Could these symptoms be herpes?

[stupidme2009]

On October 1, a woman performed unprotected oral sex on me.  About 5 days later, I "noticed" a spot on my scrotum that I squeezed, since I tend to squeeze stuff I see down there anyway.  Well, it became irritated and red and remained sore.  After about a week or more, I managed to practically get rid of it by (against my better judgment) by squeezing it hard.  It popped like a pimple, with stringy pus coming out.  My doctor saw the remaining sore, but told me it did not look remotely like herpes.

A week later, after masturbation, I noticed a small bit of skin missing on my penis.  I have been known to rub hard and I never use lubrication, and I've rubbed skin off in different spots before.  The spot was on the left side of the shaft, about 1/2 down from the head.  This healed within 3 days, merely growing the skin back.  No blisters that I could see and no crusting.

Yesterday, I had a crazy itching on the right side of my scrotum, close - but not quite touching - my inner thigh.  It was itching and burned from alcohol-like products.  Later in the day, I did notice that it looked irritated.  Well, stupidly, I attempted to pop this and I also ripped out numerous hairs so I could see it better.  Well, it is now red where I attempted to pop it and red in areas around it (either due to herpes or me ripping out the hair like a mad man to see it better).  So, it looks like 5 or 6 red spots now; one could call them sores.  The area is still quite raw and I can always feel it.

Some background:
I have had oral HSV1 my entire life, practically.  For almost the last year, I have been on suppressive therapy, taking 500mg Valtrex for cold sores that were acting up more than usual.  

Throughout the exposure and through each thing I thought was a potential symptom, I have been upping my dosage anywhere from 1g of valtrex (2 per day) all the way to 4g (8 per day - a single day dosing of episodic treatment).

Is this herpes or a series of coincidences?

[stupidme2009]

Just a quick follow up. I realize my potential exposure was 4 weeks ago, but I had blood drawn today for an HSV1/2 immunoblot.

I would appreciate some feedback because I am honestly terrified.

[gracefromHHP]

this really doesn't sound like herpes.

stop picking at everything you find in your genital area!!!

grace

[stupidme2009]

Thanks for your reply, Grace. I hope you're right.  It's amazing how every symptom appears when in an anxious state.  I can't explain the irritated, itchy scrotum, but I suppose it has happened before when hsv was not a worry.  Nonetheless, now I have to try and convince myself that these 4 or 5 sores are my fault.

Really, thanks again.  

[stupidme2009]

Hi Grace.

I wanted to follow up with you again.  Even though I had blood drawn for an immunoblot a few days ago, I had my doctor give a visual inspection this morning.

Because it was already healing, though it still itches, he said it doesn't look like blisters, nor does it strike him as herpes.

While he does not know what caused the intense itching, he still doesn't think:
a) It would be almost painless 24 hours later - or, at least, not incredibly painful
b) Doesn't think it would look the way it does already after 3 days, even on Valtrex.

Because my scrotum skin has been peely for a LONG time, it's possible the itching on Wednesday was caused by this and exacerbated by my probing, prodding, squeezing, and hair ripping.

Lastly, while not totally healed, the red "scabs" were actually on top of peely skin and also peeled off without any effort.  Under it is the original thing I tried to pop, which still has a little hole (a tiny layer of skin missing), but it is not tender or sore.

Can I put these HSV fears to bed?

[HelpMe107]

Does it hurt / burn, when you pee?

If it does then it can be herpes,
if it doesnt maybe its just you that dont leave your penis alone and dont give it time to heal

[stupidme2009]

Hi HelpMe107.

No burning/pain when peeing.  My scrotum is still itchy and tingly, but not sure if tingly is in my "head" or because the area where the red scab peeled off is still healing.

I am still nervous, but I think I may be ok.  Still taking my Valtrex daily for cold sore suppression, which makes me think I shouldn't be having so many "outbreaks."  Also, while not 100% protected, a long-standing oral HSV1 infection plus Valtrex should be a plus to preventing a new GHSV1 infection.  I tried finding info on someone contracting GHSV2 from oral sex, but I can find nothing reliable, so my fingers are crossed.......

[gracefromHHP]

taking valtrex afterwards like this won't do anything to prevent infection.

this doesn't sound like herpes. your provider who has actually seen your symptoms doesn't think it looks like herpes either.  if your provider didn't know what was causing the itching and peeling skin issues, follow up promptly with a dermatologist.

grace

[stupidme2009]

Thanks again for your answers.  They have helped keep me calm and, more importantly, have made me stop examining, picking at, and squeezing every little bump I see.

Reading over many pages, it seems like IF she had oral HSV1 (which she claims she does not, though she's had no official testing), I'd be pretty well protected genitally, since I have had oral HSV1 for over 20 years.

I took an immunoblot test 4 weeks after exposure and the results were as expected:
HSV1 - positive
HSV2 - negative

"Your Screening is POSITIVE for the presence of Type 1 Antibodie and it is NEGATIVE for Herpes type 2 IgG specific antibodies. IgG Antibodies are type specific and represent the immunological memory of a Herpes type 1 or type 2 infection. If the exposure date is uncertain or less than three months it is always advisable to retest for Herpes type specific antibodies on a later date (4-6 weeks)."

I may or may not test again, but I feel better about everything now.

[stupidme2009]

You know what I hate about this?  Anxiety and potential symptoms.  Today is the first day I attempted to self-pleasure in weeks.  It was VERY quick, as one might imagine, and I was extra gentle, so I wouldn't create any artificial tears.  And there, on the top of my penis shaft, below the head, is another spot that is red, with a bit of skin missing.  It doesn't hurt at the moment, but the skin is definitely off.  

The only thing I can think of, if it's not herpes, is that I stretched the skin from examining myself every single day for the last month.  What else might cause a tiny bit of skin to be missing?

[gracefromHHP]

do you use lube?

grace

[stupidme2009]

I don't know where my response went.

No lube used. I was done in probaby a minute. I was light enough, I think, not to have caused a tear.

It's pretty small, maybe 1/4 size of a dime. Doesn't hurt to touch. Has no fluid that I can see/feel, and did not sting from hot water in the shower.

Am I going crazy?

[gracefromHHP]

Obviously something is going on but herpes won't cause this. You need to continue to follow up on this with your provider and/or a dermatologist.

grace

[stupidme2009]

I did the immunoblot (igg) test after 4 weeks, which I know is not a conclusive test, when done that early.  It found me negative for HSV-2, but positive for HSV-1.  As you can see below, I do test positive for the igm test, which I know is of limited value, but still kind of scary at this point.  What is the possibility this is a reinfection, meaning a silent recurrence, snice I'm on Valtrex for cold sores?  Could I have caught HSV-1 genitally, despite some protection from oral HSV-1?  Even worse, could I have caught genital HSV-2 from oral sex?  :(


Hepatitis B Surface Antigen -Negative
RPR - Syphilis = Negative
Chlamydia - Negative
Gonorrhea - Negative
Herpes 1 & 2 IgM - 1.34

Herpes 1 & 2 IgM:
Negative 1.09
Your Screening Test for Herpes 1 & 2 IgM is POSITIVE indicating a recent exposure to the Herpes Simplex Virus. We suggest retesting with Herpes 1 & 2 IgG after it has been four months since possible exposure.

[stupidme2009]

Looks some stuff got cut...

Negative  less than 0.91
Equivocal 0.91 - 1.09
Positive greater than 1.09


Your Screening Test for Herpes 1 & 2 IgM is POSITIVE indicating a recent exposure to the Herpes Simplex Virus. We suggest retesting with Herpes 1 & 2 IgG after it has been four months since possible exposure.

[gracefromHHP]

There really is nothing I can add at this point.  It's way too early for test results to be accurate though your history of cold sores means that you aren't likely to contract hsv1 genitally which would've been your main risk from unprotected oral sex.  If you had contracted hsv2 prior to this, odds are it would've showed up on your blood test.  

If your symptoms return, see a dermatologist.

grace