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Herpes and Red Scrotum Syndrome
Is there any medical / clinical evidence that shows that geneital herpes can cause a chronic red, burning scrotum? I was diagnosed about a month ago after having primary outbreak symptoms. Everything from that cleared up nicely but now all of a sudden my scrotum has turned red and has a sun burn like feeling. Not sore to touch, though, and not lesions. I know there are a lot of people out there with this syndrome and there's all sorts of theories (like yeast, bacterial, fungus, herpes, etc.). Any insight would be helpful. Thank you.
I’ve had something similar happen to me. I had unprotected vaginal and oral sex with a girl who said she might have herpes. Since then (5 months ago) strange things have happened to me and the girl I’m dating.
At first, my scrotum turned red and it was itchy. I also developed itching in the corners of my thighs. Sometimes I will get what looks like a rash (sometimes raised, sometimes not). Sometimes I’ll get a bump that either looks like a white head or a raised, flat bump. Other times I’ll see a colony of red dots under the skin, but it never makes it to the surface. Sometimes my groin and scrotum itch, sometimes they don’t. Through all of this, my scrotum usually stays red, but sometimes it returns to normal color. It never advances beyond the scrotum.
I’ve also been suffering with a mystery ailment on my mouth. I have tiny white bumps on my upper lip that tingle. They have multiplied in quantity, but the tingling sensation won’t go away. They have not burst open or formed anything resembling herpes.
Here’s where things get odd. My girlfriend says she has a constant itch at the entrance of her vagina. She says that sex irritates it. She also has the mysterious white bumps on her lips, too.
My Dermatologist said it’s Fordyce spots, but I told the doctor that those spots are not contagious and don’t tingle! She just kept dodging the reality of what I was saying.
My blood work has come back negative, and I don’t have symptoms that look like classic herpes or any other STD/STI.
At first, my scrotum turned red and it was itchy. I also developed itching in the corners of my thighs. Sometimes I will get what looks like a rash (sometimes raised, sometimes not). Sometimes I’ll get a bump that either looks like a white head or a raised, flat bump. Other times I’ll see a colony of red dots under the skin, but it never makes it to the surface. Sometimes my groin and scrotum itch, sometimes they don’t. Through all of this, my scrotum usually stays red, but sometimes it returns to normal color. It never advances beyond the scrotum.
I’ve also been suffering with a mystery ailment on my mouth. I have tiny white bumps on my upper lip that tingle. They have multiplied in quantity, but the tingling sensation won’t go away. They have not burst open or formed anything resembling herpes.
Here’s where things get odd. My girlfriend says she has a constant itch at the entrance of her vagina. She says that sex irritates it. She also has the mysterious white bumps on her lips, too.
My Dermatologist said it’s Fordyce spots, but I told the doctor that those spots are not contagious and don’t tingle! She just kept dodging the reality of what I was saying.
My blood work has come back negative, and I don’t have symptoms that look like classic herpes or any other STD/STI.
Herpes is an blood infection and hinders immune function. You must treat it with valtrex then ypur rash will go away.
UPDATE--Good news: I am fine now, thank God. This went on for me around 5 months, give or take a few weeks. The final diagnosis, believe it or not was crabs! I have had crabs once before and I saw one of the pests right when I got it. Apparently, though this time, I did not see the damn pest until about 4 months after being infected. That was what was causing the folliculitis. It never was a fungal infection. It wasn't herpes. That half-year was a dark, and horrifying time in my life. I lost my job and insurance, and had to pay-out-of-pocket for doctor's visits and medication. The treatment is a cream that you apply from neck down all over every inch of your body 2x total--one time and then once another week later. You have to wash all exposed clothing and linens in hot water. It is a mess, but it works. I don't know if this some special sub-species of crabs that is not visible until much later. I don't know what the connection is between that, red scrotum, and dryness. But as soon as I treated and fixed this, all the other symptoms slowly went away. Just try the treatment even if you don't see any pubic lice. Look for any small white nits at the base of any hairs. It may just be that--let me know if it works.
