Penis Infection Symptoms

Sexually transmitted infections often cause symptoms affecting the penis or groin. This article includes a list of symptoms that may indicate a sexually transmitted infection.

Discharge from the penis
A thick white, yellow or green discharge from the tip of the penis may be a sign of gonorrhea, especially if you also experience pain in the urethra or pain with urination.

Single sore on the penis
In primary syphilis, a hard, painless dime-sized sore (sometimes compared to a button) appears on the penis. This is usually accompanied by swelling of the lymph nodes in the groin.

Penile pain or discomfort
Pain or discomfort – often associated with urination – may be a sign of a sexually transmitted infection. You may also experience a discharge from your urethra.

Painful blisters or scabs on the penis
A cluster of painful or itchy red spots and small blisters on the penis may be a sign of genital herpes. Typically, the pain or itching comes first, followed a day or two later by the appearance of blisters. Herpes sores may also appear on the scrotum, thighs and buttocks.

Brown flecks on the hair around the penis
Tiny grey-brown eggs on the shafts of your pubic hair may be a sign of infestation by pubic lice (also called "crabs").

Red bumps on the penis and scrotum
A scabies infestation causes red itchy bumps and nodules, typically appearing in lines. Usually, similar lesions will be present elsewhere on your body if you have a scabies infestation.

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, go see a doctor right away for a diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

_Sources:

_{Behrman AJ, Shoff WH. "Gonorrhea." eMedicine.com,. Accessed 11 May 2010.}

_{Diaz MM, Sinert RH. "Syphilis." eMedicine.com, Accessed 11 May 2010.}

_{McCroskey AL, Rosh AJ. "Scabies." eMedicine.com, Accessed 11 May 2010.}

Facts About Ejaculation & Ejaculate

Ejaculate is 90% water. Semen is a milky opalescence, and opaque. Opalescence increases when the ejaculate has a higher concentration of sperm. Ejaculate consists mainly of semen:

65% of the semen arises from the seminal vesicles

35% of the semen comes from the prostate. It is the semen from the prostate that gives semen its characteristic smell.

5% is of other fluids

When a man orgasms he ejaculates between 1 and 5 millilitres of semen. The average is 2 to 3 millilitres (a small teaspoon) which of course is nothing when compared to an adult wild male boar which produces 0.5 litres per ejaculate!

An ejaculation can travel up to 3 feet or more. However an average distance is about 7 to 10 inches (17to 25cms). Ejacuation is preceded by an emission of 1-2 drops of alkaline fluid from the Cowper's glands (two small glands beneath the prostate). Its alkalinity neutralizes the acidity that remains in the urethra from recent urination. Repeated Ejaculation Facts:

The ability to have repeated ejaculation varies considerably from man to man. The ability to have repeated ejaculation begins to decline almost immediately once puberty is complete. Within the period of one to two hours most men can have one ejaculation, some can have a second and a few men can have three or four. Kinsey, a well known researcher into sex, recorded one man who was able to ejaculate six to eight times in a single session, but this is very rare.

Source: About.com

Marijuana May Impair Male Fertility

Men who smoke marijuana frequently have significantly less seminal fluid, a lower total sperm count and their sperm behave abnormally, all of which may affect fertility adversely, a new study in reproductive physiology at the University at Buffalo has shown.

This study is the first to assess marijuana's effects on specific swimming behavior of sperm from marijuana smokers and to compare the results with sperm from men with confirmed fertility. Marijuana contains the cannabinoid drug THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), which is its primary psychoactive chemical, as well as other cannabinoids.

Marijuana Affects Male Sperm

Results of the study were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine in San Antonio.

"The bottom line is, the active ingredients in marijuana are doing something to sperm, and the numbers are in the direction toward infertility," said Lani J. Burkman, Ph.D., lead author on the study. Burkman is assistant professor of gynecology/obstetrics and urology and head of the Section on Andrology in the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. UB's andrology laboratory also carries out sophisticated diagnosis for infertile couples.

Sperm Swimming Too Fast, Too Early

"We don't know exactly what is happening to change sperm functioning," said Burkman, "but we think it is one of two things: THC may be causing improper timing of sperm function by direct stimulation, or it may be bypassing natural inhibition mechanisms. Whatever the cause, the sperm are swimming too fast too early." This aberrant pattern has been connected to infertility in other studies, she noted.

Further research in the andrology laboratory showed that human sperm exposed to high levels of THC displayed abnormal changes in the sperm enzyme cap, called the acrosome. When researchers tested synthetic anandamide equivalents on human sperm, the normal vigorous swimming patterns were changed and the sperm showed reduced ability to attach to the egg before fertilization. Only about 10 laboratories in the U.S. perform this array of sperm function tests.

Testing for Sperm Count

In the current study, Burkman received seminal fluid from 22 confirmed marijuana smokers and subjected the samples to a variety of tests. The volunteers reported smoking marijuana approximately 14 times a week, and for an average of 5.1 years.

Control numbers were obtained from 59 fertile men who had produced a pregnancy. All men abstained from sexual activity for two days before the lab analysis.

The samples from both groups were tested for volume, sperm-count-per-unit of seminal fluid, total sperm count, percent of sperm that was moving, velocity and sperm shape.

Smokers Had Less Sperm

Results showed that both the volume of seminal fluid and the total number of sperm from marijuana smokers were significantly less than for fertile control men. Significant differences also appeared when HA and velocity, both before and after washing, were assessed, the study found.

"The sperm from marijuana smokers were moving too fast too early," said Burkman. "The timing was all wrong. These sperm will experience burnout before they reach the egg and would not be capable of fertilization."

Risky for Borderline Fertility Men

Burkman noted that many men who smoke marijuana have fathered children. "The men who are most affected likely have naturally occurring borderline fertility potential, and THC from marijuana may push them over the edge into infertility," she said.

As to the question of whether fertility potential returns when smokers stop using marijuana: Burkman said the issue hasn't been studied well enough to provide a definitive answer.

"THC remains stored in fat for a long period, so the process may be quite slow. We can't say that everything will go back to normal. Most men who have borderline fertility are unaware of that fact. It's difficult to know who is at risk. I definitely would advise anyone trying to conceive not to smoke marijuana, and that would include women as well as men.

Source: About.com