Molluscum Contagious or folliculitis

Dear Doctor

I am concerned about my skin in the area around my penis. In the last week I had sexual intercourse with my new girlfriend, unprotected. Sex was quite physical and rough, and 24/36 hours later, I found little red bumps in the area. At first 2 or 3 then 5 or 6 on one side and 3 or 4 of the other side. They are between my lower abdominal and my groin. The are pink flesh color, raised, and now I see little white dots in their centre. I have not squeezed them. They can be itchy. They are not big, however some of them have a larger red area than the others.

As I said the sexual intercourse was a bit rough with a lot of sweat in the concerned part of the body.

Now I am bit anxious and I am not sure what it is: is it Molluscum Contagious or folliculitis? Which one is worse?

About two years ago I had an almost similar skin infection, however it was all over the area. My GP doctor then diagnosed it as Molluscum Contagious, she told me it develops within a couple of months from the contagion and then goes on for 2 or 3 months in the best cases. In fact my infection disappeared in about that period of time.

However, this time I had no symptoms and it appeared straightaway after sex, that is why I am confused:

a) I thought once I had the Molluscum (if my GP was right) I would develop antibodies and would not incur in it any more. Should I be scared? I read that it comes back in people who have Immune deficiency, such as HIV positive.

b) as it appeared after having rough sex is it possible it is folliculitis? However, in the last two years I had sex with other girls and never had the same issue.

c) Any advice?

thanks

Gabriel

[Vanessa Lacuesta]

Hi

I understand that you are concerned about this. This sounds like folliculitis. You had molluscum before and the lesions have completely resolved by this time. At this point, I do not think this is molluscum. The lesions of molluscum are usually flesh colored and they have depressed centers which are characteristic of the bumps. I would say that folliculitis is likely here since the area involved appears to be areas with most hair .Also, the lesions appeared immediately after sexual activity. A complete blood test may be able to help here just to rule out STD's. Wash the area with a mild cleanser and apply antibacterial cream over the affected areas. This should resolve in three days time. If not, then this may need further assessment.