Advice: Do you think this is herpes?

I'm a 22 year old sexually active white male college student. Over the past semester I haven't taken very good care of myself due to working 20-25 hours a week between M-F, and a full class load between M-F. Due to this, I've gone from working out 2 to 5 times a week to not working out at all, eating poorly, and just taking bad care of myself. About 3 weeks ago, I noticed a rash right at my waistline. Seemingly the kind of rash you get from the metal of a belt being too tight or pants being too tight. I had definitely noticed that the composition of my body had changed, with weighing about the same, but less muscle and more fat, and my pants were definitely tighter. I didn't think much of it, until about a week later the rash stayed about the same. Currently I still have red bumps in the area. I will seek to describe the lesions below.

Things of Note:
-I am a relatively hairy guy, with an above average amount of hair that connects my stomach hair to my pubic hair -Around this time I had trimmed my pubic hair with a beard trimmer.

Appearance:
-Began as mild sore/zit-like lesions
-Red in color
-Somewhat blister like in appearance, only one or two got large enough to pop
-When I "popped" or lightly put pressure on one, a minute amount of clear fluid could be seen
-No lesions on penis, testicles, or at direct base (within 2 or 3 inches)
-No seepage from penis


Location:
-Rash began and is still directly on my waistline covering about 3 inches, no lesions within 2 or 3 inches of the base of my penis
-Somewhat clustered, but about 75% of the lesions are in line with my midline (nose/symmetrical point of my body
-Some are on both sides, neither side receiving a dominate amount
-No rash or lesions on the penis itself, within 2 or 3 inches of the base of the penis
-There are also a few lesions next to and within an inch of my belly button, identical in nature
-Have rash like spots that are reasonably spread out (none within an inch) all over my torso but inconsistent in nature - These may have been there and only noticed once my hypochondriac nature was brought out by the rash on my waist/genital area
-Have rash like dry skin spots, on my stomach, arms, but could easily just be the change in the weather

Sensations:
-Little to no itching, only discomfort is when tighter pants and a belt are on
-No flu-like symptoms
-Had a day to two days where my throat was a little sore, but it was after a 8-5 work day then studying all night for a 930 am test the next day
-Been going through a lot of stress with job searching, being overworked, and stretched too thin


Is there anything here that is damning evidence that this rash is herpes?

Is there anything here that is damning evidence that this rash is not herpes?

What is your diagnosis?

[petal130]

While we can't give you a diagnosis on a web forum, we can give the advice to see your medical provider to truly find out what's going on. Does this sound like herpes? No, but it does sound like classic folliculitus (folliculitis), and on your other body parts dry skin or even eczema. Be seen for a proper diagnosis.