Pus in semen is a sign of bacterial or fungal infection in the urinary tract, commonly caused by STDs, thrush, nonspecific urethritis, and prostatitis. Treatment involves antibiotics and antifungal medications, and severe cases may require surgical drainage.
Pus in semen is a sign of bacterial or fungal infection in the urinary tract. Common causes of the symptom include chlamydia and gonorrhea, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), thrush, and nonspecific urethritis. In some cases, patients with prostatitis also experience pus in the semen. Treating the underlying infection will make the pus disappear over time. Severe infections may require surgical drainage of the affected areas to remove any remaining pus.
Chlamydia is one of the most commonly contracted STDs and, as such, is a major cause of pus in semen. The disease is caused by a Chlamydia trachomatis infection, mainly spread through sexual contact. Men with chlamydia often show no signs of infection until one to three weeks after initial exposure. Several other symptoms might accompany the abnormal discharge, including burning sensations in the genitals, pain in the testicles, and itching in the affected area. Chlamydia can be treated with antibiotic medications, such as doxycycline and azithromycin.
Gonorrhea is another major cause of pus in semen, resulting in over 700,000 infections annually in the United States alone. Males infected with Neisseria gonorrhoeae may not show any symptoms of infection; those that do, however, may experience chlamydia-like symptoms anytime from one to four days after initial exposure. Although the infection can be treated with antibiotics, new strains of gonorrhea have developed drug resistance, leading many doctors to recommend two types of antibiotic medication for treatment.
Penile thrush, more commonly known as a male yeast infection, occurs when the Candida albicans fungus proliferates in or around the genitals, particularly in the urethra. Symptoms that might occur alongside pus in semen include developing red sores on the penis, itching, and an unusual smell from the penis or discharge. Thrush can be treated by keeping the affected area clean and dry and taking antifungal medications or antibiotics. The same treatment follows for nonspecific urethritis, a swelling of the urethra caused by bacteria or fungi other than those previously identified.
Prostatitis is a swelling of the prostate gland commonly caused by a bacterial infection, although there have been cases where no infection has been identified. The enlarged gland can cause considerable discomfort to the patient and is made worse by the possible accumulation of pus around or within the gland. Depending on the severity of the infection, doctors may need to surgically drain the prostate of any residual pus or dead cells to relieve the patient’s symptoms. Bacterial prostatitis can be treated with antibiotics; prostatitis without clear infection, however, has no known effective cure. Symptoms can only be relieved temporarily with pain relievers and other pain management techniques.
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