Man Endured Severely Swollen, Partially Erect Penis for 17 YEARS Until Doctors Finally Discovered the Horrible Cause

A MAN with a severely swollen penis has been diagnosed with shock after suffering in silence for 17 years.

The 72-year-old lived with swelling in his leg, scrotum and penis – which made his member appear partially erect – for nearly two decades before doctors got to the root of the cause.

His curious symptoms were first detected when he was hospitalized, a case report in New England Journal of Medicine by doctors at the University Hospital of Basel, Switzerland, he explained.

Doctors noticed excess fluid in his leg, causing swelling that did not go down when pressure was applied.

A visit to a dermatology clinic in Basel later also revealed swelling in the penis and scrotum.

After a series of tests, it was discovered that the man was infected with microscopic, thread-like worms that caused inflammation in his private parts and legs.

He was diagnosed with chronic lymphatic filariasis.

It is a parasitic infection transmitted by mosquitoes, where worms called nematodes invade the lymphatic system, responsible for fighting infections and maintaining the body’s fluid balance.

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), lymphatic filariasis is globally considered a neglected tropical disease.

Although the 72-year-old had lived in Switzerland for 20 years, he had emigrated there from Zimbabwe 20 years earlier.

Upon examining him, doctors at Basel University Hospital noticed that the patient’s eosinophil count was almost twice normal, indicating an infection.

Eosinophils are white blood cells that become active when you have certain allergic diseases or infections.

“MRI of the pelvis showed swelling of the scrotal tissues on both sides,” the doctors added.

Antibody tests came back positive forWuchereria bancrofti the microscopic thread-like worms and doctors were able to diagnose the patient with chronic lymphatic filariasis.

He was prescribed two powerful parasite medications to kill the worms.

“At follow-up, two months after the end of treatment, the patient’s symptoms resolved,” the doctors noted.

How does lymphatic filariasis spread?

Lymphatic filariasis can be caused by three types of thread-like parasitic worms:

• Wuchereria bancroftiresponsible for 90% of cases
• Brugia malayiwhich makes most of the remaining cases
• brugia timoriwhich also causes the disease

The disease is caused by mosquitoes that contract the infection by biting other infected hosts.

A mosquito bite will deposit worm larvae on the skin and body.

After hatching, the worms lodge in the body’s human lymphatic system and block lymphatic drainage.

Most infected people do not develop symptoms, but the parasites cause damage to the lymphatic systems.

A small number of people will develop lymphedema – swelling of the arms, legs, breasts and genitals – and some men will experience swelling of the scrotum called a hydrocele.

Most people develop these symptoms years after becoming infected.

According to World Health Organization (WHO), worms can live approximately six to eight years and, during their lifetime, produce millions of larvae that circulate in the blood.

More than 120 million people in 72 countries in Asia, Africa, the Western Pacific and parts of the Caribbean and South America are affected by the tropical disease, the CDC says.

According to the NHS, there is generally no risk of contracting the infection in the UK.