Discharge from the genitals can bother not only girls, but also men. Males have a normal discharge that is odorless. Their source is the urethra. In women, the discharge is called leucorrhoea. If you have noticed an unhealthy discharge in yourself, urgently go to a face-to-face appointment with a urologist.
Norm or pathology?
The urethra is the male urethra. From there they appear from time to time. There is such a thing as urethrorrhea. It can be physiological or libidinal. From the exit of the urethra, a discharge of a transparent shade appears. It happens in the morning, right after waking up or when a man is sexually aroused.
The urethrorrhea may be more pronounced or weaker. The lubricant released during arousal contains sperm. Therefore, if you do not want to have children yet, it is worth protecting yourself even with preliminary caresses by the genitals. Secretions in men help sperm to pass through the urethra and in and out of the partner's vagina. After all, the environment there is acidic, which adversely affects the life of sperm.
Defecation prostorrhoea can be the second leading cause of discharge in boys and men. When a man pushes, he has a discharge on the head of the penis that is odorless and colorless. They can sometimes have white-gray inclusions. Their consistency is viscous. These are the secretions of the prostate and seminal vesicles. The appearance is possible at the end of the emptying of the bladder. This is called micturition prostorrhoea. In extremely rare cases, a man notices such a discharge after coughing. It is not a disease, but a disorder that can be cured.
The next type of discharge from a man's genitals is. It understands the secret of the sebaceous glands of the head of the penis and the foreskin. If a man washes, changes his underwear, and does not wear someone else's underwear, these secretions will be washed away. And they won't be the center of attention. If the hygiene is not so good, there may be an accumulation of a fairly large amount of smegma. The pathological flora will multiply and develop there, because the genitals and underwear will smell bad.
Sperm
Sperm - discharge, in which there are a lot of smermia (spermatozoa). Sperm is released during ejaculation, that is, at the time of the peak of pleasure during a sexual intercourse of a different nature. Also, in a dream, men and boys sometimes have wet dreams, and then semen is also released from the penis.
Wet dreams mainly occur during puberty. It's 2 to 5 cases per month. But with changes in the balance of hormones, there can be wet dreams even several times a week. If semen does not flow from the penis at the moment of orgasm, it is called "". This is a disease caused by a violation of muscle tone in the vas deferens. Basically, this happens with diseases of the brain or chronic inflammation of the ducts.
Pathological discharge
The physiological secretions normally found in men and men are described above. Here we will look at releases associated with health issues. Basically, a pathological discharge from the urethra disturbs men with urethritis. This is an inflammatory process that develops in the urethra. Infection or non-infectious factors can cause urethritis.
The infection can be specific or non-specific. Specific is mainly trichomoniasis or gonorrhea. And nonspecific urethritis can be triggered by such pathogens:
- mycoplasma
- ureaplasma
- chlamydia
- herpes
- Staphylococcus aureus
- streptococcus
Non-infectious causes of urethritis and associated discharge from the genital tract:
- injury, stricture of the urethra
- irritation with chemicals
- mechanical damage to the mucous membrane
- influence of allergens
Discharge from the genital tract in men can be of different color, as well as transparency. It depends on the activity of inflammation, its stage, the type of flora caused. The composition of penis secretions includes:
- vase
- liquid
- cells of different origin
If there is a lot of the last named component, the discharge becomes cloudy, which the man himself can visually observe. If epithelial cells appear in the secretions in large numbers, the secretions thicken and acquire a gray tint.
Symptoms of candidiasis:
- white spots on penis head
- the head of the penis has an unpleasant odor, reminiscent of yeast or sour bread
- there are unpleasant sensations on the penis and in the perineal area: burning, itching, sometimes pain
- more secretions when emptying the bladder
- reddish spots on the tip of the penis and inside the foreskin
- white discharge at times other than urination
- pain during intercourse (on the head and on the foreskin)
- the sexual partner (wife, daughter) complains of discomfort up to pain during intercourse
- the partner has white discharge of a curd-like consistency
The second possible cause of white discharge in men is ureaplasmosis, chlamydia, mycoplasmosis. It can also be an inflammation of the prostate, the symptoms of which are:
- frequent urination
- discomfort during bowel movements
- burning in the perineum and urethra
- intermittent and difficult emptying of the bladder
- sexual disorders
If prostatitis is not treated, the erection will disappear, and it will also be impossible to conceive a child in the future. Therefore, if one or more of the above symptoms appear, seek immediate medical attention for a face-to-face consultation.
