Does this sound like Scabies?

[ng123]

My situation is rather confusing, but i will try to do the best i can in explaining what i'm dealing with. Around December I messed around with another female friend. Precisely December 18th. We did not have intercourse, just messed around, heavy petting, oral sex. Around the 2nd of Jan, I started feeling an intense itching around my scrotum. I had been away for the weekend and thought it might be the soap (allergic reaction) I was using from the hotel room. Later that week I noticed an icy hot sensation like an irritation. It got a little more severe for a couple of weeks until it subsided. I noticed redness around my scrotum and shaft where the penis meets the abdomen. There was also redness around the shaft of my penis on the top side. To make a long story short, the itching and burning (from scratching most of the time) comes and goes. The first thing i thought this might be was herpes. I read and read to try to find out what the symptoms could lead to. But something does not add up. I do not get blisters at all. I have never had fever or flu like symptoms, and no pain during urination. I am reluctant to go to the Doctor about this. In truth, I just want to deal with it as it comes. This is denial, i know, but i'm trying to get an opinion because i'm trying to work up the courage to go to the Dr. This has been going on off and on for the past seven months. It seems like these symptoms come and go too frequently to be herpes. The reason i'm on this forum today is because of my ignorance. I recently discovered something that i think could be the cause of all my pain. Recently I have been having rashes on both wrists, the bottom sides, and both ankles along the heel cords and on the sides of the feet above the heel. I also have these rashes on the sides of my inner theighs and along the creases between my groin and around my anus. they don't feel too great. It burns one day, then itches like crazy the next, and i think it's hand in hand, because i'm scratching it and that leads to the burning.  My forearms and wrists itch the most. I'll wake up at night or right when i'm almost asleep and scratch the hell out of them. I looked all over these forums and have read alot about scabies. My symptoms, in my opinion, look more like scabies to herpes. As i have read, herpes outbreaks last for 3 days to a week and show up around four to six times a year on average. What i'm experiencing seems like it hasn't gone away for any amount of time. The shaft of my penis has flaky, silvery skin in one area as well that seems like it hasn't healed. I've read that herpes is supposed to heal completely with no scarring. This isn't the case. It looks like my penis has scaly skin on it most of the time. Also, I've read about the track lines to that scabies mites leave behind as a sign of infection. My penis has these lines on them that are all parallel to each other that run from east to west across the girth of my shaft. These lines are very very tiny, and have a silvery appearance. Its in the same spot, and doesn't seem to have healed. I also have the discomfort around my anus and the creases of my buttocks and groin. It also feels like the itching is on the top of my eye lids as well, and the skin is also silvery like under the light. But i read where scabies does not affect the eyes. It seems like it comes and goes as i have said. So, in concluding, my symptoms include, itching wrists, forearms ( up to the bicepts side of the elbow), ankles, sides of feet above the heels, anus, groin, penis shaft, around scrotum and sometimes both eye lids. Does this sound like scabies to you or herpes?

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
The symptoms don’t sound like herpes. The two possibilities that come to my mind are eczema and scabies. Eczema is a form of chronic dermatitis (rash).Allergic reaction is one of the important causes of eczema. Allergic reaction can occur to strong soaps, Solvents, chemicals, certain foods, food additives, plants, metals, cosmetics, even urine and faeces of some animals (dust mites).

Diagnosis of scabies is made by scraping the skin and viewing the material under a microscope to see the characteristic mite or eggs.

I would suggest you to consult a dermatologist and get these possibilities evaluated. Treatment depends on the confirmation of diagnosis.

I hope it helps. Take care and please do keep me posted in case you have any additional doubts. Kind regards.