A 38-year-old man sought help from urologists after suffering redness, swelling and scabbing on his penis, which had persisted for the best part of a week.
Further investigations revealed that the troubling symptoms had begun soon after he’d suffered a bout of severe diarrhea and vomiting.
The doctors, at the American University of Beirut Medical Center in Lebanon, where he was treated, took a swab of the man’s penis to test for infection.
They found evidence of the bacteria bacillus cereus, which is usually found in rice that’s been left out at room temperature for too long and can cause sickness and stomach upsets if eaten.
The doctors concluded that the man’s unusual genital infection had been caused by an episode of diarrhea and vomiting that occured almost immediately after ‘vigorous sex’ with his wife.
The intimate act can increase the risk of bacteria permeating the skin due to the change in blood vessels.
The bacteria was said to have made direct contact with the patient’s groin.
The doctors remarked that it was ‘unusual’ to see bacillus cereus in the skin, let alone the genitals.
This was the ‘first case in literature’ of the food poisoning in the penis.
Reference:
Nasrallah, Oussama G. MDa; Mahdi, Jana H.d; Araj, George F. PhDb; El Sayegh, Noura MDb; El Zakhem, Aline MDc; Bachir, Bassel G. MDa (2024) “Bacillus cereus infection of the penis: an unusual infection”. Annals of Medicine & Surgery 86 (9), 5600-5603. Full text (warning, contains photos)
If I’m reading it correctly, this has absolutely nothing to do with having sex with his wife. The final sentences explain he ate presumed bad rice the day before, got sick, and probably got vomit or shit on his dick - which caused a secondary skin infection. Same story whether he had sex with his wife or not.
Not really, the doctors suggest that him being sick on his dick almost immediately after sex is why he got the infection:
The intimate act can increase the risk of bacteria permeating the skin due to the change in blood vessels.
The reason it’s the first time food poisoning of the penis has been recorded in the medical literature is because of the unfortunately close timing of the two events.
Can you imagine being in the throws of violently vomiting and shitting, and your wife is like “That’s hot. Let’s do it.”, and you’re like “I’m down”. What kind of lives are these people living?
The timeline seems to be: they had a meal with rice, followed by vigorous sex and then later he soiled his generals thanks to food poisoning.
Once your top and bottom ends erupt violently then you are lucky if you make it to the toilet in time. And all you are fit for is praying for a prompt death.
So basically if he had not had sex and comited on his dick he would have been fine
That is the… thrust of the argument, yes. They emphasise “vigorous sex” in the paper and that can lead to micro-tears and abrasions on the genitals which would greatly increase your chance of getting an infection afterwards. Skin bacteria (staph or strep) would be most likely (I have eczema and have had infections through the breaks in my skin, so I now have a prescription emollient that is antibacterial) but even if you soiled your genitals and got an infection it would usually be gut bacteria. He’s just been hit by a series of unlucky events.
I mean, I’ve heard similarly wild medical theories from their neighboring regions.
How serious should doctors from this hospital be taken?
I’ve had food poisoning. How the fuck was he having sex? That’s dedication.
Me too and the best I can do is figure out which end to point at the toilet next.
I think the key is that “fried rice poisoning” can come on pretty violently and so he’s had a window between eating the contaminated rice and his body going “hell, no!” where he felt fine. It’s why this case is unique in medical literature as it does require a well-timed series of events in just the right order for this to happen.
My only act of physical coordination was getting a bucket into my lap while sitting on the toilet.
Truly a terrible end to date night.
Anal?
Hate when that happens…
Damn, you can get food poisoning from rice? I always assumed that was one of the foods that’s still fine even after it’s been sitting on the stove for a while. I should be more careful.
Yeah, it’s pretty toxic which is why your body has such a rapid (possibly 30 minutes) and violent reaction.
It’s called “fried rice poisoning” because people often leave some leftover rice to stir fry the next day. It’s fine if you know what you are doing, dangerous if you don’t. Basically cool your rice down immediately by running cold water through it and then reheat it when needed, keeping everything in the fridge if you are using it the next day. However, you are best off cooking what you need for that day.
