Meatus Irritation

Impossible to say without interviewing you what may have causd this irritation. Was your exercise that day unusual in any way that might have irritated your meatus? I alway assume that my foreskin will protect the meatus, but perhaps you are circumsized?

You could try applying some lubricant such as Vaseline to reduce any friction, as long distance runners do on their nipples to prevent their vests rubbing.

My experience of irritated meatus was the result of having a catheter fitted for a week in hospital. After about five days it got very irritated and painful, and a nurse gave me a numbing lubricant called Instilagel (which is apparently sometimes used when inserting a fitted catheter). It's quite normal for a catheter tube to irritate the meatus and urethra, which get dry from not having fluid passing through them. But I must say that the gel didn't really help.

The catheter had been inserted very violently in an emergency situation, and at the end of the week it was also removed very briskly. As a result the meatus tightened up. Over the following few weeks it became harder and harder to insert my single-use catheters, even after dropping a size, and eventually I was given a meatal dilation under general anaesthetic. (It's not always under general anaesthetic but my meatus was by then so tight that it would have been too painful without the anaesthetic!)

Are you sensing any shrinking of the meatus, any change in pee flow for example? If so it would be worth going to your doctor. If not, perhaps the Vaseline will do the trick and allow it to recover in due course.

One note of caution - do not use anti-inflammatory gels such as Voltarol or ibuprofen gel on the meatus without checking first. I seem to remember reading in the leaflet accompanying such gels that they should specifically NOT be used on genitals.

I hope your meatus settles down soon! Best wishes.