2 Comments
This was such a horrid time, that I forgot some details. It was a combination of crabs AND a fungal infection. For that I used the medication for athlete's foot on the head of my penis and surrounding areas.
Has anyone found a cure for the red scrotum? About 4 months ago I had unprotected oral with a stripper. About 3 to 4 days later I started to notice my scrotum was feeling weird. About a week later in the evening it just about caught on fire. The burn was so bad I couldn't move. I have had std tests for all types and all are negative. They said it was jock itch at the std clinic so I tried some cream for jock itch. This made it worst so I stopped right away. I then went to my doctor and he put me on Keflex along with a steroid cream. This relieved it some but not much. He was stumped and sent me to a dermatologist. She looked and looked and said fungal issue. Sent me home with diflucon for 1 tab a week for 8 weeks. This seems to calm it but after the 8 weeks it flared up in 3 days and she had to put me back on it. Is there anything that willl cure this?
Is there any new development on this issue? I have the exact same thing and it has literally ruined my life. Please can someone post up if this is fungal or not and how it has been treated. I have been to countless specialists and no one has found the cause. Please help.
Hi,
Has anyone figured out what is the cause and/or cure for this? I am going through the same ordeal as what a lot of guys have posted on this thread. One night I had trimmed my pubic hair region and think I had a very minor cut, no big deal. I wore ventilated, cooling but nonetheless synthetic, tight, spandex trunks right after and went on jog on a hot night of when it was 90+ degrees (Fahrenheit) during the day.
Immediately afterwards, I had intimate (full naked body) contact with someone for the first time. We were not using protection but I had made a point I did not want to do any oral, anal, or mouth-to-mouth contact. This person really wanted to go to the next step and began putting my penis up the anus without my consent. I did not realize this until about 4 seconds in at which point I pulled out and stopped our love-making. At this point, we were completely drenched in sweat. I asked if this person is clean, and I was told that they are and get tested for STDs every two weeks. [From my knowledge and experience however, the comprehensive STD testing does not check for Herpes.)
It took me about 20-25 minutes until I could get back home and get into the shower, during the whole time which I was drenched in sweat. That very night, I felt itching on the right side of my pubic hair region, right above my penis. I thought nothing much of it but "rugburn" from hair trimming. However, the itching intensified and small red bumps appeared a few days later.
Two weeks later, I went to get STD testing (which doesn't include herpes tests). All came out negative. I checked with the doctor who said it is not herpes and just some folliculitis, which should go away on its on within two weeks. A week or two later I described the symptoms to my internist who said it is probably a fungal infection. Symptoms only got worse though, spreading to my anus and lower left leg. The itching sometimes was extremely intense. The bumps waxed and waned in brightness and height.
A full month after the night of contact, I went to see a dermatologist, who said that it looks like folliculitis, not a fungal infection, and is not contagious. She prescribed me the Clindamyacin antibiotic topical cream to apply twice a day and to apply over-the-counter hydrocortizone cream to irritated areas (like in between the anus) as needed. She also told me to rinse with Benzoyl peroxide solution in the shower. I have been using ProAxyl 4% Benzoyl peroxide on affected areas. Coincidentally, the same day (before starting these meds) I began noticing a small red inflammation on my foreskin. (I am uncircumcised.) Over the next few days, my penis became very dry, almost like a bit of cracking near the tip. It hurt to masturbate. I called my doctor and was told I can apply some Vaseline, which helped in the dryness but it still hurt. Part of my scrotum (right by the very first itch I had on the night of contact) also had begun itching. It sometimes seems there is a small red bump underneath the foreskin, but I cannot tell. While masturbating, more of the foreskin gets inflammed. I never needed to lube, but now I absolutely have to. I force myself to abstain from masturbating as well as it pains, especially during ejaculation. It does not hurt while urinating though.
