Identify this STD, please.

December 6, 2012 9:40 PM

Asking for a friend (semi-NSFW): I noticed a white discharge coming from somewhere it shouldn't... What STD is this?

I know that YANAD, and I'm planning on seeing one tomorrow. Here's the basic situation. Had unprotected sex twice recently. Once, last night, once a week or so ago. Noticed a slight burning sensation in my penis today, but didn't think too much of it. Just now, I've realized that there's a milky, white discharge coming out of it.

Is this chlamydia, gonorrhea, or something else? Is there anything I can do about it tonight? Or should I just chill out and see the doctor tomorrow.

posted by dkleinst to health & fitness (9 answers total)

See a doctor tomorrow. Don't have sex with a person till you do.
posted by taff at 9:43 PM on December 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Could be a yeast infection. In any case, the doc will have meds for you. It's good that you're seeing them tomorrow.
posted by Sidhedevil at 9:43 PM on December 6, 2012

You can't tell by looking at it. Gotta go get tested. Nothing to be done except what taff said - no sex! And be sure to tell all partners as soon as you find out what the deal is.
posted by treehorn+bunny at 9:47 PM on December 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

See a doctor. Seriously, there's no way to diagnose this without a culture. I had a penis issue years ago, and the doctor was all "Oh my God, that's [std]!!!!!" After the culture was done, they were super apologetic and had to admit that it wasn't an STD at all, and instead was just a totally normal and mysterious infection like you might get in your ear or whatever.

The point being, calm down, go to the doctor, take the antibiotics they prescribe, and follow up with a specialist ASAP if it doesn't clear up. Also, request (or go to the anonymous clinic if you prefer) to be tested for HIV at the same time -- early detection is way better than late detection; knowledge is health. Your primary care doctor may well not suggest it, even if you say admit unprotected sex. A lot of doctors aren't very well prepared to deal with sexual issues, and they get embarrassed and don't want to suggest that their patient whom they like and maybe even identify with might have a disease that they associate with drug users and suchlike. You need to take responsibility for your health, and this is where it happens.
posted by Forktine at 10:16 PM on December 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

Yup, you should chill out and see a doctor tomorrow. One that specializes in reproductive health would be best, like at a PP clinic, but your GP will be fine.

In the mean time, you have contact information for both of the people you had sex with right? If you do have an STI it is significantly more likely to have come from your earlier partner and is likely to have exposed your more recent partner. Those awkward phone calls - DON'T TEXT THIS - are one of the most core responsibilities of people who have sex. The internet is already full of good advice as to how to make it.
posted by Blasdelb at 12:07 AM on December 7, 2012

And, just as a side note: really good handwashing ! You (like everyone else) rub your eye far more often than you realize. You don't want to be transferring anything from down below to your eye. Really.
posted by wjm at 4:38 AM on December 7, 2012 [3 favorites]

This symptom can be anything from gonorrhea to a reaction to soap/thrush in a partner or..er..damage from overuse. You should definitely get it checked out as it is a common symptom of chlamydia.
posted by Dorothea_in_Rome at 2:34 PM on December 7, 2012

While I agree that an HIV test is a good idea, it's generally recommended that you wait a minimum of 3 weeks after unprotected sex (or other so-called 'risky' behaviours) before getting tested - it takes at least that long for the virus to replicate and be detectable in most people. A false negative doesn't help anyone! It's normally recommended that you get re-tested at the 3 month point - so, 90 days after potential exposure. (That said, it is very difficult to actually get HIV - but having an STI increases your risk of getting it.)

STIs that cause burning when urinating and/or white discharge include yeast infection, gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis.. and a few others. Many STIs don't have symptoms right away, or you get minimal symptoms showing up (and there are a lot where no symptoms pop up at all but you are still very much contagious!). Either way, if you do have an STI, you're going to need medical treatment and there's nothing you can do tonight to remedy it.

I don't know how old you are, but if you've had the "umbrella" STI test in the past, you'll be happy to know that most STI testing is now done with a simple urine test and/or swab. No more umbrella-up-the-urethra! Huzzah!

I'd (not a doctor) suggest drinking plenty of water to dilute your urine and make the peeing less painful. And maybe spend some time buying condoms that you wouldn't mind using in the future (there's plenty of interesting varieties online from which to choose!). Don't have any of The Sex until you know what's going on.
posted by VioletU at 4:06 PM on December 8, 2012

Also, even if this appears to go away, make for damn sure you get tested anyway. There are a bunch of STIs like syphilis that sometimes have symptoms like yours and then appear to go away while they hide in your system, sterilize you, and then sometimes slowly kill you while it infects the other people you sleep with. Don't do that.
posted by Blasdelb at 2:03 AM on December 9, 2012