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Dermatology (Expert Forum)
How long can it take for chemical urethritis and its symptom to go away?
Answered by
Alan Rockoff, MD - dermatology, Child Skin Problems
The Rockoff Dermatology Center
Brookline - MA
This forum is for questions regarding Dermatology issues, such as: skin rashes, acne, birthmarks, skin infections, rosacea, and general skin care.
How long can it take for chemical urethritis and its symptom to go away?
by Stephen22, Jun 06, 2006 12:00AM
One month ago I masturbated using eucerin cream. It was a very runny cream. The stuff went down my urethra causing a stinging and apparent irritation and inflammation since for about a couple of days my urine stream came out like a showerhead. Two days later I suddenly got this urgency to urinate right after I just urinated. There was no burning, pain or anything when I urinated...just the urgency. I looked up on medline the symptoms inflammation of urethra + urgency to urinate and read about urethritis caused by creams, perfumes, spermacides, etc. and that urgency was one of the symptoms. The article said that the urethritis generally goes away when the irritant (cream) is removed. The urgency was still there a few days later and different places on my penis were tender when I pressed on them. I went to the doctor and told him what happened and between a urinalysis and my telling him about the urgency symptom, he said to me "Oh, you have an infection." He diagnoses cystitis and gave me cipro for 7 days. After taking cipro for four days I saw no relation between taking the antibiotic and reduction of the urgency. I went to the doctor immediately for a "checkup" and he said that according to another urinalysis I was clear of infection. That night I was peeing like crazy and went back again to the doctor the next day. He gave me a prostate ultrasound and drew blood to do a psa and comprehensive work up on two test tubes of blood. He put me on Levaquin for 10 days. On the 7th day I returned to him, my only symptom being the tormenting urge to pee. The doctor told me that it was all in my head due to a compulsive-obsessive disorder I have related to Tourette's Syndrome. He told me to go home and live my life. He did not wish to follow up with me because he had proved by his tests that I have no cancer, there is nothing wrong with me and the infection is gone. I called my neurologist and he told me that many tourette's people develop ticks or compulsion based habits and that the urgency to pee might be one of them. He said that he would treat the tick only after I was cleared by a urologist of organicity. I went to the urologist and he did a vigorous digital exam of my prostate, did a urinalysis which like all the rest showed no hematuria. He had me go to the lab to take two scary tests for bladder cancer! How did masturbating with cream lead to being tested for terminal illnesses? I asked the urologist as I left his office why he couldn't believe that cream giving me some chemical burn on the mucous membrane of my urethra couldn't have caused this sole symptom I have...the urgency to urinate? He said "I think you were playing around and irritated something." Its been a month now with no let up. My nurse friend told me that I burned my urethra and it may take months to heal. Do you think that a peeing symptom can last months and does it really take months for a cream irritation of the urethra to heal with my urine re-irritating it
Doctor's Answer
by Alan Rockoff, MD, Jun 06, 2006 12:00AM
, Jun 06, 2006 12:00AM
I think your urologist is right. I thunk the nurse is quite wrong--creams can't burn urethras.
Now that organic disease has been ruled out--many times--I think that the diagnosis of habit tic is more than likely. Whether this is related to Tourette's or not, just the anxiety of thinking about your penis and what you may have done to it is more than enough to explain your tormenting symptoms. What I think you need is to ignore the symptoms and move on. If you need psychological help to do this, you ought to look into it.
Take care.
Dr. Rockoff
Now that organic disease has been ruled out--many times--I think that the diagnosis of habit tic is more than likely. Whether this is related to Tourette's or not, just the anxiety of thinking about your penis and what you may have done to it is more than enough to explain your tormenting symptoms. What I think you need is to ignore the symptoms and move on. If you need psychological help to do this, you ought to look into it.
Take care.
Dr. Rockoff
