What are red bumps or red spots on the penis?
Is it something serious?
Should you be worried about it? Let’s discuss this in detail.
What Are Red Bumps On The Penis?
Red bumps or red spots or pimples are not always signs of something serious, and you should not panic. Red bumps may occur due to poor hygiene or irritation in private parts. Immunity deficit might also play a factor. Those bumps or pimples will disappear within a week.
If it stays on for more than two weeks, it is time to consult your Urologist. The red spots on the penis will typically stay longer on the private parts if it is a result of something serious, such as sexually transmitted infection(STI).
Here we discuss here the types of bumps on your penis and how should we treat them.
Types of Red Bumps on your Penis and Treatment Measures
Genital herpes
Genital herpes is an STI responsible for the red bump on your penis. The red spots may spread to your scrotum, pubic area, thigh, and mouth(if oral sex have done)
Genital herpes happens due to the herpes simplex virus(HSV-2 or HSV-1). This virus enters the body during the practice of unprotected sex with someone who carries this virus. You can also feel pain or discomfort, itchiness in your private part. Sometimes it also results in ulcers that can bleed when blisters pop.
Treatment Measures
If you think you have genital herpes, you should consult your doctor. It is not curable, but your doctor can prescribe you some antiviral medicine that can help you to reduce the symptoms and prevent it from spreading to your sexual partners.
Syphilis
Syphilis is an STI that is caused by Treponema Pallidum(bacteria). This bacteria is spread through unprotected sex with someone infected with this bacteria previously.
The symptoms can be a circular, red, and painless sore on the penis and the genital area. If not treated properly, it can spread to other parts of your body. As the infection progress, you may also experience symptoms like rash on your other parts of the body, high fever (101 Fahrenheit), you can feel headaches, and even paralysis.
Treatment Measures
You should immediately seek medical attention. You can get a cure if treated with injected or oral antibiotics such as benzathine penicillin, ceftriaxone (Rocephin), ceftriaxone (Rocephin), etc., in the early stage of this infection. If you do not treat it as soon as possible, there are chances that it may be irreversible.
You should not perform any sexual activity until you get cured because there may be a chance of spreading the disease to your partner.
Scabies
Scabies happens due to mites that burrow into your skin to live, eat our skin cells, reproduce, and lay eggs on the skin. These mites spread through direct or close contact, usually through sexual activity with the person infected with these mites.
Symptoms of scabies are itching and irritation on the parts where the mites enter your skin. Other symptoms of this disease are dry and scaly skin, blister, and white-colored lines where the mites have burrowed on your body.
Treatment Measures
This infection is curable. To treat and clear the infestation, they will likely prescribe you a topical cream, such as permethrin (Elimite) or crotamiton. You should listen to your doctor’s advice and take treatment measures rather than taking yourself.
Molluscum contagiosum
Molluscum contagiosum is a type of skin infection caused by a poxvirus. It spreads through the skin via skin contact or by sharing goods like towels, clothes, and bedding with the person who is already infected with this disease.
The symptoms of this disease can be red, itchy bumps on your penis and other areas of the body. Scratching these bumps can cause infections to spread to other areas of the body.
Treatment Measures
This infection goes away on its own after some days. So this is not any serious problem that needs any serious medical attention. But if you wish, then you can reach out to your urologist and seek medical advice.
Doctors may recommend topical therapies to dissolve the bumps on your body part. You can also get cryosurgery to freeze and remove red spots on your penis. If your symptoms are more serious, the doctor may prescribe you a curettage to cut bumps out from the skin or sometimes laser surgery to destroy bumps.
Balanitis
Balanitis is feeling tension or irritation of the head(glans) of your penis. It happens due to poor hygiene or any kind of infection. If you are uncircumcised, then there may be the chance that you may develop balanitis.
The symptoms of this disease can be swelling, itching, and red spots on your private parts. You may also feel severe symptoms like pain while urinating, fluid buildup under the foreskin or inability to pull back your foreskin.
Treatment Measures
In some cases, balanitis can be cured by practicing hood hygiene. You should always clean your penis and surrounding parts of the body. You should clean under your foreskin regularly and use some antibacterial soap to clean your private parts while taking a bath.
If your symptoms do not improve, then you should consult your doctor. There may be a chance that you may feel an infection. In that case, your doctor may prescribe you steroid creams, such as hydrocortisone, or maybe antifungal creams, such as clotrimazole (Lotrimin) or antibiotics.
Final Words
Red bumps happen sometimes, but it is not always something serious. Occasionally red spots on the penis dissolve within a week. Sometimes these red bumps dissolve with proper care to maintain good hygiene or distance from others, but they can be severe too. So you should practice safe, close contact with others. Always use protection while in physical contact with others.