Trichomoniasis can cause yellow discharge in men. But in most cases, the disease has a latent course, that is, there will be no symptoms. If there are still symptoms, then there will be, among others, these:
- discomfort in the perineum
- feeling of heaviness in the lower abdomen
- frequent and overwhelming urge to urinate
- burning and stinging while urinating
Discharge with odor
The first possible (and most harmless) reason is a violation of hygiene. As mentioned above, smegma is normal male secretion (without disease). If you do not wash regularly, at least once a day, smegma accumulates, bacteria multiply in it, causing unpleasant odors. These scents may vary from person to person.
If you follow the rules of hygiene and the unpleasant smell is still present, the doctor may suspect a metabolic disorder. In such cases, the most common cause is diabetes mellitus. Smegma will stand out in a sufficiently large quantity, as the laundry will get wet.
Infections also cause smelly discharge in men. Basically, a pathological process occurs in the urethra. A doctor may suspect urethritis caused by a gonorrheal infection. The nature of the discharge is described above. If the discharge from the penis smells sour in men, urogenital candidiasis is most likely developing.
If the secretions from the genitals smell like fish, then most likely the man has gardnerellosis. The same pathogen in women causes a disease called. But these are very rare cases, in women the disease is much more common. Gardnerella is a conditionally pathogenic flora. It multiplies when exposed to certain factors. Development factors of gardnerellosis:
- promiscuous sex life
- tight synthetic underwear (made from unnatural materials)
- long courses of antibiotics or immunosuppressants
- spermicidal condoms
- urinary tract inflammation
- decreased immunity
Discharge with blood in men
The main reason is infection. The discharge may be completely bloody or include streaks of blood. If the infection multiplies in the urethra, you will notice such a symptom in yourself, but not necessarily. Urethritis is mainly caused in such cases by infection with Candida, Trichomonas or gonorrhea. The stronger the inflammation, the more blood is released.
The second probable reason is negligently performed medical manipulations. The urethra is injured, and therefore blood is released. Procedures that can damage the urethra:
- catheter placement
- catheter removal
- boudinage
- take a swab
- cystoscopy
Allocations with blood are simultaneous. It should be noted that in this case, scarlet blood, without clots, quickly stops.
The passage of stones, sand is the next cause of bloody discharge from the penis. They are secreted by the kidneys or the bladder and pass through the urethra. Microliths are hard, they damage the mucous membrane and the walls of blood vessels, which becomes the direct cause of bleeding. There are also painful sensations.
It also causes, in some cases, discharge with bloody inclusions. Blood in the urine that a man sees when he goes to the bathroom is called macroscopic hematuria. Then in parallel develop symptoms such as increased blood pressure, swelling.
There may also be an even more serious cause of bloody discharge in men and men - cancer. Malignant tumors can be such organs:
- testicles
- penis
- prostate, etc. . .
The blood will then be brown or dark, and blood clots will be present in the secretions.
Isolation of blood with sperm
Such a discharge is called "hematospermia". It can be true and false. If the hematospermia is false, then the blood mixes with the semen as it passes through the urethra. If this pathology is true, then the blood is mixed with semen even before crossing the urethra.
Hematospermia is manifested by such signs (clinical picture):
- urination disorders
- pain during ejaculation
- discomfort and back pain
- pain and/or swelling in the genitals
- high body temperature
Causes of bleeding with semen:
- prolonged sexual abstinence
- excessively active sexual life (during coitus, the walls of blood vessels are torn)
- varicose veins of the pelvic organs
- stones in the testicles and vas deferens
- malignant and benign formations in the genitourinary organs
- biopsy
- genital surgery
Physiological secretions
The health of a man is evidenced by physiological discharge from the outlet of the urethra, which is observed in the following cases:
Libidinous or physiological urethrorrhea
This condition occurs when a clear discharge appears on the head of the penis during sexual arousal or in the morning immediately after sleep. Their number in different men varies and is directly related to the severity of sexual arousal. But in any case, it is important to remember that these discharges, when excited, contain a small amount of sperm. Therefore, if they penetrate the genitals of the partner, she is at risk of becoming pregnant. The function of the described secretions is to ensure the passage of sperm through the urethra and vagina of a woman, where there is an acidic environment detrimental to the "gum", and to bring them in a viable form into the cavityuterus and the tubes for the fertilization of the egg.
