Doctors have treated the first-ever case of rice-related food poisoning affecting the genìtal region.
A 38-year-old man sought help from urologists after suffering redness, swelling and scabbing on his penìs, which had persisted for the best part of a week.
Further investigations revealed that the troubling symptoms had begun soon after he’d s******d severe diarrhoea 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 penìs 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 genìtal infection had been caused by an episode of diarrhoea and vomiting that occurred almost immediately after ‘vigorous sėx’ with his wife.
The intimate act can increase the risk of bacteria permeating the skin due to the change in blóod 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 genítals.
This was the ‘first case in literature’ of the food poisoning in the penís.
The man, a father of two, was treated using a topical antibiotic called fucidic acid, usually used to treat eye infections.
The patient was also told wash the area ‘properly’ and avoid sėx and masturbatíon until it healed.
One month after the infection the patient said he had no burning, or discomfort in the genítal area and the infection did not come back.
The doctors explain bacillus cereus can cause you to be síck just 30 minutes after eating.
Symptoms are relatively mild and usually last about 24 hours, according to the NHS.
The patient had eaten a meal containing rice with his family just a day before his symptoms started.
The study, published in the journal Annals of Medicine and Surgery, noted that penile infections usually occur after an injury that creates an open wound and typically involves the bacteria group A streptococcus.
Study authors wrote: ‘In this current case, it is plausible that the diarrhoea and vomitus which contaminated the penís post intercourse is likely the source of the skin infection.’