another herpes question.

[nameless]

hi, im a 20 year old female. ived only had intercourse with 4 different people. to my knowledge 3 of these people were virgins. there was only one person i had sex with who had had intercourse with another person prior to me. i knew for a fact that he had only had sex with one person, and that he had dated her for more then a year before they broke up. unfortunately- and im smacking myself in the head for this, now- i didnt take into consideration that his ex girlfriend was a raging out of control alcoholic. it has been rumored that she was less then faithful to him. for some reason when i slept with him i never took this into consideration- i guess you never think the people you grew up with have stds... anyway, i have a very small frame, and if my partener is relatively well endowed (as this friend happens to be) sex is painful for a while until i become acclimated to the size. this past friday i went down on this same kid that i had unprotected sex with (i slept with him once back in november) and he came in my mouth. then a few days later- wednesday- we had intercourse with a condom. it went on for quite a long time and was rather uncomfortable for me- actually extremely painful would be a better phrase. later that night i was in the shower and i noticed a bump on one of the outer labia of my vagina. then i realized that there were multiple bumps. as far as i could tell the bumps were relatively smooth, rather hard to the touch and almost painless. i would compare the pain and smoothness to a pimple- maybe even a little less painful then that. nothing noticeable. they were slightly pink in color and i didnt notice any sort of a head on them when i applied slight pressure. i would estimate that they range from 2 to 4 mm. there are approximately 7 of them and ther are clustered on both sides of the outer labia, as well as one solitary bump directly below the vaginal cavity. they are all located in areas which i shaved (rather badly) with a razor monday morning. is it possible that the sex was just extremely physcially traumatic due to the longevity of the activity, causing irritation in the hair follicles? i was hoping for that but this morning i woke up and found that almost every bump was percolated with a red/brown dot or indent that almost looks like a scab or a sore. the swelling was slightly reduced as well. i havent noticed any fluid, even when i applied pressure. is genital herpes always characterized by fluid filld blisters? would scabs have appeared in such a small amount of time? would the area be relatively painless, or barely painful? the skin around the bumps looks irritated and maybe dry- but this could be from sexual friction...i went to the dr but he seemed baffled- very noncommital, results in a week. i put bacitracin on the areas and they seem to have improved in just a few hours. does this sound like herpes? if not, what are some possibilities? my dr didnt give me much info, and i am too anxious to wait the week out. thanks.

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

It does not sound like herpes, because the bumps/scabs are on both sides of the labia, whereas herpes is localized to one spot.  I assume the doctor performed a herpes culture--those take up to a week--but I expect they will be negative.  Friction and shaving seem a better explanation.

Best.

Dr. Rockoff

[nameless]

im not sure if this comment is visible to anyone in the forum staff but i dont know where else to insert this so here goes...
i just found out that the last person i had intercourse with who is also the last person i had oral sex with WAS tested along with his ex girlfriend and that the tests came back negative. he is the same person that i had sex with in november, and there hasnt been anyone other then that until as far back as september. is it possible to get herpes by some other means...? thanks!

[The_Rajah]

I am not a doctor, but I'm pretty familiar with herpes. What you are describing sounds more like trauma from vigorous sex rather than herpes.

If you do experience some blisters or "paper cut" symptoms get to a clinic or doctor immediately and get a type-specific culture done on it. The time window is relatively limited for getting a good sample.

Try not to worry.

[nameless]

i appreciate the advice "try not to worry," but im getting a little frantic. i actually have a final in about an hour and yet all i can think about is the potential virus lurking in my nerve cells. the tiny red dots seem to have grown a little in size, and now look quite awful. there is a cluster on one side of my labia where the entire area seems slightly raised, and is spattered with these circular spots. each spot resembles a tiny crater in the center of a pinkish bump. to make matters worse, the hair in my pubic area is now growing back as well and everytime i walk it rubs against the bumps, causing a very uncomfortable sensation. when i squeeze or prod them they feel rather hard- less yeilding then the rest of my skin. no noticeable fluid yet, but some of the darker spots seemed to be a bit weepy yesterday... of course, this could be my imagination, as ive poked and prodded them so much in the past 12 hours its a bit amazing that i have any skin left there at all. i know that this is quite possibly one of the worst things that i could do (after 5 minutes of poking i had managed to somehow enlarge half of the red spots- the skin seemed to just melt away) but for some reason i have it in my head that if i keep looking at them ill find some clue as to what they are. this is awful... im so terrified of what might be wrong with me, and try as i might i cant imagine where i could have possibly contracted the herpes virus from... or any std for that matter. now im concerned that the tests will be inaccurate- they swabbed the area to early on, before thered spots- or i think maybe theyll mix up my bloodwork with someone else, crazy things like that. i know that by tomorrow the hospital will have my results but 24 hours seems like an eternity. if this was simply a skin infection or an irritation wouldnt it have gone away by now? why the dark red spots that resemble scabs or sores? are these spots going to eventually grow and cover my entire vaginal area? i know that i dont know for sure what it is yet, but everytime i look at it now i burst into tears. i cant imagine what else it could possibly be... for the first time in my life ive fallen in love with someone, and just as things are beginning to go well i discover i have mysteriously contracted genital herpes? i have always been so careful- and much less active then most people i know that are my age- how could this happen? i just dont understand...

[nurse12hr]

I don't think you have herpes, either.

Sounds like a mild irritation from shaving was aggravated by the vigorous intercourse, and may well have healed by now except that you are constantly "worrying" the area; handling the bumps, lightly squeezing to check for soreness, etc.

Apply the bacitracin sparingly, and leave the area alone.  Wear cotton underpants for a while to be sure the area doesn't stay moist.  

FYI--I got shaving bumps that sound exactly like what you described once.  They took about a week to go away, but that was with not messing with them all the time.

Good luck, and I hope you get good news from the doctor that will put your mind at ease.