Irritation On and Around Base Of Penis

Yesterday morning i woke up and after a shower was getting dressed when i noticed that all around the base of my penis, down the sides toward the scrotum, and to a small degree, on the shaft i had a large red patch of irritation. The skin is raised up, and there are what look like pimples, which tend to be where my hair follicles are. About half of these bumps are white on the top, and since i was scared i tried plucking the hairs out of them. It was abnormally painful, more so than out of regular skin, and when they came out there were coated in white puss, just like what is inside a pimple, at least to my eye. A few of these "pimples proceeded to bleed, but most just acted like a pimple being popped. The area is very painful, and hurts to touch. I have been with two girls, one off and on for about a year, that ended about 7 months ago. And my current girlfriend who was a virgin when we met. I have never had any issues down there before, and am wondering if anyone coule please help me to figure out what this is??? i would go to the doctor but cannot afford it, and am extremely nervous, it seems to have gotten somewhat worse since yesterday.. i am seriously scared that i got herpes or some such crazy thing, and would really like to know as soon as possible so i can talk to my girlfriend and let her know what is giong on.

[BhumikaMD]

Hi,

This could be folliculitis, dermatitis, or allergic reaction. In most individuals there are outbreaks of folliculitis from time to time.

Folliculitis is infection and inflammation of the hair follicles. The condition may be superficial (i.e., on the surface of the skin) or deep within the follicles.The most common cause of folliculitis is infection by the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus.

Folliculitis symptoms can appear independent of infection. Exposure of the skin to certain chemicals, especially oils and tars, can trigger an outbreak. People with depressed immune systems, diabetes, or obesity have a greater risk of contracting folliculitis than the general population.

Patients with chronic unresponsive folliculitis may require investigation into the source of the infection. S. aureus bacteria can live in the patient's nostrils, periodically triggering a folliculitis outbreak.

Individuals who are predisposed to folliculitis should be extremely careful about personal hygiene. Application of antiseptic washes may help prevent recurrences. A topical antibiotic cream, mupirocin (Bactroban®), has been effective at reducing bacterial colonization in the nostrils. It is applied twice daily for a week and is repeated every 6 months.

If there any of the mentioned medical causes then treating those will reduce the occurence of the condition.
http://www.dermatologychannel.net/follicle/folliculitis.shtml

Some stubborn cases of folliculitis have been responsive to laser-assisted hair removal. This process uses a laser to destroy the follicle. This reduces the scarring that results from folliculitis.

Let us know if you need any other information and consult a skin specialist if the lesion is persistent.

Regards.