Defecation prostorrhoea
With an increase in intra-abdominal pressure (during exertion), a transparent, odorless discharge with possible gray-white streaks may appear on the head of the penis. These secretions are viscous and consist of a mixture of prostatic secretions and seminal vesicles. Similar discharge can also appear at the end of urination, in which case it is called urinary prostorrhoea. In exceptional cases, such a discharge also appears with a strong cough. They are not considered an organic pathology, but only indicate a violation of the autonomic regulation of the functioning of the genital organs.
Smegma
Smegma (preputial lubrication) is a secret consisting of secretions from the sebaceous glands of the head of the penis and the foreskin. Normally, if a man observes the rules of personal hygiene, such discharges do not cause inconvenience, as they are mechanically washed off with water. But if hygiene is neglected, smegma accumulates and microorganisms multiply in it, which serves as a source of unpleasant odor.
semen excretion
Semen, which contains a large number of sperm, is normally released during ejaculation (ejaculation) at the end of intercourse or spontaneously, in a dream (pollution). Wet dreams are observed in adolescent boys and occur either several times a month or 1-3 times a week (hormonal changes).
In some cases, spermatorrhea, that is, the flow of sperm from the urethra without intercourse and orgasm, indicates a pathology when the tone of the muscle layer of the vas deferens is disturbed in the presence of chronic inflammationor brain disease.
Pathological discharge
All other secretions that go beyond the physiological are pathologies and mainly indicate inflammation of the urethra or urethritis. different, they can be both infectious and non-infectious.
Infectious causes are divided into specific and non-specific causes.
- Specific etiological factors include sexually transmitted diseases, this and.
- Nonspecific infectious urethritis is caused by opportunistic bacteria, viruses and fungi:
- chlamydial urethritis;
- ureaplasma and mycoplasmic urethritis;
- candidal urethritis or urogenital candidiasis in men;
- herpetic urethritis and others (E. coli, streptococci, staphylococci).
Non-infectious factors of inflammation include:
- allergic reactions
- mechanical damage to the urethral mucosa
- irritation of the urethra by chemicals
- injury, stricture of the urethra.
Male discharge can vary in transparency and color. These parameters are affected by the intensity of the inflammatory process, its stage and etiological factor. Secretions are made up of fluid, mucus and various cells.
- Muddy - if there are a large number of cells, the discharge has a cloudy color.
- Gray or thick - with a predominance of epithelial cells in the secretions, they become gray and thick.
- Yellow, green or yellow-green - when a large number of leukocytes are contained in the secretions, they turn yellow and even green, they are also called purulent discharge.
It should be noted that with the same pathology, the nature of the discharge changes over time.
white discharge
White discharge in men is due to several reasons. First of all, candidiasis should be excluded (see). With this disease, the following symptoms are observed:
- the head of the penis smells unpleasantly of sour bread or yeast;
- the head of the penis is covered with a whitish coating;
- there is itching, burning and even pain in the penis and in the perineum;
- discharge appears during urination;
- reddish spots (irritation, inflammation) are noted on the head and the inner surface of the foreskin;
- there is pain during intercourse, discomfort is felt in the area of the head and foreskin;
- white discharge is noted not only during urination;
- the partner complains of itching and burning, pain during intercourse, curdled discharge.
Transparent reflections
- Chlamydia, ureaplasmosis - transparent mucous discharge is possible with chlamydial or ureaplasmic urethritis in the chronic stage of the disease. With an exacerbation of the process in the secretions, the number of leukocytes increases, and they acquire a greenish or yellowish color.
- Trichomoniasis, gonorrhea - also abundant transparent discharge with a large amount of mucus, which are observed during the day, are possible at the initial stage of infection with Trichomonas or gonococci. In the case of chlamydia (ureaplasmosis), subjective sensations are often absent (pain, itching, burning), and a clear discharge appears after prolonged urination.
yellow discharge
Purulent discharge, which includes desquamated epithelium of the urethra, a significant number of leukocytes and urethral mucus, is yellowish or greenish. Discharge yellow or with an admixture of greenery is a characteristic sign of sexually transmitted diseases.
