After suffering from strange symptoms on his penis, a man discovered they were linked to food poisoning caused by a bacteria sometimes found in rice.
- A 38-year-old man suffered from swelling and redness of the penis.
- Doctors discovered that food poisoning was responsible.
- The bacteria passed through her skin during sex.
A 38-year-old man suffered for almost a week from annoying symptoms on his penis: swelling, crusting and redness. After consulting a urologist, he discovered their origin: food poisoning. His case is recounted by scientists in Annals of Medicine and Surgery.
Food poisoning: Gastrointestinal symptoms that appear after sexual intercourse
In their report, they explain that the symptoms appeared after “an episode of severe diarrhea and vomiting”themselves having occurred”a few hours after vigorous intercourse with his wife.” They found that this triggered an infection of the skin of the penis by a “unusual organism” : Bacillus (B.) cereus. This bacteria is particularly present in contaminated foods, such as reheated rice. An infected person can suffer from “gastrointestinal symptoms after ingestion, including diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting.”
After going to the emergency room of the American University of Beirut Medical Center in Lebanon, the 30-year-old underwent various medical examinations. The doctors took samples from his penis, which revealed the presence of Bacillus cereus.
According to their findings, the infection in the penis was triggered by this episode of diarrhea and vomiting that appeared immediately after sexual intercourse with his wife.Intimate intercourse can increase the risk of bacteria penetrating the skin due to changes in blood vessels (…)specifies an article from the Daily Mail. The bacteria would have made direct contact with the patient’s groin.”
A first case documented in the scientific literature
This type of infection is extremely rare.”We report a unique case of penile skin infection caused by B. cereus, an unusual causative agent, for a rare formconclude the authors of the scientific report. This is the first case in the literature describing such an entity..” Bacterial infections in the penis usually occur because of an open wound.
How to treat a bacterial infection in the penis?
After discovering the origin of the symptoms, the doctors prescribed a treatment for the patient: a fucidic acid cream to be applied for two weeks, until complete recovery. This type of ointment is often used in cases of eye infections. At the same time, they recommended that he wash the affected area thoroughly and avoid sexual intercourse and masturbation until he recovered. A month after his visit to the emergency room, the thirty-year-old was completely cured.
