long term itching?

[bkzlove]

This all started about two weeks after having unprotected sex with a woman. About 2 days after having sex with that woman, I got some discoloration on the top of my penis head...its was light red and about a size of a dime. The discoloration faded away in about 2-3 days and never reappeared. I also got a flu like symptoms about 5 days after the having sex with that woman...got a soar throat and this thick spit in the back of my throat...after those symptoms were gone the itching started...it was about 2-3 weeks after the intercourse with the woman when the itching started. At first the itching started on my legs and I would have no rash, as days went by the itching started spreading all over...face...arms...thighs...stomache...anywhere...it has been about 5-6 months now and the itching is still there. Now when I itch i get these little pimple like bumps where it itches, they are red. Also about 3 months after this whole "thing" started my glands in my neck got enlarged but I think this is from smoking so much..not sure though. I've taken antibiotics for about two weeks and my glands are still enlarged. I now noticed somedays when I wake up I'll have a little pimple anywhere on my face with puss in it. It has been over 6 months and the itching continues all over the body even on my scalp...please advise on what this might be.
Thank you
~Eric

[Candid]

I have been itching all over basically for years.  It will start in a particular place like my neck or head, sometimes my crouch (only in the hair), or my back.  If I scratch it, it will move to anywhere I touch my skin.  It feels like touching myself causes me to itch in a particular place once the itching starts.  Sometimes when I touch a doorknob handle my hand will turn red and itch as soon as I touch it.  It will actually feel hot and have red blotches on it. When the itching starts, the blotches are not raised, just red.  As soon as I scratch them, they become raised.  It lasts for about 20 minutes or so, feels hot and burns, then goes away.  I may have this at any time during the day.  Some days it does not happen at all.  I took Seldane for it for about three years.  Now when it gets real intense and I can't stand it, I take a little NyQuil at night and will not itch for about three days, then it comes back. Please help me with this.

[bkzlove]

But see, I didnt have the flu symptoms for 2 weeks straight, it only lasted for about 3-4 days and I didnt have a fever...I also have my appetite, not loosing any weight...but I will get tested for hiv and other std's.
Thanks.

[BeBerni]

Hi Eric:

I'm no doctor, and I'm not trying to scare you, but a friend of mine got flu like symptoms after being exposed to HIV.  He had the sore throat, cold, and fever for about 2 weeks straight.  The doc just diagnosed it as the flu until months later he started getting sores in his mouth, got tested and he was HIV positive - 10 years later he has full blown AIDS.  I would suggest getting tested just to be on the safe side.  Then in another 6 months, get retested.  Its less likely for a man to get it from a woman than a woman to get it from a man, but the odds are against you when you have unprotected sex and\or oral sex.  

I'm just guessing, but maybe the itching could be crabs.  You cant see them, but if you hair all over your body, they can be hiding....  

Good Luck....

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

I think that, like many people who have unprotected sex, you are worrying unnecessarily.  You are putting all sorts of unrelated observations (itches, bumps) into one basket and agonizing over their collective significance, which they almost certainly don't have.  None of the ones you list reminds me of any STD, or any skin disease at all.

My advice?  Get a full checkup.  Rule out any sort of venereal disease.  Then ignore your symptoms, or put a little moisture lotion on from time to time.  And avoid unprotected sex.

Best.

Dr. Rockoff