Confusion over herpes

[Sabastian]

I could not be more confused over genital herpes. One person says one thing and then I hear another. I've read where you have said that there has to be a blistery attack for a person to have herpes but from reading the national herpes resourse website they say that 90 percent of people aren't aware they have herpes, that only 20 percent of people infected with genital herpes have classic symptoms like the blistery attacks. They say the most common symptoms are genital itching and minor skin abrasions. I am so confused and stressed out. I just want to make sure I don't have herpes becuase I don't want to infect any potential partners.

So here are my symptoms: About two weeks after having unprotected sex I started expieriencing itching in my whole genital region. This is the first time in my life expieriencing itching that bad anywhere. My scrotum has been red and irritated off and on. My penis has itched also, but it's important to note that I have never had any blisters in either region. My inner thighs I have had rashes and I am quite posative this is jock itch as it clears up with treatment. But it keeps coming back. The thing that I am most worried about is what I have had in my pubic region above my penis. I have been getting rashes and bumps all over the place. The bumps are all over and there are probably 10 to 12 at any given time. They will go away for a while but always come back. I never had this until the first sexual encounter. Most of them have pubic hairs around or through the middle of them but some don't. This has been going on for about 3 months and the itching and burning and the bumps are getting very annoying to say the least. Could this be caused by a fungus. Is this Folliliticis? I've been to the doctor but never during a time when I've had the rash in the pubic region. I don't know what to do. Your advice would be much appreciated.

[GingerCandy25]

Greetings Dr. Rockoff,

Thank you for a great Website.

I'm a 26 year old female.  I have never had intercourse, but I've had unprotected skin to skin contact.  2 days ago a gyno gave me the biggest scare and shock.  I went to her office, because I got 2 big red bumps that looked very much like pimples (sometimes I get them on face and back) on top of my genital area (where there is hair), they were hurting and they had pus in them.  As soon as she looked at them she said "it's herpes".  I asked her 4 times and she confirmed it.  And then, while she was taking a culture to send it to the lab, she says "wait, I think it's an ingrown hair, I see a hair coming out of one".  By this time, I didn't know if I wanted to be happy or smack her in the head.  She diagnoised it as hair folicle, but she said she's not 100% sure and we have to wait for results.

They don't itch, but I do have itching in my genital area and I saw some discharge today.  This bump came when I had my period last time, it went down but came back again when I got my period this time.  Today, I saw that one of the pimples has come out and has created a crater-like indent and I saw the hair that's coming out of it.  My question to you is: Does herpes create a crater-like indent or does it always scab before it heals?  What do these sound like to you?  I would greatly appreciate your opinion and thanks again for this great Website.  

E-mail: ***@****


Best,

Ginger

[Jimbean]

Seb. here is my email " ***@**** "
email me back that way it is a little more private..
I have some other info also!
Take care

[Sabastian]

Please let me know what you find out.

[Jimbean]

Sabastian,
Did u find out anything?  I went to the doctor today! She was not a Dermintologist, but a regular General Doctor...
She is fairly young and fairly believes I have herpes!
I have ZERO SORENESS, PAIN, MAJOR BLISTERS... I just have a
bunch of little pimple like bumps where the hair folic is about 12 or so of them...  And I have had them on and off for the past month..  I read herpes last 7 to 10 days and is usually painful...  Also I would like to add she said my condition is normal in the begining, but will turn into the herpes blisters
as time goes on....  Man.. Anyway I had a blood test should find out in (3) days I will let you know....  My condition does not look a drastic as ever picture I have seen on the INET!!
Take care
Don.
BTW-my dads friend said there is another type of herpes.. but then again there seems like alot..  I hope the blood test will give correct results..

[Sabastian]

Your symptoms sound very similar to mine except I have had I real problem with the itching. You should go see a doctor.

[Jimbean]

Hello!  I am very cautious when it comes to sex.  Me and my mate
have just decided to have sex about 3 weeks ago.  We have never had unprotected sex..  I would say about (2) days after we had sex(for the first time) I realized I had little pimple like clusters say about 18 or 20 pimples just above my PENIS(my penis is normal) in the pubic hair area...  It looks like a rash they are in ONE 2 by 2 inch cluster (in the center of my pubic hair) almost as if they are coming out of the same pubic hair folic whole the hair comes from
I am kinda concerned about I may have contracted a FUNGIS or yeast infection from her!  She said she has "no signs" and has not been sexually active in over a year..  I am very much physically active and tend to work out and sometimes not shower for 1 to 2 hours after my workouts, but this has never been a problem.. My condition does NOT look in anyway like "HERPES" it
look simliar to a shafe, but a few of the bumps do PUSS a little like a pimple (but very little) and also a few have really small white flakes, where the others are just small bumps...
They DO NOT itch or HURT unless i irritate them..  It seems  it flares up after a long job and tend to flare up and flare down in 48 hours then it flare up again for the past 3 weeks!!
Any ideas??? My PENIS is fine and so is my scrotum....
I just started to use Lotrimin 1% butenafine hydrochloride cream and I have been washing my pubic are with a facial cleanser that has "triclosan" in it..  Help!!!!!  Even though I do not have th e blisters of herpes it still concerens me!


Thank you for your time.

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

I advise you to stop filling yourself with unnecessary anxiety.  Itches and bumps with hairs in them are not signs of herpes or any other STD I know of.  Herpes can't be diagnosed unless there's a cluster of blisters that scabs over and goes away in 7-10 days.  If it comes back, it looks the same.

I don't know what the website you referenced means, but I don't know how they can say that only 20% of herpes patients have visible blisters.  If somebody never had a visible manifestation, even once, how do they know he has herpes?  As for "genital itching and minor skin abrasions," that describes most of my patients with any genital complaint.  Conversely, my herpes patients complain of soreness, not itch.

I stronly urge you to consult a doctor versed in STD's.   Takde photographs of your rashes and bring them along.  Get clarification you can count on.  And for your own physical and mental health, avoid unprotected sex!

Best.

Dr. Rockoff