Turning Red

Any questions or discussions that you ONLY want to discuss with our staff or volunteers.
(Users: please do not reply to other users here.)
Jo809
not a newbie
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue Nov 01, 2022 9:51 pm
Age: 24
Primary language: English
Pronouns: He/him
Sexual identity: Straight
Location: USA

Turning Red

Unread post by Jo809 »

I wanted to know if it is possible for just the head of the penis to change color when ejaculating. Sometimes mine is purplish, red, pink, or grey. A few days ago, when I was masturbating, the head of my penis had turned redder than I've ever noticed. I'm not sure if this indicates something or not since this is the first time I have ever noticed this. I'm not sure but it looked like it was constricted or for lack of a better phrase, "couldn't breathe". I know that sounds like a joke. When I looked at it, I could see some "skin tissue?" move underneath the skin in the head of my penis. My only guess right now is something to do with the blood flow.
Siân
previous staff/volunteer
Posts: 785
Joined: Tue Jul 04, 2017 6:10 am
Age: 34
Awesomeness Quotient: I ask ALLLLL the questions
Primary language: English
Pronouns: she/her
Sexual identity: Figuring it out
Location: UK

Re: Turning Red

Unread post by Siân »

Hi Jo809

If you're seeing it, then it's definitely possible! In general, yes, the amount of blood that's trapped in the penis when it's erect often leads to changes in colour.

In some ways it *is* constricted - the veins taking blood out of the penis are squished closed when you're erect, which is what helps the blood build up in there. I suspect that what you saw moving under the skin of your penis either blood pulsing in the blood vessels, or ejaculatory fluid moving up through the penis and out of the urethra.

Did you have a particular concern about what you saw?
Jo809
not a newbie
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue Nov 01, 2022 9:51 pm
Age: 24
Primary language: English
Pronouns: He/him
Sexual identity: Straight
Location: USA

Re: Turning Red

Unread post by Jo809 »

Hello again,

I think the first option you gave for what I saw moving under the skin of my penis makes the most sense.

My main concern was if the bright red color, which I've never noticed before, was just a random occurrence or if it's unhealthy for the penis to turn that specific shade of red. It didn't necessarily hurt, but it did feel different than any other time I have ejaculated. I said it looked constricted, but it also felt "constricted" or like it "couldn't breathe". So, I guess my main question was, should I be worried if this happens again, or is it normal?
Mo
previous staff/volunteer
Posts: 2287
Joined: Thu Jul 31, 2014 2:57 pm
Awesomeness Quotient: I'm always wearing seriously fancy nail polish.
Primary language: English
Pronouns: he/him, they/them
Sexual identity: queer/bisexual

Re: Turning Red

Unread post by Mo »

This doesn't sound like something to worry about, although it's hard for us to know exactly what you're experiencing based on your description here. (That isn't about you not describing things well; it's just one of the downsides of using text to explain something we can't see.) I think a good approach is that if you aren't noticing anything like pain or discomfort after masturbating, then it's probably the case that everything is fine and the redness you're noticing isn't an issue.
Post Reply Previous topicNext topic