Meanwhile, some of the bumps began fading and improving. However, just as they improve, another region starts with more bumps. After confirming again with my doctor that it was not contagious or infectious, I had intimate contact with a close friend whom I have known for years and have had contact before. My friend did not get any symptoms or infection after our contact, and I know this as we have been in touch after this night for a couple months. We just had body contact--no sex, no anal, no oral, no mouth-to-mouth kissing. However for me that night, after our contact, my chest and stomach flared up with intense itching and red bumps began appearing in these areas as well.
It's been 2.5 months since my initial contact. The red bumps have improved. I never noticed any pus really except sometimes I saw some clear-colored fluid. Some of them fade, while others, kind of scab (become small and black and eventually flake off). It seems like some spots where there used to be a bump or two, is now hairless and very smooth, almost like a leathery texture. This is hard to notice as the bumps are small but there are some spots like this. The bumps have come and gone in several areas including both lower legs, both inner thighs, both outer thighs, stomach, chest, and right armpit. The current active areas are my left inner and outer thigh. Additionally, a red rash has developed on my right inner thigh and itches as well. This often comes in contact with the tip of my penis (just mentioning this detail). A bump has developed on my scrotum and there has been consistent itching on this rash and the scrotum which has become red.
I went to a different dermatologist five days ago. She also is saying that the bumps are folliculitis and not herpes and take 2-3 months to go away. She also said that it can be chronic, can recur, and that I should maintain good hygeine and wear loose-fitting clothing. For the rash, scrotum, and foreskin, she prescribed me Alclometasone Dipropionate ointment and told me to apply twice daily for two weeks only. For the bumps, she told me to continue using the antibiotic and can use the rinse as well (but not in the groin area). It's too early to tell if that is working, but now my foreskin/penis head is burning/stinging and the skin appears to be drying in that area as well. She strongly discouraged me against doing a herpes test saying that it could be inaccurate and even if it came positive, may have nothing to do with my current condition.
Thanks for all the expert advice on this thread. Just being the devil's advocate here though--I find it very coincidental that so many of us are having such similar symptoms, all related to after having some sort of unprotected sex/body contact, and all of us developing red scrotum about a month or a few weeks after the contact.
I am getting really nervous and depressed. My self-esteem and confidence has gone really low, I can't wear clothes I enjoy wearing and have been wearing old, torn clothes as that's all I have that's loose-fitting and 100% cotton. Everyday I am spending hours applying medications, researching online, and stressing out. This is affecting my career and studies. I am concerned about my future health and how this may impact when I find a girl I like and want to get married and have a family. I can't even masturbate--only am doing it once or at most twice a week to avoid pain. Please somebody help. I have an inkling that this might be herpes--I pray to God not, but I want to know if it is so.
Thanks in advance.
Has anyone figured out what is the cause and/or cure for this? I am going through the same ordeal as what a lot of guys have posted on this thread. One night I had trimmed my pubic hair region and think I had a very minor cut, no big deal. I wore ventilated, cooling but nonetheless synthetic, tight, spandex trunks right after and went on jog on a hot night of when it was 90+ degrees (Fahrenheit) during the day.
Immediately afterwards, I had intimate (full naked body) contact with someone for the first time. We were not using protection but I had made a point I did not want to do any oral, anal, or mouth-to-mouth contact. This person really wanted to go to the next step and began putting my penis up the anus without my consent. I did not realize this until about 4 seconds in at which point I pulled out and stopped our love-making. At this point, we were completely drenched in sweat. I asked if this person is clean, and I was told that they are and get tested for STDs every two weeks. [From my knowledge and experience however, the comprehensive STD testing does not check for Herpes.)
It took me about 20-25 minutes until I could get back home and get into the shower, during the whole time which I was drenched in sweat. That very night, I felt itching on the right side of my pubic hair region, right above my penis. I thought nothing much of it but "rugburn" from hair trimming. However, the itching intensified and small red bumps appeared a few days later.
Two weeks later, I went to get STD testing (which doesn't include herpes tests). All came out negative. I checked with the doctor who said it is not herpes and just some folliculitis, which should go away on its on within two weeks. A week or two later I described the symptoms to my internist who said it is probably a fungal infection. Symptoms only got worse though, spreading to my anus and lower left leg. The itching sometimes was extremely intense. The bumps waxed and waned in brightness and height.
