Inflamed Urethra

[LookingGlass]

Is this caused by circumcision?
I've taken antibiotics. Urethra was inflamed before, during, and after.
Baking soda baths. Urethra is still inflamed.
Tried taking a break from my nightly restoring and/or masturbating to rest my penis. I had trouble getting to sleep because (I think) I'm a creature of routine, so this didn't work either.

I'm thinking it's circumcision, but I also acknowledge that I'm biased against circ and may be jumping the gun. A pediatrician friend of my mom's (who I've been told has done circs before, so cognitive stuff might be keeping him from considering circumcision as a culprit) brought up "semen irritating the urethra" as a possible cause.

[greg_b]

How long ago were you circumcised? When you say inflamed, do you mean it is simply red colored, more red than adjacent areas of the skin, or do you have other symptoms?

[LookingGlass]

I was circumcised at birth. By "inflamed" I mean that when I spread the opening, I can see that the sides look very puffy. There's also on-and-off dysuria.

[greg_b]

Thanks for the additional information. If you were circumcised as an infant, and that was a number of years ago, then it does not sound like the circumcision caused the inflammation, in the way I tend to think about inflammation. Of course, having your glans exposed can leave it vulnerable to various irritations, but I would not say that "circumcision caused the inflammation".

Since you say you were on antibiotics, what did the doctor say? What has the doctor said about the painful urination (dysuria)?

When did you first notice the swelling? Had anything changed when it started? Has it continued to swell? Does it ever go down?

[LookingGlass]

I don't remember what the doctor said, or when the swelling started. For all I know, it was there since I was born.

[OzVic]

Has the doctor checked that the opening is a normal diameter and slot height / lenght and or some other form of damage occurred to it?
As it may also be meatal stenosis which is the most common side effect of infant circ,

(Crcumsised at birth - one of the most common disorders resulting from infant circ is meatal stenosis)
"Meatal stenosis is an abnormal narrowing of the urethral meatus in males. This refers to the size of the opening at the tip of the penis. This condition is usually acquired but can exist from birth"

By Acquired they mean infant circ and the meatus being irritated by diapers / contaminants (It's supposed to be protected in an infant by design).

So one main thing to cross of the list, you would think a urologist or dermatologist should be able to help on all fronts with this.
Fingers crossed for you.

[LookingGlass]

I'm not positive, but limited research suggests that a normal urethra looks like 0. Mine is o---o or maybe o---O

[greg_b]

It is difficult to diagnose over the internet with only a brief text description. I think OzVic has a good point, and if you are not sure, I encourage you to consult with a doctor. If you could post a photo, that might help, but in the end a doctor will have the best chance of diagnosing you. Note that I am not saying he will give you the best advice, that depends upon if he or she is foreskin friendly or not. But it never hurts to listen to what they have to offer. You can always thank them and leave, you do not have to do what they say.

[LookingGlass]

Is there a possibility of manual tugging (methods 3 and 4 here: http://www.restoringforeskin.org/pub...gging/method-4 ) causing the meatus to rub against/irritate itself?

[greg_b]

That does not sound plausible. Manual is done for very short time periods, typically, the skin is pulled, and the only rubbing in the urethra would be the well moistened walls rubbing against each other, which is what they do all the time without irritation.

However, if during manual microorganisms were introduced, then that could be the cause perhaps...and worth looking into, especially if this is relatively recent.

[LookingGlass]

My meatus has been inflamed for as long as I can remember. My logic was that pulling the skin over the glans appeared to compress it a bit, which I thought would cause the inflamed lips to rub each other.

[LookingGlass]

Update: My dad looked, and he didn't notice any strictures. He's an anesthesiologist, but he used to work in the ER.

[greg_b]

Thanks for the update, hope you sort this out.

[LookingGlass]

I just remembered that at first, I kind of thought "maybe my dad's circumcision kept him from noticing anything wrong", but then I figured that even if there was a psychological bias in effect that would keep him from connecting a problem to circumcision, it probably wouldn't be able to keep him from seeing the problem, period. Also, the last urologist I went to said that circumcision likely wasn't what caused the problem, because it happened years ago.

[OzVic]

... Years ago, the rotten fruit can be picked years late, not sure in your particular case, but a number of mine 100%.
The meatus is supposed to be protected through infancy.
So the Urologist may not know in reality.