I am 18 years old and for a couple of months now there keep appearing pimples on my penis that slowly spread especially with the heat of the summer. But neither do they hurt nor do they itch. They are reddish. Could it be a venereal disease?

Firstly I would like to tell you that having a symptom for more than a week, any situation that somehow affects your health, you need to consult a doctor.

For the description you have given me, I think that you might have TRICHOMONIASIS (o TRICHOMONAS VAGINALIS).

It concerns a very common microscopic parasite. Generally it is transmitted through sexual contact and it either comes from the female vaginal mucus, the female or male urethra or the male prostate.

You can also get it through using contaminated towels, clothes, bathrooms or other infected objects.

Clinically it is manifested through reddish spots that have a strawberry like appearance. There might be urethral purulent discharge. It is mainly found at the top of the penis (zone of the gland).

As for women, there can also occur discomfort like itching and pain, indicating that there is a secondary bacterial infection.

As for man there are the symptoms as I have already described you, with reddish spots. There could be urethritis (certain irritation while urinating), epididymitis (scrotal pain, epididymis is a structure of tubules near the testicles), itching around the penis (zone of the gland) that could lead to a secondary infection if you shave your pubic zone.

But keep calm: It is not a situation you should worry about. It might happen more than once in your life that you get infected with something like that.

But you need to consult a doctor so he can diagnose it correctly and recommend you a certain medical treatment. It shouldn?t cost you a lot.

Once the doctor has diagnosed - please remember to consult one - the symptoms of TRICHOMONIASIS, proceed the way he indicates you.

The information I have given you is only to give you an idea of what it could be that you have infected yourself with.

If you have sexual contact with your girlfriend, you need to inform her about it because she should also consult a doctor and undergo the same treatment like you. And, obviously, you need to stay away from any indirect or direct sexual contact until the treatment has shown results and is completed.

Since the infection could have happened through using a bathroom, you should think about where it could have possibly happened, without exempting the bathroom of your home but also of any hotel, work place, university etc. You could have also got infected by sharing a towel or bed linen with somebody.

The same goes for your girlfriend.

If you have had relationships with more than one girl, you need to inform every single one to avoid that the circle repeats.

If there are communication problems with your girlfriend or you find it hard to tell her such thing, you still need to do so. Tell her you have got infected with Trichomoniasis through using some bathroom.

If there are communication problems in your family and with your parents, tell them the same thing, saying that you will see the doctor because you have got Trichomoniasis through using a bathroom. It is very important to let them now so they can clean the bathroom with a chlorine solvent and this way banish the danger of infection.

The previous shouldn't alarm you. They are simply advises.

Asked by a boy from Peru