What You Need to Know About Male Urethral Discharge Testing

Most often, your healthcare provider will recommend a urethral discharge culture test if you have signs or symptoms of a lower urinary tract infection, including:

• painful urination
• increased urine frequency
• discharge from the urethra
• redness or swelling around the urethra
• swollen testicles

The culture tests for any bacterial or fungal organisms present in your urethra. The test can detect sexually transmitted infections (STIs), such as gonorrhea and chlamydia.

Gonorrhea

Gonorrhea is a common sexually transmitted bacterial infection that affects the mucous membranes of the reproductive tract.

This includes:

• the cervix, uterus, and fallopian tubes in women
• the urethra in women and men

Gonorrhea most commonly occurs in your genital tract, but it can also occur in your throat or anus.

Chlamydia

Chlamydia is the most commonly reported sexually transmitted bacterial infection in the United States. It can cause urethritis and proctitis (infection of the rectum) in both men and women.

Symptoms for both gonorrheal and chlamydial infections in the urethra in males include:

• painful urination
• pus-like discharge from the tip of the penis
• pain or swelling in the testicles

Gonorrheal or chlamydial proctitis in men and women are often associated with rectal pain and pus, or bloody discharge from the rectum.

Reproductive tract infections in women with gonorrhea or chlamydia are usually associated with abnormal vaginal discharge, lower abdominal or vaginal pain, and painful intercourse.

Urethral discharge culture testing is a relatively simple but uncomfortable procedure. Some risks include:

• fainting, due to stimulation of the vagus nerve
• infection
• bleeding

Your doctor or nurse will perform the test in their office.

To prepare, refrain from urinating at least 1 hour before the test. Urination may wash away some of the germs that the test is trying to capture.

First, your healthcare provider or nurse will clean the tip of your penis with a sterile swab, where the urethra is located. Then, they’ll insert a sterile cotton swab about three-quarters of an inch into your urethra and turn the swab to gather a large enough sample. The process is quick, but it may be uncomfortable or slightly painful.

The sample is then sent to a lab where it’s put into a culture. Lab technicians will monitor the sample and check for any bacteria or other growth. The test results should be available to you in a few days.

You may also be able to obtain STI tests you can do at home and mail in for anonymity and comfort.

A normal, negative result means there’s no growth in the culture, and you don’t have an infection.

An abnormal, positive result means growth was detected in the culture. This signals an infection in your genital tract. Gonorrhea and chlamydia are the most common infections.

Sometimes a person can carry one of these organisms without showing any symptoms.

The current recommendations include testing for STIs such as gonorrhea and chlamydia for:

• sexually active women younger than 25
• men who have sex with men (MSM)
• MSM with multiple partners

Even if you’re not having symptoms, you can still transmit one of these infections to one of your sexual partners if you’re carrying the bacteria.

As always, you should practice sex with a condom or other barrier method to prevent transmitting STIs.

If you’re diagnosed with an STI, it’s important to notify your previous and current sexual partners, so that they can be tested as well.

A urethral discharge culture is a simple and accurate way to test for infections in your urinary tract. The procedure is quick but may be painful or uncomfortable. You’ll get results within a couple of days. If the results are positive, you can begin treatment immediately.