Penile discharge is a symptom where any substance coming from the tip of the penis is not semen or urine. These substances accumulate in the urinary tract and pass through the urethra to the tip of the penis and emit from the head.

Types of Penile Discharge

The penile discharge can be clear and watery or opaque thick and white. It may sometimes appear pus-like and yellow in colour. The consistency of the discharge may even change throughout the day. 

Sometimes there are other associating symptoms that appear with this discharge such as itch and irritation at the tip of the penis, dysuria (pain when passing urine) or pain during ejaculation.

Penile discharge is a common symptom of STI or STDs. The common ones are Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea. Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea are the top 2 STIs diagnosed in Singapore each year with data in 2018 showing 2700 and 2000 cases per 100,000 population for Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea respectively.

Testing Penile Discharge

Penile discharge is easily tested with a DTAP Express Urine STD test or DTAP Express FULL Urine STD test. The DTAP Express Urine STD test will pick up Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea from the urine samples and results notified to your preferred mode of communication in 72 hours. 

For the DTAP Express Full Urine STD test however, additional infections such as mycoplasma hominis, ureaplasma urealyticum, trichomonas, gardnerella, candida, urine bacteria (Ufeme) which cause NGU or NSU (non gonococcal urethritis or non specific urethritis) can be further detected.

Chlamydia, Gonorrhoea, NGU/NSU can be passed from one person to another person through sexual contact. Vaginal sex, Oral Sex and Anal Sex.

Symptoms

Symptoms may appear anywhere from 3 days to a week after sexual exposure but most times, it can remain as a “silent” asymptomatic infection. This is common for conditions such as Chlamydia or even NSU.

If left untreated, Chlamydia, Gonorrhoea or NSU can cause further health complications such as pain and swelling in the testes or prostate, fertility issues in males and females and even organ damage.

If your partner has been diagnosed with an STI or STD, DTAP Express offers rapid testing and expedited treatment for you and your partner.