria most likely spread through sexual contact. If you’re experiencing penile discharge you should immediately cut off sexual contact with your partner or partners and see your physician or a local health clinic to get tested. Failure to alert your partner(s) of a positive screening will result in the continued spread of the infection and will put their health at risk.