A man has turned to social media to discuss his rare health condition and answer questions from curious individuals.
The urethra is a tube responsible for carrying urine out of the body. Typically, individuals are born with just one urethra.
“I discovered at the age of 16 that other boys had only one urethra. My parents are unaware of it, and I’ve never been checked by a doctor, so I had no way of knowing earlier,” the man stated.
“I used to believe men had two tubes: one for peeing and another for reproductive functions. It turns out I was mistaken. After some research, I found out that I have ‘urethral duplication,’ with only about 300 cases ever documented.”
He shared his experience on Reddit, encouraging others to ask questions about his condition.
Many people were curious, and one question stood out among the rest.
A user asked: “That’s confusing, when you pee, from which urethra does the pee come out from? Both?”
The man replied: “In my case, it only comes out of the lower hole.”
He said he didn’t realize anything was unusual until a random thought led him to Google his condition.
“I just had a thought: ‘what if this wasn’t normal?’ So I Googled it, and to my surprise, it actually wasn’t normal,” he shared.
Another individual in the thread mentioned experiencing the same thing, initially believing the urethras served different functions.
They shared: “I have the exact same thing! I also thought one hole was for peeing and the other for reproductive purposes. I didn’t realize until I was in my 20s and made an offhanded comment to a friend about how a penis has two holes.”
“After a very confused look and an even more confusing conversation, I found out that most people just have one hole. I told my doctor next time I saw him, and he went ‘huh, well will you look at that, you’re right!’
“I never got any imaging done or anything because it doesn’t bother me, so no idea if both actually fully connect or not.”
The man noted that since he experiences no symptoms, he hasn’t sought medical advice for his condition. ‘Urethral duplication’ is extremely rare but more common in men than women.
A study published in European Urology describes ‘urethral duplication’ as a rare congenital malformation that is often idiopathic.
Though the exact cause remains unclear, maternal hormonal disorders, environmental factors, and medications have been suggested as potential causes.
The publication indicates there are approximately 150 documented cases. While many individuals are asymptomatic, others may experience symptoms such as a double urinary stream, incontinence, and recurrent urinary tract infections.