Pain when you ejaculate: could it be an STI?

Semen leaves the body through the urethra, the same tube that carries pee. If that tube is inflamed, anything passing through it can sting or burn, and that includes semen.

The medical name for an inflamed urethra is urethritis. The NHS says it is often caused by an STI and needs treatment with antibiotics. Gonorrhoea is one cause. A more common type is non-gonococcal urethritis, where the cause is something other than Gonorrhoea, such as Chlamydia. It is also called non-specific urethritis, and our post on it explains more.

If an STI is behind the pain, you may notice other changes too:

• Burning or stinging when you pee.
• White or cloudy discharge from the penis.
• An irritated or sore tip of the penis.

Symptoms can take a few days or weeks to appear after sex, according to the NHS. It also says urethritis does not always cause symptoms, so someone can have an infection and pass it on without realising, and that includes a recent partner.

Yes. Another possible cause is prostatitis, which is inflammation of the prostate, the small gland below the bladder. The NHS says it can be serious and needs urgent medical help, so see a doctor promptly if the symptoms below sound like you. Pain when you ejaculate is one of them, along with:

• pain when peeing, which may feel like stinging or burning
• difficulty peeing or needing to pee more often than usual
• pain in the penis, scrotum, testicles or bottom
• a high temperature

The NHS says prostatitis is usually caused by an infection, such as a urinary tract infection. It is treated with antibiotics, and you will usually feel better within 2 weeks of starting treatment, though it may take several weeks for all your symptoms to clear. If symptoms have lasted 3 months or longer, you may be referred to a specialist.

Irritation of the urethra can also come from damage, for example from a urinary catheter, or even just from the trauma the penis experiences during sex, and of course, sometimes no cause is found. With so many possible causes, a test tells you more than guessing can.

See a doctor promptly if you have a high temperature, pain in your testicles or bottom, or trouble peeing. If you cannot pee at all, or you feel confused or very unwell, get urgent medical care.

It is worth getting checked rather than waiting to see whether the pain passes. Left untreated, urethritis can occasionally spread to the testicles, causing an infection called epididymitis. The NHS says complications like this are rare, but they are a good reason to find out the cause early.

If you have had sex without a condom, or a partner has told you they have an STI, an STI test is a sensible first step. The Comfort Screen is designed for people with discomfort or unusual discharge. It needs a single urine sample and tests for Chlamydia, Gonorrhoea, Gardnerella, Herpes, Mycoplasma, Trichomonas and Ureaplasma.

If you only want to check for Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea, the Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea (Urine) test is also available. These tests and links are for the UK, and the range differs in some countries, so check the test page for your country.

A few practical points:

• When to test: if you have symptoms like the pain we mentioned, get tested straight away rather than waiting. If you have no symptoms, the incubation period for both tests is 14 days. If a partner has tested positive and you first had sex with them more than 14 days ago, you can test straight away; if it was less than 14 days ago, wait until day 14. In any other case, test 14 days after the most recent time you were at risk.
• Results: they come back within 2 working days of your sample reaching the laboratory.
• If something is found: you can have a consultation and treatment, and everything is confidential.
• Questions: our Patient Care Team is available 24/7 on 020 7099 0955.

If your tests come back clear but the pain carries on, a Doctor’s Consultation is a good next step. An STI screen does not check for prostatitis or the other causes above, and a doctor can look at your whole history and decide what else to check.

Related symptoms often travel together, so our posts on why it hurts when you pee and groin pain and STIs may also help.

It can be unsettling to find out, but urethritis is treatable. Most cases are treated with a short course of antibiotics. When Gonorrhoea is the cause, treatment is a single antibiotic injection, sometimes followed by tablets. After Gonorrhoea, a test of cure is worth having, at least 2 weeks after treatment, to check the infection has gone and was not a resistant strain. The NHS says it can take a week or two for symptoms to disappear completely. Any recent partners may need treatment too. Avoid sex, including oral sex, until you and your partners have finished treatment and the symptoms have gone.

Sometimes the pain carries on even after the right treatment. If that happens, it always needs a medical follow-up, not just repeat tests.

A positive result says nothing about who gave it to whom or when. These infections do not always cause symptoms, so either of you could have had one without knowing.

• NHS. Urethritis. Page last reviewed 10 May 2023. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/urethritis/
• NHS. Prostatitis. Page last reviewed 19 February 2024. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/prostatitis/

Medical review. This article was medically reviewed by Dr Steve Chapman, a doctor with a wealth of clinical experience in the field of STIs, on 9 November 2026. Better2Know content is reviewed for clinical accuracy before publication and updated when guidance or surveillance data changes. It is general information and not a substitute for personal medical advice.