The tip of my penis is itchy

Last updated on August 19, 2020

Question:

I have recently been itching at the tip of my penis. This is the second time I have noticed the unpleasant feeling. I am not circumcised and I am aware of pearly penile papules. I notice those but I have read they do not cause a problem. I was last checked for any STD’s ten months ago and results were negative. I haven’t had any sexual contact since the test. Any idea what may cause this problem?

Answer:

You shouldn’t be fooling around with sex outside of marriage. It not only exposes you to the possibility of diseases, but it also spoils your ability to bond with your wife in a variety of ways when you do get married. See “Why Sex Outside of Marriage is Wrong” for more details.

I won’t be able to narrow the list of possibilities much since you haven’t given me very many clues, but let’s start with some obvious or easy ones:

  • If you recently changed soaps for your body or for your clothes, it is possible that you are mildly allergic to the soap. It can also be that you are not getting your penis rinsed well enough after bathing. Try being extra thorough in rinsing the next few days to see if the irritation decreases.
  • If you have changed your clothing habits, such as going without underwear for a few days, it is possible that the end of your penis is getting chaffed on the coarser material of your pants. Hand lotion applied to the end of the penis may help speed the healing.
  • If you accidentally scratched the end of your penis or caught it slightly in a zipper, it might be a bit raw. Hand lotion or an antibiotic ointment on the end of the penis may help speed the healing.
  • You could have a fungal infection, such as a yeast infection. If so, you should see redness in the area where it itches. Use an anti-fungal product that is made for jock itch to treat the problem. If the guess is correct, the itching should fade in a few days, but make sure you follow the directions and use the product the entire time. To prevent re-infection, make sure you use clean towels when you dry off and make sure you are completely dry before dressing after bathing.
  • It is possible that you got a bladder infection. Such infections change the amount of acid in urine and irritate the penis. If such is the case, the itching or pain would increase when urinating or shortly thereafter. You would need to see a doctor to get this treated.
  • Related to this, some foods you eat will change the acidity of your urine. If the itching comes and goes, this might be a possibility. Again, the itching would be worse shortly after urinating.
  • It is possible that you contracted chlamydia and the earlier tests missed it. Men often don’t have many symptoms with this disease, which is what leads it to being spread so much sexually. It does do quite a bit of damage, some of which might not appear until you reach your later years (Chlamydia is suspected to have a role in heart disease). The most common indicator of Chlamydia is itching or pain at the tip of the penis. To be on the safe side, it would be best to have this double-checked by a doctor, just in case it was missed earlier.
  • Finally, there is a possibility of scabies. This is a skin mite that is found worldwide. One symptom of scabies is that the itching gets worse at night. Generally, scabies is not isolated to one region of the body, but if the mites are just starting to get a hold, it might be starting there.  A doctor can diagnose this problem and prescribe a treatment.

Question:

There is no discharge of any sort, no redness, no burning during urination. When I took a shower a couple of minutes ago, I found little white bumps, about five of them, on the skin toward the tip of my penis. They do not hurt, but I believe that is what is causing the tip of the penis to itch. Any ideas? When my ex-wife and I started our relationship we both were diagnosed with chlamydia and were given some medication. Could that be it?

Answer:

The white bumps could be genital warts or molluscum contagiosum. Warts have a cauliflower look to their top surface, which might be hard to see if they are really small. Molluscum contagiosum has a dome surface, see the picture to the right. Molluscum in particular itch. It is caused by a virus and can appear anywhere on the body. It can be spread by direct touch, saliva, or even by sharing towels. Obviously, it can be sexually transmitted as well, but it is not limited to that. A doctor can make the diagnosis. The bumps will go away on their own in six to nine months. Do not pick or scratch the bumps because this will spread the virus to other parts of your body. There are treatments that doctors use for those that appear on the genitals. While molluscum contagiosum bumps are present, they are transmittable to other people.

Chlamydia doesn’t cause a discharge in men much of the time. It is possible that the bumps are a coincidence and you do have chlamydia again. You really need to see a doctor in order to get this diagnosed.