- Gonorrhea - the discharge is thick and has an unpleasant putrid odor, is observed during the day and is accompanied by pain during urination. A man should first think of a gonorrheal infection if he has a classic pair of symptoms: discharge and itching.
- Trichomoniasis - also with yellow discharge, trichomoniasis is not excluded, although it is often asymptomatic. With severe symptoms of trichomonas infection, in addition to purulent discharge, a man is disturbed by a frequent irresistible urge to urinate, a feeling of heaviness in the lower abdomen and discomfort in the perineum.
Discharge with odor
violation of hygiene
An unpleasant smell from the perineum and the penis in particular can be observed if the intimate hygiene conditions are not respected:
- Smegma is an excellent breeding ground for microorganisms, which, multiplying and dying, create an unpleasant odor if you do not regularly and carefully wash the external genitalia.
- In addition, the smegma itself can have an unpleasant odor in case of metabolic disorders. At the same time, the release of smegma is so intense that it penetrates through underwear.
infections
Discharge with an odor is most often observed with an infectious lesion of the urethra. First, gonorrheal urethritis should be ruled out - a thick, yellow or green discharge that occurs throughout the day.
The sour smell of secretions is a pathognomic symptom of urogenital candidiasis. Infection with fungi of the genus Candida causes the appearance of a white milky or milky discharge (see).
A fishy smell of discharge is also possible, inherent in gardnerellosis, which is rather characteristic of women (called bacterial vaginosis), and in men the development of this disease is rather absurd. Gardnerella belongs to conditionally pathogenic microorganisms and begins to actively multiply only under certain conditions:
- weakening of the immune system;
- concomitant inflammatory processes of the genitourinary organs;
- intestinal dysbacteriosis;
- use of condoms with spermicides;
- long-term treatment with antibiotics or immunosuppressants (cytostatics, corticosteroids);
- tight-fitting underwear made of synthetic fabrics;
- promiscuous sex life.
Discharge with blood
infections
Bloody discharge or with streaks of blood is often observed with an infectious lesion of the urethra. An admixture of blood is characteristic of gonorrhea, trichomonas or candidal urethritis. In addition, the amount of blood is directly related to the intensity of inflammation.
Often blood is observed in chronic urethritis (the mucous membrane of the urethra is loosened and reacts with contact bleeding to the slightest irritation, including the passage of urine through the channel).
Medical manipulations
Another reason for this is trauma to the urethra during medical procedures. In cases of gross displacement, insertion and removal of the catheter, cystoscopy or smear taking, one-stage bleeding may be observed. They differ in that scarlet blood does not have clots, and the bleeding itself stops very quickly.
Passage of stones, sand
Among other things, a discharge with blood can be observed when small stones or sand (from the kidneys or the bladder) pass through the urethra. The hard surface of the microliths damages the mucosa and vessel walls, causing bleeding. In this case, the blood is most visible during urination, which is accompanied by pain.
Glomerulonephritis
Gross hematuria is also possible in the presence of glomerulonephritis. In this case, there is a triad of symptoms: macroscopic hematuria, edema, increased blood pressure.
Isolation of blood with sperm
We should not forget about such a symptom as discharge (hematospermia). There are false and true hematospermia. With fake blood, it is mixed with semen as it passes through the urethra. And with real blood gets into the ejaculate even before it passes through the urethra. Hematospermia is accompanied by the following symptoms:
- pain during ejaculation;
- urination disorders;
- pain and/or swelling in the genitals (testicles and scrotum);
- discomfort and back pain;
- increase in body temperature.
One of the causes of hematospermia is:
- excessively active sex life or vice versa,
- prolonged sexual abstinence, while during intercourse there is a rupture of the vascular walls in the tissues of the genital organs
- previous surgery or biopsy can also cause blood in the semen
- hematospermia appears with benign and malignant neoplasms of the genitourinary organs
- in the presence of stones in the testicles and vas deferens
- with varicose veins of the pelvic organs.
As you know, discharge from a man's penis can be both physiological and pathological. Physiological include secretions that are the result of gonadal activity, including the result of sexual arousal.
Such discharges from the penis are a clear viscous liquid and do not cause a man any discomfort with their presence. Physiological discharge on the head of the penis in a healthy man is normal and quite common. The rest of the discharge on the head in men is pathological in nature and, as a rule, is accompanied by a peculiar infection.