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Dermatology (Expert Forum)
Looking for Clarification..herpes?
Answered by
Alan Rockoff, MD - dermatology, Child Skin Problems
The Rockoff Dermatology Center
Brookline - MA
This forum is for questions regarding Dermatology issues, such as: skin rashes, acne, birthmarks, skin infections, rosacea, and general skin care.
Looking for Clarification..herpes?
by frosty12, Sep 29, 2004 12:00AM
First let me say that I greatly appreciate a site like this. While it is obviously not an alternative to a visit to a doctor's office, a little help and wise words of advice are great. Kudos and thanks.
My situation is this:
I've never had any prior skin conditions in my groin/penis region...I am 21y/o male
About a month and a half ago my friends and I rented a beach house and I invited up my girfriend. Throughout the course of the week I was moderatly sanitary however I never completely washed my bathing suit and wore/removed/wore/removed several times over the week.
THURSDAY night me and my girlfriend had PROTECTED sex (Up until this I was a virgin except for one time when I attempted to have protected sex with a girl I met on vacation, but could not keep an erection). After having sex we both decided NOT to shower and went to bed about an hour later after cooling down. I slept under the covers in my boxers.
SATURDAY morning I went to work and I had an unbareable itch under the shaft of my penis right near the base...when I got to work I examined my groin area and found what I would describe as a 'pimple outbreak' at the base of my penis within the pubic hair region that ran from the base to the top of my pubes region. These white-heads varied in size and were all over the area, none were actually on the SHaFT, though some were on its base. There were 8-12.
I went to a doctor who said, as I expected, that it COULD be herpes, but that herpes is very distint and these were PUSTULAR. He put me on valtrex for safetys sake as well as a topical cream. He then swabbed one of the sores and sent me for blood test. Two weeks later the sores were still there, though now they were more subdued and many had turned into red blotches. The results came back: 1)Blood test postive-- HSV1 IGG-1:640 HSV2 IGG-1:160 Swab test-negative, the sores were bacterial.
The doctor sent me to his recommened dermatologist. Convinced I had herpes, I went anyway. With the sores now cleared up mostly I went to the Doc who looked over the area, asked about certain other symptoms and viewed my test results...his diagnosis=no herpes, it molluscum, blood test was chiken pox
I used his prescripled Aldara and the red sores (some still raised) are slooowwwwwlly leaving, I have since developed another FAR more sore to the touch outbreak of white-heads (big ones) on the side of my right testicle coupled with small rashes that look like someone made marks with a red marker all over my testicle...the left testicle has no marks or sores. The Derm said it was bacterial and prescribed an anti-biotic and some anti-biotic cream for the area.
I would LOVE to believe that it is not herpes and considering how long I have dealt with this outbreak (about 1 1/2 months) I tihnk it might not be. however, I think it would be a CRAZY COINCIDENCE to get this outbreak two days after sex.
I greatly appreciate any possible advice. How long u tihnk ill have whatever this is?
-Frosty12
My situation is this:
I've never had any prior skin conditions in my groin/penis region...I am 21y/o male
About a month and a half ago my friends and I rented a beach house and I invited up my girfriend. Throughout the course of the week I was moderatly sanitary however I never completely washed my bathing suit and wore/removed/wore/removed several times over the week.
THURSDAY night me and my girlfriend had PROTECTED sex (Up until this I was a virgin except for one time when I attempted to have protected sex with a girl I met on vacation, but could not keep an erection). After having sex we both decided NOT to shower and went to bed about an hour later after cooling down. I slept under the covers in my boxers.
SATURDAY morning I went to work and I had an unbareable itch under the shaft of my penis right near the base...when I got to work I examined my groin area and found what I would describe as a 'pimple outbreak' at the base of my penis within the pubic hair region that ran from the base to the top of my pubes region. These white-heads varied in size and were all over the area, none were actually on the SHaFT, though some were on its base. There were 8-12.
I went to a doctor who said, as I expected, that it COULD be herpes, but that herpes is very distint and these were PUSTULAR. He put me on valtrex for safetys sake as well as a topical cream. He then swabbed one of the sores and sent me for blood test. Two weeks later the sores were still there, though now they were more subdued and many had turned into red blotches. The results came back: 1)Blood test postive-- HSV1 IGG-1:640 HSV2 IGG-1:160 Swab test-negative, the sores were bacterial.
The doctor sent me to his recommened dermatologist. Convinced I had herpes, I went anyway. With the sores now cleared up mostly I went to the Doc who looked over the area, asked about certain other symptoms and viewed my test results...his diagnosis=no herpes, it molluscum, blood test was chiken pox
I used his prescripled Aldara and the red sores (some still raised) are slooowwwwwlly leaving, I have since developed another FAR more sore to the touch outbreak of white-heads (big ones) on the side of my right testicle coupled with small rashes that look like someone made marks with a red marker all over my testicle...the left testicle has no marks or sores. The Derm said it was bacterial and prescribed an anti-biotic and some anti-biotic cream for the area.
I would LOVE to believe that it is not herpes and considering how long I have dealt with this outbreak (about 1 1/2 months) I tihnk it might not be. however, I think it would be a CRAZY COINCIDENCE to get this outbreak two days after sex.
I greatly appreciate any possible advice. How long u tihnk ill have whatever this is?
-Frosty12
Doctor's Answer
by Alan Rockoff, MD, Sep 29, 2004 12:00AM
, Sep 29, 2004 12:00AM
I agree with your dermatologist that the rash doesn't sound like herpes. When you say, "the sores were bacterial," that makes sense, but I'm not sure whether that was a clinical judgment, or whether there were bacterial cultures taken.
What I can't make sense of is the positive herpes 2 (HSV2) titer. If that is real, then you have genital herpes. But if you were a virgin before, this is unlikely, if not impossible (the non-erection contact could theoretically have transmitted it, and that was protected, which makes transmission even less likely.)
I advise you to ask the dermatologist to consider repeating the herpes 2 test, and to see that the test is a "gG" or "glycoprotein-based" test (for details, see www.herpesdiagnosis.com.) These are the most reliable.
I agree that getting a rash 2 days after sex would be a coincidence, very likely unrelated.
Best.
Dr. Rockoff
What I can't make sense of is the positive herpes 2 (HSV2) titer. If that is real, then you have genital herpes. But if you were a virgin before, this is unlikely, if not impossible (the non-erection contact could theoretically have transmitted it, and that was protected, which makes transmission even less likely.)
I advise you to ask the dermatologist to consider repeating the herpes 2 test, and to see that the test is a "gG" or "glycoprotein-based" test (for details, see www.herpesdiagnosis.com.) These are the most reliable.
I agree that getting a rash 2 days after sex would be a coincidence, very likely unrelated.
Best.
Dr. Rockoff
