Most men don’t even want to think about the topic, but they still often have to deal with penis pain during their lives. Penis pain, for example, occurs due to an injury, but also due to an infection or disease. Mild penile pain is usually not serious and is easily treated, but some causes require emergency care, otherwise it will lead to permanent damage to the penis or other complications. When severe pain develops, additional symptoms are present or when the pain does not decrease or worsens, prompt medical attention is necessary.

• Causes of penis pain

• Allergies
• Balanitis
• Bites
• Bladder stones
• Phymose
• Skin conditions
• Damage
• Lichen sclerosus
• Scar tissue
• Paraphimosis
• Penile fracture
• Penile cancer
• Penile prosthesis
• Priapism
• Prostatitis
• Reiter syndrome (reactive arthritis)
• Sexually transmitted diseases
• Urethritis
• Urinary tract infection
• Mondor’s disease
• Peyronie’s disease

• Risk factors of a painful penis
• Associated symptoms of penile pain

• Kind of pain
• Location of penis pain
• To draw

Causes of penis pain

Allergies

Some men experience an allergic reaction to soap, spermicides or detergents. It is also possible that they may have an allergic reaction to touching certain plants, such as poison ivy. This is a North American climbing vine of the cashew family that secretes an irritating oil from its leaves, which may cause inflammation of the skin.

Balanitis

Balanitis is an inflammation of the inside of the foreskin and/or the glans. Irritants, infections, STDs, skin conditions and poor hygiene usually play a role in the development of the disease. This benign penile condition is accompanied by discharge, penile pain, a rash, itching, painful urination, redness and swelling. The doctor usually prescribes a combination cream (contains corticosteroids and antibiotics).

Bites

When a mosquito, tick or spider bites a man on the genitals, it results in penis pain. Human bites during sexual activity also cause penile pain.

Bladder stones

Bladder stones are hard deposits of minerals found in the bladder. When these break open, they cause penis pain as they pass through the urethra.

Phymose

Phimosis is a condition in which the foreskin is too narrow. It is then not possible for the man to slide the foreskin over the glans. This condition causes pain during erection. The doctor recommends a circumcision or prescribes corticosteroid cream.

Skin conditions

When contagious skin diseases or skin conditions resulting from an autoimmune disease spread to the genitals, a painful penis occurs. The doctor treats the conditions with medications to also relieve the symptoms of the penis.

Damage

An injury to the penis occurs in many situations, such as:

• an accident at work
• a car accident
• a blow with an object (e.g. a baseball)
• a sports injury
• riding a horse, bicycle or motorcycle
• difficulty inserting or removing a bladder catheter
• …

Lichen sclerosus

Lichen sclerosus is a chronic inflammatory disease of unknown cause. The condition usually presents on the genital area in uncircumcised men. Penile pain, itchy penis, dry skin on the penis and pain while urinating are the best known symptoms of this disease. The patient is given a physical examination and a biopsy by the doctor, which confirms the diagnosis. The doctor prescribes local (applied to the skin) steroids.

Scar tissue

When scar tissue develops in the penis shaft, this may lead to a bent position of the penis or a painful erection. This scar tissue is caused by repeated injury and/or infection.

Paraphimosis

Paraphimosis is a condition in which the foreskin has retracted and cannot be returned to its normal position. This results in swelling, pain and impaired blood flow to the penis (the glans has a red, blue to black appearance). The constriction of the penis is more likely to manifest itself due to complications of circumcision or diabetes mellitus, an infection, an insect bite and a catheterization. The treatment consists of manipulation (manually retracting the foreskin), a puncture (puncturing the penis with a needle to release fluid), an incision or possibly a circumcision.

Penile fracture

A penile fracture (broken penis, penile fracture) appears during aggressive or improperly coordinated sexual activity and is usually the result of a partner accidentally falling on the erect penis. The erectile tissue under the skin sometimes tears, causing damage, pain, swelling (swollen penis) and severe bruising. Men immediately go to the emergency room with this injury because surgical intervention is often required immediately.

Penile cancer

Men with penile cancer may experience irritation, penile pain, a non-healing ulcer, a penile discharge, penile bleeding, or a lump on the penis. A cause is not known for this type of cancer, but the human papillomavirus is a risk factor. The doctor removes the tumor via surgery and also uses radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy.

Penile prosthesis

In some men, medications are not effective for treating erectile dysfunction. They opt for a special implant to get an erection again. If a penile implant becomes infected, the doctor may need to remove it.

Priapism

Priapism refers to an erection that lasts longer than four hours and often causes pain and damage. This leads to gangrene (tissue death with changes to the skin) because the blood is trapped in the penis, depriving the tissues of oxygen. Sickle cell anemia is one of the possible causes of priapism.

Prostatitis

The prostate gland is located under the bladder, near the rectum (end of the large intestine). Prostatitis causes swelling and inflammation of the prostate gland. This may cause a painful penis along with fever and chills, urinary changes, testicular pain, frequent urination (pollakisuria), changes in urine flow (constant but weak), and painful urination (dysuria). Acute prostatitis develops quickly, while the chronic form appears gradually. Immediate medical attention is needed. Treatment for prostatitis consists of antibiotic treatment to treat an underlying bacterial infection. The doctor sometimes also has to treat an abscess by draining the pus.

