Ureaplasma Mycoplasma

[reasonablyangry1]

Hi doc..noticed a sensitity in my penis and frequent urination as well as a small white "node" on the inside of the tip of my penis about 5 weeks ago.  Went to the doc and was diagnosed with Ureaplasma Mycoplasma Hominis.  First question is how did I get this ?? I have been with my wife for 12 years and other than 1 mistake 3 years ago have been faithful. The information I have been reading on the net leaves me feeling conflicted.  Is this a STD or can you receive this thru normal non sexual contact. Or is this something you can have for a while with zero symptoms and then "bang" !  You have it.  I was tested for the "Big 5" and all tests were negative.  Also, my wife was tested with just urine which came back negative, should she get a vaginal swab ??  She told me she does not sense any difference but just want to make sure we are getting treated together and not re infecting ourselves.  Also the description of the Ureaplasma does not mention the mark or node I have...any idea what this could be ??  Sorry for all the questions just want to remove any tension from my marriage on both ends.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

You may indeed have a reason to be "reasonably angry", but not with your wife or yourself.  Just be angry at the doc who made your diagnosis.

Ureaplasma urealyticum and Mycoplasma hominis (which are two different bacteria) are normal in everybody's genital tract and you should not have been tested for them.  They cause no symptoms and are not STDs.*  Because they colonize the genital tract, they are shared by sex partners, but their presence does not imply that either you or your wife have had other partners recently.  STD experts routinely recommend against even testing for them, and except for research studies, we never test people in my STD clinic for either of these organisms.

* Let me clarify one point.  At one time, UU was felt to be a common cause of NGU and some people still believe it is.  However, this always was controversial.  Very recent research suggests that some strains may be more likely to cause symptoms in men than others.  But nobody has ever shown them to be important STD pathogens, and M. hominis has never even come under suspicion.

Are you in the US?  Lingering beliefs about UU and MH are more common in some parts of the world than in my country.  Very few US docs ever test for them at all.

As to what is causing the bump in your urethra, I cannot judge the cause.  Given your and your wife's sexual lifestyle, it almost certainly isn't an STD.  Maybe a fibroma or cyst of some sort?  See a provider (a different one!), perhaps a urologist.

Good luck--  HHH, MD

[reasonablyangry1]

Thanks for the help Doc.  I am in the military and had to see a base doctor, then was sent downtown to a clinic and finally to a urologist. The military doc thought it might be a wart or poloyp. The downtown doc though it might be some kind of yeast infection and did a swab of my urethra.  It really caused some discomfort. About a week and a half later I got a call from him saying I had tested positive for ureplasma M Hommins.  When I asked that doctor what that disease was he said a bad STD.  I then called the CDC and they said that it wasn't an STD. That is why I was so confused with what was going on. Anyway, the urologist told me that if it was M homminis that it can be transmitted sexually but can easily be transfered other ways (hands, coughing etc..)  He also put me on Doxy 100mg x 2 a day to clear it up.  So far so good sensitivity is down but the node/irration area is still present. Hopefully that will clear up soon.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Find another urologist.  The CDC is right and your urologist is wrong.  M. hominis never causes symptoms; you should not have been tested for it; it is never transmitted by hands or coughing; and you should not expect doxycycline to make any difference in your symptoms.

HHH, MD

[HHH,MD]

My last comment applies equally to Ureaplasma as to M. hominis.

HHH, MD

[reasonablyangry1]

Doc...I took your advice and have an appointment with "new" urologist on Monday.  I know it is immpossble to get a good diagnosis with out seeing you but do you have any thought as to what this mark could be ??  When you manually open the hole in the penis you can see a dark skin blotch.  There is also what looks like an inverted pimple.  By this I mean it is not sticking out but rather an indent into the ureatha.  Not very big nor painful but it has increased my sensitivty down there.  It feels more active when I have to urinate or after ejaculation.  I have not read anything that sounds like this, there no discharge and all my tests have been negative as well as completing the 11 200mg Doxy treatment.  Any help or a "push" in the right direction would be appreicated.  Thanks doc

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Not my area of expertise.  No STD causes such a thing.  Your new urologist is the best bet.

HHH, MD

[reasonablyangry1]

Doc,
I just met with my new urologist yesterday. He took a urine sample and had me urinate in two seperate cups, the initial just a few drops and even I could see something floating in the urine and the rest in another cup. The first cup contained mucus and a .5 or 5 white blood cell count. He did not seem to concerned with it, however, it is a new symptom that was not there before.  Plus this is after a week and a half of Doxcyleine. He said it was obviously something in the urethra not the bladder. He did not seem to think the mark on the inside of the urethra was anything other than a irration mark caused by me looking at it constantly ( I never looked there before and I have no idea if that has been there for a while or just a recent addition.  Doc, should I have another series of STD tests ??  Are these new additional symptoms a new STD or did maybe I test to soon ?? Is this a uretha infection of some kind ??  Thanks for all your help..

[feeble]

A related discussion, ureaplasma was started.

[rmparent]

A related discussion, Mycoplasma hominis was started.