the penis gallery
September 1, 2010 9:33 PM
Should I be concerned about this spot on my penis?
Circumcised. I have a slightly shiny reddish spot (about the size of a small lentil) just above the pee hole (that being the scientific term). It does not hurt, itch, or otherwise feel uncomfortable at all. It looks like it would feel a little scaly, but in fact there is no difference in texture and if I felt the area with my eyes closed I would have no idea the spot was there. There is no pus or ulcer underneath or anything like that-- it just looks like a slightly tough circle of skin. It is normally slightly more reddish than my normal skin tone, but when I get hard and especially when I ejaculate it takes on a darker red and looks more defined.
I've been moderately, but not very, sexually active in the past while. That is to say, it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility to have some sort of STD but I would be a little surprised.
I had a similar spot (but more irregular and less round) a year or two ago. It was similarly sensationless and went away within a few weeks to a month. Other than these, I have never had any untoward marks in my genital area.
Sorry to massively beanplate this. I know you can't diagnose me, and I'm not asking you to. But I want to know whether I should be very concerned or whether it's something that is most likely nothing and I can casually ask my doctor about whenever I happen to see him next. Basically when I poked around online it was all "AAAAAAH YOU DEFINITELY HAVE SYPHILIS!!!". I tend to get very easily freaked out by sensationalistic e-diagnosing, so a realistic appraisal of the possibilities would be helpful. Thanks.
Circumcised. I have a slightly shiny reddish spot (about the size of a small lentil) just above the pee hole (that being the scientific term). It does not hurt, itch, or otherwise feel uncomfortable at all. It looks like it would feel a little scaly, but in fact there is no difference in texture and if I felt the area with my eyes closed I would have no idea the spot was there. There is no pus or ulcer underneath or anything like that-- it just looks like a slightly tough circle of skin. It is normally slightly more reddish than my normal skin tone, but when I get hard and especially when I ejaculate it takes on a darker red and looks more defined.
I've been moderately, but not very, sexually active in the past while. That is to say, it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility to have some sort of STD but I would be a little surprised.
I had a similar spot (but more irregular and less round) a year or two ago. It was similarly sensationless and went away within a few weeks to a month. Other than these, I have never had any untoward marks in my genital area.
Sorry to massively beanplate this. I know you can't diagnose me, and I'm not asking you to. But I want to know whether I should be very concerned or whether it's something that is most likely nothing and I can casually ask my doctor about whenever I happen to see him next. Basically when I poked around online it was all "AAAAAAH YOU DEFINITELY HAVE SYPHILIS!!!". I tend to get very easily freaked out by sensationalistic e-diagnosing, so a realistic appraisal of the possibilities would be helpful. Thanks.
You should see a doctor now even if it is probably nothing because diagnosis may be impossible without seeing the spot.
I'm not saying OMG YOU HAS STDS! I am saying that you and your future partners will be happier if you get it checked out. Imagine telling your next partner, after sex, "I've had some lentil-sized, shiny reddish spots appear on my penis from time to time, but I'm sure they are nothing." They are likely to want a doctor's opinion rather than yours, will likely be pissed that you did not inform them of the risk before sex, and will likely be even more pissed if there is no way for a doctor to assess the risk when the spot isn't present. The alternative isn't much fun either: do you really want to tell you next partner that you may or may not have an STD but don't know?
The good news is that asking, "What's this spot?" is a completely legitimate, not-a-big-deal reason to schedule an appointment with a doctor.*
*Some doctors get huffy when people ask these sorts of questions. These are bad doctors. Any doctor who gets mad that you, a non-doctor, don't know the difference between an STD symptom and an abrasion should not be your doctor since, obviously, you wouldn't need a doctor if you knew the difference.
posted by Marty Marx at 10:01 PM on September 1, 2010
I'm not saying OMG YOU HAS STDS! I am saying that you and your future partners will be happier if you get it checked out. Imagine telling your next partner, after sex, "I've had some lentil-sized, shiny reddish spots appear on my penis from time to time, but I'm sure they are nothing." They are likely to want a doctor's opinion rather than yours, will likely be pissed that you did not inform them of the risk before sex, and will likely be even more pissed if there is no way for a doctor to assess the risk when the spot isn't present. The alternative isn't much fun either: do you really want to tell you next partner that you may or may not have an STD but don't know?
