Please help me figure out what this is and if it's serious...plz

[letsgocanes]

Sexual history:

I'm sexual active but not alot because I am too busy...my last STD test was a year and a half ago and since then I have had 4 partners. I took the test 3 months after my last sexual activity and all tests came back negative. I have used Trojan condoms without breakage since that test, however I have not used a condom for oral sex given to me.

Today is Sunday the 21st of August and my only sexual activity in the past month was this past Thursday night with a girl I've been with before and known for awhile...

This week I have been extremely busy...I work in a restaurant and have worked 18 hour days most of the week with little sleep. Thursday night I went out after working many hours and ended up having intercourse with this girl...

At the restaurant I am the expediter so I stand in the same place, it's hot (heat source above (heat lamp) and heat source below (counter warmer) so I also sweat alot and have not taken many breaks.

Last night, Saturday, after working another 18 hour day, I got home and noticed a slight itch on my thigh...upon inspection I saw little red dots, some with white heads, on my thigh...directly to the left and right of my genitals (about two inches to the left and right of the base of my penis rather densely covering a 3 by 3 inch area on both sides...and some more spread out but not as dense in a 6 by 6 inch area including the dense part). Upon further inspection I noticed that the whole left, top side of my scrotum was covered with a bright red rash...not really white heads or red bumps like on my thighs but rather just redness all over (only on the left, top side of my scrotum).

I applied Cortisone10 to the area on my right thigh to see if it would help. In the morning the condition seemed slightly better but I believe it was only due to sleep.

It has now been 24 hours since I first noticed these rashes and the conditions are largely the same. When I woke up there were two red bumps, like the ones on my thigh, at the base of my penis right where the hair ends and a few have showed up scattered above my genitals in the hairy area, but not nearly as much or as dense. In fact it's barely noticable, but not normal.

The itch is not bad at all and I don't have much of an urge to scratch it all day long, and I barely even notice it, but after working in a hot environment the itch becomes worse, but never "bad." The bumps that have white heads are more itchy than the rest.

I have no discharge or burning sensation from my penis and feel great otherwise...the mental stress of this "rash" is the worst part of it...It does not appear to be much worse than it was last night but I may be making it worse by thinking about it all the time...

I have no history of rashes or serious health conditions. I am in great shape, work out and play strenuous basketball very regularly and eat well. Please give me some advice or tell me what this might or might not be so I can do something!!

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

It sounds like folliculitis, or blocked pores from heat and sweating.  It does not sound like an STD.  I suggest you wear loose-fitting underwear, powder after showering, avoid scratching or picking, and show the rash to a doctor in 2 weeks if it has not gone away.

Take care.

Dr. Rockoff

[letsgocanes]

before i go to bed here's an update...i noticed now that unfortunetly, the (from my view) bottom side, top left portion (not the tip at all) of my penis has become red and irritated...no lumps or bumps or anything right now but it's just redder than the rest and feels wierd...

what i am hoping is good news is that it seems to be the exact area of the penis that lays on the red, irritated part of my scrotum making me think this is perhaps some sort of fungus i can use a cream on to make it go away...

to make sure i'm clear...my penis hangs to the left and lays against the scrotum...the head doesn't really touch but the top of the shaft, which is laying to the left on the left of the scrotum...pretty much the exact area of the penis that is in constant contact with the red, irritated portion of my scrotum (as i said before it's only the top left side of the scrotum (where the penis hangs against) is the part that is irritated.

...so perhaps it's a fungus and the contact with my scrotum has spread it to the shaft of the penis...

please let me know if this information helps and thanks for any advice in advance...i eagerly await it...

for now i will try Lamisil AT on my right thigh and Lanacaine (.2% Benzethonium chloride and 6% Benzocaine) Original Forumla on the left to see if there's any improvement...

also another update: as i said in the first post the rash itches a little bit after i am exposed to heat/sweat some...i took a cold shower a few hours ago and right now i barely notice the itch at all...

thanks.

[letsgocanes]

i'm sorry to add another update so soon but i was just reading other posts similar to mine and i'd like to point out the timeline real quick with some details:

worked 14 hours thursday, went out to a club (very hot) and danced with the girl i took home and had sex for roughly 2 hours (normal for me with a condom) but i didn't use lubricant because it was in the other room (i usually do because having sex so long is harder without the lubricant) -

woke up 4 hours later (friday) and worked 16 hours (as described above, in a hot, sweaty environment (i've been working in that environment with similar hours and lack of sleep for almost a week though so it's not the first time...)

saturday i worked 18 hours again and that night is when i noticed the rash...

also i'd like to add that perhaps the redness that has appeared on my penis that is in contact with the scrotum is just a result of the heat of the scrotum it is laying against (whether it is hotter or not due to the rash, it's still extra warm)

lastly, i'd just like to say that i'm obviously very worried about this and tend to worry alot when it comes to things that i do not know alot about or have experienced before so i'd like to know...if you do think these are heat rashes like the similar posts i have recently read...how long will they last, what can i do to make them go away and what should i expect to happen with the rash from this point on?

thanks so much.

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

I do not think it's a fungus.  Your further elaborations make me think it's irritation and sweat retention.

Dr. Rockoff

[letsgocanes]

Thanks for the reply--

for a follow up ... it appears that the left side of my thigh, on which i am using the Lanacaine cream, has improved...while the right side, which I am using the Lamisil on, has remained the same...there are still inflamed white heads that are are slightly itchy while the left side has no white heads, just red spots, and they do not itch...

there are a few more red spots above the groin area but nothing too bad and no itchiness or white heads

the top left side of my scrotum which was red and irritated is still redder than the rest, but does not look nearly as bad as it did the past two nights.

the bottom left side of my penis, the part that touches the inflamed scrotum area is still redder than the rest.

i always wear boxers, and don't scratch or pick because i do not want to risk spreading anything, making it worse or causing infection - besides, it does not itch very badly at all so the urge is not great.

i'm going to stop using the lamisil since you don't think it's a fungus and i've seen no improvement except for the area i used the Lanacaine on...so I will use it everywhere now.

thanks for your help, i can sleep better tonight - hopefully it will go away soon and not get any worse...