Valentine and the case of Bloody Semen
Valentine is a 25-year-old nice looking bloke who came to the clinic at 4 am because of pain in the testes. It started nearly a week ago but that night at work it had become excruciating.
Having taken some paracetamol with aspirin, the pain had calmed down but he was still a bit uncomfortable.
Add to that he had passed blood and sperm after masturbation 2 nights before.
To say he was a bundle of nerves was putting it mildly.
Having established he was otherwise fit and well and this problem had never happened before, we took a little peek at his sexual style - emphatically he assured me he had not been with a girl for 12 months at least - not since the last one - he didn't finish the sentence and I wondered if I would be exceeding medical curiosity to ask what had caused the break up ..............
Anyway, he also denied having had an STI (which I tend to take with a grain of salt because - people sometimes have faulty recollections).
So we proceeded to examine and really - everything down there seemed fine.
Which brings us down to - why he had pain and blood in the semen and what to do next.
So passing blood in sperm for men is a scary experience.
(Perhaps because women are used to passing blood monthly they are not as phased about the idea of passing blood from the vagina; but quick note to the ladies - when bleeding from your vagina becomes IRREGULAR, its the time to speak with your doctor!).
According to NHS choices: It's unusual to find blood in your semen when you ejaculate, but try not to worry – it's usually only temporary and the cause is rarely anything serious.
So having this at the back of the mind - what are the common causes of Haematospermia (when blood is found in the semen)?
The more common causes may be inflammation of the organ where semen is made (prostate gland), as well as associated organs like the seminal vesicles which produce fluid that makes up the semen.
In a young man like Valentine, conditions like sexually transmitted Infections (STI) must be considered.
This is not to says STIs don't happen in older guys, but they tend to occur more often in the younger age group.
Another cause may be from operations like vasectomy, prostate surgery/ biopsy or a test to look inside the bladder - called Cystoscopy.
Other less common causes must be considered too: High blood pressure, Cancer, or a bleeding disorder.
Your doctor will be looking for signs of these as they ask questions related to your symptoms and when they examine you.
Finally, the treatment will depend on the possible causes.
For Valentine, we agreed he would need an STI (sexually transmitted infection) screen - there was no recent surgery or evidence of problems with his blood pressure - and testing for infections like Herpes, Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, etc., could identify a cause for which he could start treatment.
(Sometimes - with strong evidence of multiple sex partners or 'at risk' sexual behavior,or a partner with confirmed infection - we could offer treatment before the test - but it's on a case-by-case basis).
And if his screen returns normal, but the pain persists, then he should be seen by a specialist to consider the less common causes and arrange further tests that will diagnose the problem.
If you have testicular pain or haematospermia, don't ignore - get it checked out by your Doctor.
Stay well.
Editing by AskAwayHealth Team Disclaimer All AskAwayHealth articles are edited by practising Medical Practitioners on a wide range of health care conditions to provide evidence based guidance and to help promote quality health care. The advice in our material is not meant to replace management of your specific condition by a qualified health care practitioner. To discuss your condition, please contact a health practitioner or reach us directly through info@askawayhealth.org
