bumps on penis

About three months ago I had several bumps come up on my
penis about an 8th of an inch from my pubic hair on the top.
One bump was about a centimeter in diameter and puss filled; the others were somewhat smaller. The larger one was quite painful while the smaller ones merely itched. I squeezed the larger one and popped the larger one and the pained ceased but the fluid built back up the next day. I was able to relieve the pain by popping it again. The bumps eventually began began to drain clear liquid substance that would dry up in my pubic hairs and leave like a crusty white residue. The bumps eventually turned
into small sores that lasted about 8 days. I was unable to have
the bumps looked at because I went out of town and was unable to
find a physician to look at them. I went to a doctor about a month after the outbreak and she told me the scar looked like it
could have been made by an outbreak of herpes. She was unable to
take a culture but she did give me the blood test. The blood work came back normal. I would have just accepted this, but I had these bumps come of before, approximately 4 other times since
2000. I'm a married man who doesn't want to lose his wife but I have to get a conclussion to this. I have been worrying myself to death about this for the past three month. I have a scar left over that's the size of a writing pen. There are two small patches of skin within this area that are the same color as my penis but the circled area around this skin is very light (I'm a medium brown skinned african american). Even though the doctor tells me that I don't have herpes I remain scared because I know
that this has happened before. My brother revealed to me that he's been going through the same thing. I want to know can I rely on this test and also being that my brother has the same problem in the same area, can there be something thats hereditary about this ? I've never had any painful urination, nor does the skin itch before this happens. I initially thought that maybe this came about because of the area being moist and sweaty sometimes.

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

I don't know for sure whether you have herpes.  Here is what you should do.  First, under no circumstances should you rub or pick anything on your penis, since that will make it harder for a doctor to tell what is going on.  Second, ask your doctor to perform a blood test for herpes 2, using one of the newer, more precise tests available.  You can get their names at www.herpesdiagnosis.com.  A negative test at this point would be very strong evidence that you don't have herpes.  Third, arrange for a doctor to see you at the start of any new outbreak, so examination and perhaps culture can be done.

Finally, even if it is herpes, why should you lose your wife?  You might have contracted it years before you met her?  You may even have gotten it from her, since herpes can be silent--if your tests are positive, she should be tested too.

You may well turn out not to have herpes, but if you do, you should get proper medical treatment and perhaps psychological counseling to help you deal with it.  But start with proper diagnosis.

Best.

Dr. Rockoff