Reiter syndrome (reactive arthritis)

Reiter’s syndrome is a condition that causes numerous symptoms. The joints are usually inflamed (arthritis). In addition, problems arise with the urogenital area, which very often causes urinary problems. Penile problems also occur, such as penile discharge and penis pain. The disease also causes inflammation of the eye (conjunctivitis) and stomach and/or intestinal problems. In most patients the symptoms disappear completely, but the complaints occasionally return in a number of patients. Treatment consists of antibiotics (to clear the original bacterial infection in the urogenital area) and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in the presence of joint pain and joint inflammation. Furthermore, drainage of swollen joints is necessary, in combination with corticosteroid injections into painful joints. Bed rest in acute early stages and strengthening exercises to maintain mobility are other treatments.

Sexually transmitted diseases

Some sexually transmitted diseases are more likely to cause a painful penis, such as chlamydia (bacterial infection with symptoms in the genitals), genital herpes, gonorrhea (symptoms in the urinary tract, eyes, throat and bloodstream) and syphilis (bacterial infection).Genital herpes Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted disease caused by a virus. This virus remains inactive for months after exposure, causing blisters, itching and rashes on the inner thighs or genitals . In addition, a man may develop other symptoms, such as fatigue, muscle pain, fever, penis pain and pain during urination. Some men carry the virus but have no symptoms for life. The doctor may prescribe antiviral medications.

Urethritis

Urethritis is the medical term for an inflammation of the urethra, the tube that carries urine away from the bladder (urethra). Pain while urinating, penis pain, a discharge, pink or red tinged urine (blood in the urine) and cloudy urine are some symptoms of urethritis. The patient should visit the doctor with these symptoms because he needs antibiotic treatment.

Urinary tract infection

Urinary tract infections are bacterial infections of the tube that carries urine from the kidney. Urinary problems, fever, pain in the penis, a sudden urge to urinate and painful urination are some symptoms of a urinary tract infection. The doctor treats a urinary tract infection with antibiotics.

Mondor’s disease

Mondor disease is a rare and self-limiting condition in which the patient is acutely confronted with a blood clot in the penis. The superficial vein of the penis is usually hard (feels like a rope) and sometimes the man also has penis pain. In addition, a blood clot sometimes develops in the chest, abdominal wall, upper arm and other parts of the body. Trauma is a possible risk factor for the condition. The diagnosis is usually made by means of a physical examination and a color Doppler ultrasound (imaging examination of blood vessels). In most patients, the complaints disappear spontaneously within four to six weeks. In the acute phase of the disease, the man is not allowed to engage in sexual activity. The patient also takes blood thinners. Creams containing heparin and anti-inflammatory drugs can be used in the subacute and chronic stages. During these stages, the patient should also limit sexual activity until the severe pain disappears. In very rare cases, surgery is required. Long-term complications do not occur with the benign condition.

Peyronie’s disease

Peyronie’s disease is a condition in which the penis thickens and hardens, causing it to become crooked during a painful erection. The condition results from scar tissue (plaque) that has formed in the penis as a result of trauma. However, sometimes the disease also occurs without an injury to the penis. In Peyronie’s disease, the penis is no longer able to bend upwards or to the side when it is in an erect position. Men are usually still able to have sexual intercourse, but this is sometimes painful or difficult (dyspareunia). In some men the disease disappears on its own.

Risk factors of a painful penis

The following men are more likely to suffer from penis pain:

• men who are taking erectile dysfunction medications and taking more than the recommended dose.
• uncircumcised men.
• sexually active men (especially when having multiple partners)

Associated symptoms of penile pain

Kind of pain

A painful penis is due to an acute injury, such as a car accident or a blow during exercise. Sometimes chronic pain develops that starts gradually, but never goes away. The pain is also sharp, dull, throbbing or burning.

Location of penis pain

Penile pain occurs:

• at the base of the penis (internal part)
• in the urethra (urethra), which runs through the penis shaft
• in the head of the penis (glans)
• under the skin of the penile shaft of the penis

To draw

Many symptoms may still occur with penis pain, such as:

• bladder pain
• blood in the semen
• blood on the glans
• stomach ache
• a discharge from the urethra
• a fracture of the penis
• an erectile dysfunction
• a rash (spots, spots, bumps, pimples) or ulcers on the penis
• an itchy penis
• hearing a popping or cracking sound during an erection or sexual intercourse
• an accumulation of a thick layer of irritating secretions under the foreskin in uncircumcised men
• a painful erection that lasts three to four hours (possibly a sign of priapism)
• premature ejaculation (ejaculation)
• a swelling of the penis or surrounding area
• hard spots or lumps in the groin area
• pain in the lower abdomen
• urinary problems
• priapism (persistent, often painful erection of the penis)
• prostate pain
• redness of the penis
• testicle pain
• visible bruising along the penis shaft

read more

• Peyronie’s disease: Curvature and pain of the penis during erection
• Penile discharge: Discharge of fluid from penis
• Penile cancer: Symptoms of skin and lumps on penis
• Phimosis: Too tight foreskin of the penis, often with inflammation
• Swollen penis: Causes of penis swelling (penile swelling)