Herpes of the 'shins'??????

[bluebird05]

I had sex with a girl (one night stand) who had scars on her shins just on the front side, no where else on her legs or the rest of her body.  She looked very healthy otherwise.  We did use a condom and had vaginal sex only.  I didn't think much of the scars has a STD or anything because her vagina and mouth/lips/face etc., looked fine.  A few days or perhaps a week went by and one morning I woke up with these sores all over my shins.  They looked like red blisters but I don't think any fluid ever came out of them.  They were just kind of spread all over the place, anywhere from the size of a pea to the size of a penny.  They didn't hurt or anything, they were just there.  But after a few days they started to itch like crazy.  The itch was so intense I can not describe it.  I was literally scratching my shins with a screwdriver it itched so bad, I would be bleeding and still scratching.  After a while it seemed like it spread out and looked like a big rash.  This went on for about a MONTH until it finally healed.  I tried not to scratch it (I know it's best not too) but I could not help it...it was that intense itching.  But like I said there was never any pain.  Well, it left my shins with all these scars (brownish color) just like the girl had.  So I know it is a STD, but what?  Can herpes isolate only the shins?  My genitals are fine along with my mouth etc., where you would think herpes would strike.  It has been several years and I never did go to the doctor.  But now the same thing has happened to my fingers, between them and in the webs of my hands and on the sides of my palms.  But this time it is more like a rash, not sores, that itches only.  It is healing up again and the dead skin is drying up and peeling away and no more itch.  Any idea what this is and if the shins is related to the fingers/hands???  I know this is all from that girl because I was fine before that and I have not been with anyone else since.  I wish I could post a picture of my shins so you might know right away by looking at the scars, they are ugly but don't bother me anymore.  Your help/advice would be appreciated.

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

First, I don't think it was an STD.  Herpes looks nothing like what you describe.  If I had to guess, I would say it was either a bacterial infection, or else you just got irritated and anxious and scratched it to the point it left marks.  Any irritation can leave long-lasting dark marks on the shins.

As to what you have now, it's probably a form of eczema, and certainly not related to a long-ago sexual encounter.

My advice is to see a doctor and get a specific diagnosis and treatment.  If I understand you to say that you were with the girl you mention several years ago, it may not be possible to say with certainty what the rash was, but again, an STD seems most unlikely.

Best.

Dr. Rockoff

[MLWTR]

Possibly the rash on your shins was poison ivy. It causes a blistering rash, is extremely itchy, and can take about a month for the rash and itching to subside. If you scratched it as much as you say, you might well have some skin discoloration due to scarring.

I doubt that the current problem with the hands is connected, that that's just my guess. Good luck.

[bluebird05]

It can't be...her shins did not have an active rash; they were just scars like mine are now.  I don't think you can give poison ivy to someone once it has healed up and has been gone for a long time.  Even though I used a condom somehow she gave it to me even though there wasn't even any heavy kissing.  I'll see what the "Doc" has to say when he has time to reply.  Thanks for your input.

[bluebird05]

Hey Doc...what if I told you that I gave it to my girlfriend and she went thru the same thing...(red sores that appeared on the shins only...itched for about a month then healed up and went away leaving horrible scars)...would you think the same thing??????????  Thanks.

[bluebird05]

Hey Doc,

Can you please respond to my last post?

Thanks.