AboutMark Behar Expertise Almost any question or concern about sexually transmitted infections, abnormal Pap smears, anal cytology (anal "Pap smears"), gay men's health issues.
There is no such thing as “d/d free” or “clean” (free of infection), so why do so many of us deceive ourselves into thinking that some people are indeed totally free from a potentially infectious disease, like HIV, herpes, hepatitis, syphilis, chlamydia, warts, gonorrhea, etc., just because they say so? Clinical laboratory tests are not perfect, and having a “negative” or “nonreactive” test does not mean that a person is free from infection. Perhaps at the moment the test was taken, the person was uninfected; or, perhaps, the test wasn’t sensitive enough to detect presence of the infection. There is really no way that anyone can determine that they are truly “disease free,” and there are over a hundred of infectious conditions that can be spread without your knowing anything.
Rather than trying to “prescreen” or “serosort” a potential sex-mate with deceptive questions that are impossible to know by today’s technologies, a wiser option may be to consider everyone infected with something, and either use appropriate protective measures (“safer sex”), or accept the responsibility and conseqences of possibly “catching” something from someone who’s hotter than expected (pun intended!).
There is much research that supports the contention that an HIV positive person reliably taking HIV medications, and having an undetectable viral load, presents a lower risk for transmission of HIV than people who may think or say they are HIV negative, but are not. Food for thought!
Experience Family Practice PA since 1981;
Volunteer Clinician for Brady East STD (BESTD) Clinic, Milwaukee, since 1977; answer STD questions submitted to their web site.
Professionally lectured at national and regional Physician Assistant and Nurse Practitioner conferences, and at national gay & lesbian health conferences on topics including HIV/AIDS, herpes, hepatitis, STDs, human papilloma virus (the cause of venereal warts), abnormal Pap smears, gay and lesbian health issues, among others.
Organizations Co-Founder, Lesbian, Bisexual, & Gay Physician Assistant Caucus of the American Academy of Physician Assistants, Inc.;
Wisconsin Academy of Physician Assistants;
American Society of Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (ASCCP); Board of Directors, National Association of Black and White Men Together: A Gay, Multiracial Organization for All People (NABWMT)
Publications Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (JAPA)
Education/Credentials Physician Assistant Certified, since 1982;
Masters in Physician Assistant Studies;
Colposcopy Recognition Award, American Society of Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (ASCCP);
Awards and Honors Colposcopy Recognition Award (CRA), from the American Association of Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology;
Distinguished Fellow, American Academy of Physician Assistants;
Fellow, Wisconsin Academy of Physician Assistants
Past/Present Clients Brady East STD Clinic, Milwaukee, WI
Question QUESTION: It started a few weeks ago. When I squeeze my penis, a drop of sperm can be seen oozing out at the tip.
What problem do I have ?
Is there something wrong with my prostate ?
ANSWER: Hello Alex,
I'm sorry, but you didn't provide me with enough information. What is your age? Do you have any urinary retention symptoms, like difficulty emptying your bladder, urinary frequency, waking up in the middle of the night with the urge to go, hesitancy, etc.? Do you have any burning with urination, or a feeling of heaviness or vague discomfort in your scrotum/testicles, perineum, or anal area? When was the last time you had sex relative to the onset of your symptoms? What type of sex was it-- oral, vaginal, anal? With or without a condom? Any lubricant used? Does the "leaking sperm" look perfectly clear like uncooked egg white, or does it have whitish streaks, or gray or white or yellow coloration? Does it seem to be more pronounced after having sexual stimulation or getting an erection without ejaculation?
Let me hear back from you, and perhaps I can help you figure out what is wrong, or whether it is a normal variation.
--mark
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Hi Mark, thanks for your quick reply.
1. My age 52
2. No urinary retention symptoms,
No frequent urinary problems,
No waking up in the middle of the night to urinate
3. No burning feeling with urination
4. No feeling of heaviness or discomfort in my
scrotum/testicles, perineum, or anal area.
5. 5 days before onset of symptoms, I had oral
and viginal sex (no condoms used)
6. Lubricant used is KY jel
7. It has the look of 'thick sperm', looks quite like
uncooked egg white, also quite like saliva.
Not grey, not yellow.
8. It does seem to be more pronounced after having sexual
stimulation or getting an erection without ejaculation.
Thanks & rgds.,
Alex
Answer Hi Again Alex,
You are in the right age group for prostate problems to bother men, however your signs and symptoms do NOT suggest prostatitis. You didn't mention how frequently you have sex of any kind-- masterbation or sex with a partner. If you don't do it frequently enough (whatever that means!), imagine your prostate filled with prostatic fluids. When you get an erection without having an ejaculation, you may have some "precum" leakage, which is prostatic and urethral accessory gland secretions that are lubricating the urethra (the tube that drains urine and semen through the penis) in preparation for seminal ejaculation. Except the semen doesn't ejaculate!
The best time to look for such discharge is associated with being turned on for awhile-- with an erection. If you notice the discharge after you awaken from the day's sleep, well, you may have had some erotic dreams before you awoke, and the urine pressing on the base of the bladder can put some pressure on the prostate too, and cause some additional "leakage." If there is ANY gray or whitish or yellowish color to this otherwise clear sticky, egg-white like discharge-- streaks within the clear, or solid color-- then this could suggest an infection. Usually this may be accompanied by a bit of burning as well, but not always.
Also, I do not know if you are circumcised or not; having a foreskin (not circ.'d) mean it may be a bit more difficult to recognize these things since the foreskin hides the secretions.
