What could this be? Should I be concerned?

[Anonymous1]

About one year ago, I woke up one morning with a small sore on the shaft of my penis.  It did not hurt at all and scabbed over within a day and disappeared within 2 days.  I thought it was just an abrasion and moved on.  Exactly one month later, I woke up to see that there was a quarter sized bright red mark in the exact same spot that I had previously noticed that small sore the previous month.  There was also another very small red spot further up on my penis.  However, within 2-3 days, both red spots disappeared.  Then, about 2.5 months later, I noticed another small sore on the other side of the shaft of my penis.  Being concerned at this point, I went to a urologist and took a blood test for Herpes.  The blood test came back negative for both Type 1 and Type 2 and I moved on.  Please note that this was about 15 weeks after I first noticed the 1st sore and about 17 weeks after I had unprotected sex.  Four months later, I noticed another very small scab on my penis that went away after 1-2 days and about 2 months after that I noticed the exact same quarter sized red bright red mark (that was somewhat sensitive this time) in the exact same spot as before and another very small red spot further up on my penis that was also in the exact same spot as about 10 months ago.  The small red spot disapeared after 1 day and the quarter sized red spot remained sensitive for about a day and then I noticed a number of very small pinpoint sized scab marks two days later that disappeared one day later.   I also noticed two small scabs on the bottom of my testicles that same day.  I'd appreciate it if you can tell me if you think this is herpes, and if so why did I get negative results when I took the blood test? I've read that herpes is often accompanied with a fever and swolen lymphnodes and I've never had any of these symptoms when I noticed the sores.  I've also never had any blisters or puss around the sores.  If it is not herpes, could it be another STD or any other condition? Although I doubt it is related, it should be noted that I had testicular cancer about 2 years ago and went through 5 weeks of radiation treatment on my lower abdomen.  I'd appreciate any insight you can give me and please let me know if you think I should get further blood tests or if I am being concerned over nothing.  Thank you.

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Your description of the various skin changes does not match herpes very well, at least in its classic form.  However, the fact that at least some of the spots recurred in the same place is suspicious.  Still, if you get another herpes 2 blood test, which I recommend you seek out, you can be pretty confident you don't have herpes.  As to what, if anything, you do have, you will need to arrange to be examined and perhaps cultured as soon as you get a spot, before it dries up and goes away.  I can't think of another STD to implicate, nor do I think there's any connection with testicular cancer, other than related anxiety about the region.

Best.

Dr. Rockoff

[tarpon]

Did the smaller sores look like a couple of pin pricks that formed a cut about a 1/2 centimeter long?  Do you have muscle twitches or jerking motions when falling asleep?