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What Causes Friction Burns Post Unprotected Intercourse?

Posted on Thu, 16 Oct 2014

Question: My boyfriend and I have been in a monogamous relationship for 8 months. In that time, we have had pretty consistent sex, with no problems. We don't use condoms as we are both clean and he has had a vasectomy. Two weeks ago, we had sex and he developed what looked like friction burns just below the head of his penis, we gave it four days to heal before having sex again. Same thing happened, but I figured it could just be because we didn't let it fully heal. We went to a clinic,just to be sure. The MD took a look at him, and said it wasn't infected and looked like friction burns. She gave him a prescription cream to help. She then examined me, (I had NO symptoms) and told me I had a yeast AND bacterial infection. I got an rx for an anti bacterial and monostat, again having no symptoms, so I can't speak to the effectiveness of the treatment. Evenything is the same as it was before, during, and after. We waited a full week to have sex again, we both finished the meds and creams. We had sex last night and he immediately developed the same abrasions/cuts just below the head of his penis. Friction was not an issue last night. Is it possible for there to be something inside of me that is cutting/scraping him? I've tried exploring, but if there is something, it's got to be about 7-8 inches up there. No history of stds, he is 43 and I am 27.

Answered by Dr. Jonas Sundarakumar (56 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Very unlikely to be due to something inside you...

Detailed Answer:
Hello and thanks for your query.

I have gone through your description in detail. It is extremely unlikely that you are having any foreign body inside you which is cutting or scraping your boyfriend's penis during sexual intercourse. It is not possible for something to cause such damage to the other person but not be felt by you.

In my opinion, it is likely that the infection could be causing the lesions on your boyfriend's penis after intercourse. The reason is because, you have had sex plenty of times before and such a problem has never occurred. So, the most likely possibility is that you could have developed an infection which is causing these problems.

No, not all vaginal infections are symptomatic. Fungal infections, especially, can be often asymptomatic. Also, it is very much possible that an infection which is not causing symptoms in a woman can cause symptoms in a man. For example the mucosal reaction / inflammation that an infection causes in a one person can be different from that in a another person. This has to do with the differences in pH, moisture content, immunity, etc.

So, my suggestion would be to recheck with your doctor whether your infection has completely cleared or not. If not, then both of you may need another course of treatment. It would also be advisable to abstain from sex for at least 2 to 3 weeks till your boyfriend's lesions have healed fully and your infection has cleared completely.

Best wishes,

Dr. Jonas Sundarakumar MBBS., DPM., MRCPsych.(U.K.)

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Jonas Sundarakumar (3 hours later)

are there any natural ways to clear this up? the antibiotic crashed my immune system and I was sick the entire week I was on the pills...and experienced pretty drastic nausea. I was also told my pH could be off due to my period, which came 2 days into the treatment. I read that the situation might naturally rectify itself once my period was over, but clearly that wasn't the case.

Answered by Dr. Jonas Sundarakumar (14 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Remedies suggested...

Detailed Answer:
Natural / home remedies don't have a proven efficacy, but can still be tried. Vaginal douches with diluted vinegar can help. Lactobacillus supplements (or probiotic yoghurt) can be effective in controlling yeast infections. Also, if you are not able to tolerate oral medication, you can ask your doctor for vaginal pessaries or suppositories.

Regards,
Dr. Jonas Sundarakumar MBBS., DPM., MRCPsych.(U.K.)

Note: For further guidance on mental health, Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar