Dry irritated penis glans. Herpes?

[don2009]

I had unprotected oral sex and afterwards I pulled back my foreskin and vigorously washed the head of my penis with undilluted Dettol handwash. I remember it stinging as i was doing it. The next day or so the skin on my penis glans looked extremely dry and pale. There was also a very minor split in the skin on the bottom edge of my glans. It healed almost immediately and was only a 1mm or so long. It looked lke the result of the dry skin. My penis glans looked like there was a layer of loose skin which was all wrinkled. When i pulled my foreskin back, i noticed indentations on the loose layer of skin. There were no visible lesions, bumps, warts or discharge at all but a persistent dryness and wrinkled pale, loose appearance which persisted. It was slightly uncomfortable at this point with a slight itching and discomfort. It very slowly looked like it was getting better and now (three months later) it's visibly better but i have a pain on the underside of my penis glans and I had two episodes of a red rash which spread all over my penis head and lasted a week or so both times. It still doesn't feel right and when I use soap it gets dry again. it's been 3 months and 1 week.

I saw a doctor early on and he examined me and said it was a burn from using Dettol. He said he couldn't really prescribe anything and that it would get better with time. I got paranoid about it and had a complete blood. swab and urine STD test six weeks and 3 days from the oral sex encounter. The test came back negative for all STD's (Herpes, syphallis, chlamidia, genital warts, HIV). How accurate is a blood test six weeks in with symptoms such as these? Also, could herpes last this long?

Any answers would help me greatly. Thank you in advance.

Don

[don2009]

Thanks for the advice grace. I think I will do that. :)

[gracefromHHP]

no I don't suspect herpes at all. I suspect damage to the skin from the product you used.  

this has been going on for a year, nothing silly about wanting a 2nd opinion on it!!!  Even if they listen to your story, take a look at things and go - you know what, this just looks like dry irritated skin, apply this cream 2x/day for a week and then when symptoms return - peace of mind is worth it  :)


when I was a teen, I spilled undiluated detergent on my hand while working in a restaurant. had skin issues on that hand for years :(

grace

[don2009]

Thank you. In your opinion, could Herpes symptoms last one year continuously? It started really dry and the head of my glans was white and then gradually the colour returned and the skin started to look less wrinkly and dry. I've had about at least ten episodes of redness which seemed to come and go quite quickly. No blisters or anything like that. I would really appreciate your thoughts on this and yes I will see a dermatologist. I did ask my doctor but he said a dermatologist would think it's silly i'm even seeing him for something so minor.

[gracefromHHP]

if it hasn't gotten better by now, it's time to see a dermatologist.

grace

[don2009]

No I haven't. The doctor seemed to think it would just get better over time. Do you think this could be herpes?

[gracefromHHP]

have you followed up on thiswith a dermatologist?

grace

[don2009]

Oh also, I forgot to mention that when I applied the dettol it really stung and hurt my penis glans. I did use it for a while.

Thanks,
Don.

[don2009]

Hi Grace,

I posted a question back in September 2009 about a skin condition on my penis glans. Thanks so much for your response by the way. You obviously have a lot of knowledge in this area. I just wanted to please get your thoughts on my persistent skin condition. It's been close to a year now and although the skin on my penis glans is noticeably improving (very slowly) - it's still a little loose, dry and wrinkly looking. Occasionally I get redness on the head which appears over a specific area, and then covers the entire head and fades away after a couple of days or so. I also have had a constant irritable feeling on my penis glans for almost one year now and a sort of burning sensation on the underside of my penis head. This burning sensation is also getting better but very slowly.  As I mentioned, I've had the one test early on which covered every STD. It involved both a urine and blood test. I noticed you said it was too early to test for Herpes? Can herpes last continuously for this long? My doctor told me I had burnt my penis glans with the dettol which I applied directly on my penis head and rubbed all over it. I used the entire contents of a small bottle. I did notice the irritation very shortly after I had done this. He told me there was really nothing I could apply to it to help and that it would slowly get better. Could you please offer me some thoughts on this as it is playing on my mind? I have seen this doctor many times and he has visually inspected my penis on each occasion. I have also seen an additional doctor and he offered the same advice.

[gracefromHHP]

the chlamydia and syphilis was accurate.  they don't test for hpv so I"m not sure what test you had done for that.  You aren't likely to contract hiv from oral sex either so no reason for more testing for that.  It's too early for herpes testing but nothing you've mentioned sounds like genital herpes.

soap is very drying on our sensitive genital skin.  Not sure about the product you've mentioned specifically but you mentioned undiluted and your doctor thought it would be a cause too so I"m guessing it's very drying on the sensitive skin on the penis.  Be kind to the little guy at this point - perhaps even a barrier cream/moisturizing cream like zinc oxide, bag balm, aquaphor etc to help protect him from further irritation as well as soothe irritated/dry skin.

grace