The good news is that asking, "What's this spot?" is a completely legitimate, not-a-big-deal reason to schedule an appointment with a doctor.*
*Some doctors get huffy when people ask these sorts of questions. These are bad doctors. Any doctor who gets mad that you, a non-doctor, don't know the difference between an STD symptom and an abrasion should not be your doctor since, obviously, you wouldn't need a doctor if you knew the difference.
posted by Marty Marx at 10:01 PM on September 1, 2010
Could be a fungal infection (no, it doesn't mean you're unclean -- they just happen sometimes), which is easily treated with a prescription anti-fungal. Could also be an abrasion, but those usually heal quickly, scaling over and drying up and then the dry spot sloughing off. Could also be any number of other things, but the doctor should be able to easily identify it on sight. If it doesn't heal briskly (like start the healing process within a couple days) I'd say go see a doctor. As if I have to say this, but due dilligance: lay off the penis for awhile to let it do its own thing for a couple days.
posted by incessant at 10:34 PM on September 1, 2010
posted by incessant at 10:34 PM on September 1, 2010
It's really hard to tell one spot from another without a photo.
posted by treehorn+bunny at 11:16 PM on September 1, 2010
posted by treehorn+bunny at 11:16 PM on September 1, 2010
Just to nth seeing a doctor thing... It may be nothing - nobs are prone to the same conditions (pimples, freckles, eczema, bites, abrasions, etc) as any other piece of skin. But they also get some rare and horrible things, like Paget's disease of the penis.
Your doctor should be able to tell you quickly and painlessly whether you've got something to worry about.
posted by Ahab at 11:56 PM on September 1, 2010
Your doctor should be able to tell you quickly and painlessly whether you've got something to worry about.
posted by Ahab at 11:56 PM on September 1, 2010
Its probably nothing but you should see your doctor about only because he'll probably need to see it and possibly (but hopefully not) poke it and/or take a biopsy (I REALLY hope not) or something. For myself, I'll put off seeing a doctor for anything not broken or squirting blood that I can't sew up myself but any issues with my dangle get checked out ASAP.
posted by VTX at 6:00 AM on September 2, 2010
posted by VTX at 6:00 AM on September 2, 2010
It's probably nothing, but go see a urologist anyway. They've seen EVERYTHING.
posted by eas98 at 6:59 AM on September 2, 2010
posted by eas98 at 6:59 AM on September 2, 2010
I'm iffy on this whole thing. Personally I'm usually one of the few people are in the camp of waiting it out a bit before you rack up an $800.00 bill for a stubbed toe.
I *ahem* had a rash appear recently and I was a bit bummed. Currently, even though I love my job, I'm not really rolling in the dough and heading to the doctor's office would have put a serious dent in my wallet. So I started to look up every sympton I had and double check what the what I possibly could have. It turns out my total cost was around $7.50 for an OTC cream. I'm not suggesting this for everyone. If it's something like Syphillis, which goes away and then pops back up years later as dementia, is not something to screw around with.
All that being said, I have no idea what you have and it would take someone with a discerning eye or a hell of lot of comparative pics to even try.
posted by P.o.B. at 11:16 AM on September 2, 2010
I *ahem* had a rash appear recently and I was a bit bummed. Currently, even though I love my job, I'm not really rolling in the dough and heading to the doctor's office would have put a serious dent in my wallet. So I started to look up every sympton I had and double check what the what I possibly could have. It turns out my total cost was around $7.50 for an OTC cream. I'm not suggesting this for everyone. If it's something like Syphillis, which goes away and then pops back up years later as dementia, is not something to screw around with.
All that being said, I have no idea what you have and it would take someone with a discerning eye or a hell of lot of comparative pics to even try.
posted by P.o.B. at 11:16 AM on September 2, 2010
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posted by sanko at 9:41 PM on September 1, 2010