Herpers, folliculitis, or ????

[Jimbean]

Hello Dr. Rockoff, My g-friend and I decided to have PROTECTED SEX 6 WEEKS AGO(GOING ON 7 WEEKS NOW) As soon as we finish having sex that night I took a shower right away. I did notice red irration, that was perfectly normal because she was on top for about 30-40 minutes. TWO-4 DAYS after our FIRST "PROTECTED" sexual encounter I noticed 6-8 little red pimples like possibly BLISTERS on my GENITAL HAIR area about 3 inches below my belly botton and they all cluster around each other (none of them connected)A few started to look like they we gonna PUS and I squeezed a few which in return gave me a little pain and a little pus(NEVER ANY ITCHING). At this point I was not really concerened. They looked NOTHING like CLASSICAL herpes which from what I have seen is a CLUSTER of WATER BLISTERS ON EACH INDIVIDUAL RED BUMP(CORRECT ME IF I AM WRONG). MINE WERE MORE LIKE little red pimple and 99% of them had HAIR coming out!  After the FIRST week they tend to look like they were going away, but during the NEXT 4 weeks they would FLARE up almost every5 days..( I STILL HAD PROTECTED SEX WEEKly) My PENIS SHAFT had nothing on it.. Though at the BASE of my PENIS shaft I did have a LARGER PIMPLE LIKE bump which did have pus. But none of them ever looked like they had multiple blisters on a red bump!
During the 5th WEEK i said this is enough! I went to my General Doctor she took one look at the 10 little red pimples and 1 large one at the base of my shaft(still in my genital hair the large one was almost healed) and said "this does look like herpes blisters". Of coarse I was upset! Then she gave me a BLOOD TEST and a prescription of VALTREX! I was in shock b/c I expected this to look different, but because it showed up 2-5 days after I had sex I figure she must be right!
I BLOOD TEST showed me negital of HSV1 & HSV2. So i assumed it was the newer blood test, though i do realize that my body if infected would of not have generated "antibodies" unless it was an old infection. Well going into the 6th week I saw a DERMINTOLOGIST. I DID NOT take the valtrex! But my condition was a little different! All the litte red pimples I had pretty much HEALED except for 2 of them(still showed redness where they were) BUT the WEIRD thing was I felt a larger inflamation (inflammation) in the same area under my genital hair (directly in the middle of my genital hair about 2 inch long)  This was different from what I experinced the last 5 weeks! I felt under my skin I guess you would call it puss,liquid, or bacteria! It did not peak into a large RED PIMPLE, but if u pulled the skin back you can see a WHITE PUSS come out of the hair FOLLICAL from 2 different areas where the inflammation is.. In my opinion there was definitly a follical infection.. So I squeezed them and white puss came out! The Dermintologist gave me CEPHALEXIN 500mg said it could not be HERPES and it is "folliculitis". Why would he give me cephaexin? i have not read this anywhere?  THANK U FOR YOUR TIME SORRY IT IS SO LONG      

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

The dermatologist gave you cephalexin, because that antibiotic is effective agiants the bacteria which contribute to folliculitis.  Your description certainly matvhes folliculitis rather than herpes, just as the dermatologist said.  Prolonged sweating and friction are probably what caused the folliculitis, which generally goes away on its own if you leave it alone and don't try to squeeze pus out of it.

Sorry you were so worried.  Listen to your dermatologist.

Take care.

Dr. Rockoff

[Jimbean]

BTW -  WE HAVE ONLY HAD PROTECTED SEX EXCEPT SHE DID PERFORM ORAL ON ME (2) weeks before we had protected!  Could this caused it??
thanks

[Jimbean]

Also..Dr.Rockoff I have been on the Cephalexin for (2) days (since my DERMINTLOGIST appointment) now (8 pills-500mgs) and it seems the 3 BOILS are better.. Do you think the 8 to 10 RED PIMPLE LIKE BLISTER/BUMPS that I had for 5 1/2 weeks is what caused the BOILS to start or do you think it could be the "AMEN's" baby powder in the day and LOTRIMIN (butebafube hydrichloride cream) at night for the last 2 weeks clogged my pores...  Very weird on how I can have 8-10 little pimple like sores for 5 1/2 weeks turn into a complete different sore!! These are starting to get hard! Like a BOIL on your back!!

Thank you for your time!

[Jimbean]

Just to clearify.. the boils are the size of a dime (little smaller) and they are nowhere near like an infected boils looks
but you can see the inflamation (inflammation)! thanks

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Boils are larger versions of folliculitis.  You should ask your dermatologist about them if you have questions.

Dr. Rockoff

[rdefense]

last winter i encountered a body rash that pretty much covered me. my hands and face included. i looked in many books and searched online and  it seemed to be psorisis. my mother also said it ran in the family and it would clear eventually, which it did after a couple months. but now, i still have it on my genital area towards the head. it does not go away. i have been single for over a year and had one sexual encounter but she was clean . could this still be something from my rash that spread or could it be something altogether different? i am  making an appointment with a dermatologist because this is bothering me. it doesnt itch or burn, but will be sore if i masturbate and turn dark red.

[JackRoss]

When I was 18 I started with a rash in my peri-anal area. This was treated with Nerisone cream,(a cream usually used for Psoriasis). The rash never went away but was somewhat controled. It would get out of control at times, too sore to even clean myself. I am now 36 years old and still have this problem. Also in the past few years I developed an excoriated area in my right groin. This was treated with every anti fungal available to man and nothing really worked. I continue to apply it because if I don't in two days the area is so bad I can hardly stand it. There is alot of skin pain. About a week ago I noticed it is starting in my left groin. I had a scratch test at the clinic about a month ago where the doc scapped a little bit of skin off and sent it to the lab. It came back and showed no Fungus, everything was negative. So now I'm wondering what the heck I have. Is it Psoriasis,Eczema, other?
I have an appointment with a Dermatologist next week and I'm afraid he is going to tell me there is nothing more he can do. Just keep on applying the cream. That will totally be awful since it took 6 months to get an appointment.
If it is Jock itch, does it ever go away? I'm not obese or have skin folds. Does it help to shave the area or keep the hair short? What is the better of the creams for this area? Can the area skin be damaged permanently?
Thank you in advance if anyone has any reply to my quest for relief.
Jack