A full month after the night of contact, I went to see a dermatologist, who said that it looks like folliculitis, not a fungal infection, and is not contagious. She prescribed me the Clindamyacin antibiotic topical cream to apply twice a day and to apply over-the-counter hydrocortizone cream to irritated areas (like in between the anus) as needed. She also told me to rinse with Benzoyl peroxide solution in the shower. I have been using ProAxyl 4% Benzoyl peroxide on affected areas. Coincidentally, the same day (before starting these meds) I began noticing a small red inflammation on my foreskin. (I am uncircumcised.) Over the next few days, my penis became very dry, almost like a bit of cracking near the tip. It hurt to masturbate. I called my doctor and was told I can apply some Vaseline, which helped in the dryness but it still hurt. Part of my scrotum (right by the very first itch I had on the night of contact) also had begun itching. It sometimes seems there is a small red bump underneath the foreskin, but I cannot tell. While masturbating, more of the foreskin gets inflammed. I never needed to lube, but now I absolutely have to. I force myself to abstain from masturbating as well as it pains, especially during ejaculation. It does not hurt while urinating though.
Meanwhile, some of the bumps began fading and improving. However, just as they improve, another region starts with more bumps. After confirming again with my doctor that it was not contagious or infectious, I had intimate contact with a close friend whom I have known for years and have had contact before. My friend did not get any symptoms or infection after our contact, and I know this as we have been in touch after this night for a couple months. We just had body contact--no sex, no anal, no oral, no mouth-to-mouth kissing. However for me that night, after our contact, my chest and stomach flared up with intense itching and red bumps began appearing in these areas as well.
It's been 2.5 months since my initial contact. The red bumps have improved. I never noticed any pus really except sometimes I saw some clear-colored fluid. Some of them fade, while others, kind of scab (become small and black and eventually flake off). It seems like some spots where there used to be a bump or two, is now hairless and very smooth, almost like a leathery texture. This is hard to notice as the bumps are small but there are some spots like this. The bumps have come and gone in several areas including both lower legs, both inner thighs, both outer thighs, stomach, chest, and right armpit. The current active areas are my left inner and outer thigh. Additionally, a red rash has developed on my right inner thigh and itches as well. This often comes in contact with the tip of my penis (just mentioning this detail). A bump has developed on my scrotum and there has been consistent itching on this rash and the scrotum which has become red.
I went to a different dermatologist five days ago. She also is saying that the bumps are folliculitis and not herpes and take 2-3 months to go away. She also said that it can be chronic, can recur, and that I should maintain good hygeine and wear loose-fitting clothing. For the rash, scrotum, and foreskin, she prescribed me Alclometasone Dipropionate ointment and told me to apply twice daily for two weeks only. For the bumps, she told me to continue using the antibiotic and can use the rinse as well (but not in the groin area). It's too early to tell if that is working, but now my foreskin/penis head is burning/stinging and the skin appears to be drying in that area as well. She strongly discouraged me against doing a herpes test saying that it could be inaccurate and even if it came positive, may have nothing to do with my current condition.
Thanks for all the expert advice on this thread. Just being the devil's advocate here though--I find it very coincidental that so many of us are having such similar symptoms, all related to after having some sort of unprotected sex/body contact, and all of us developing red scrotum about a month or a few weeks after the contact.
I am getting really nervous and depressed. My self-esteem and confidence has gone really low, I can't wear clothes I enjoy wearing and have been wearing old, torn clothes as that's all I have that's loose-fitting and 100% cotton. Everyday I am spending hours applying medications, researching online, and stressing out. This is affecting my career and studies. I am concerned about my future health and how this may impact when I find a girl I like and want to get married and have a family. I can't even masturbate--only am doing it once or at most twice a week to avoid pain. Please somebody help. I have an inkling that this might be herpes--I pray to God not, but I want to know if it is so.
Thanks in advance.
also, one interesting thing is that my skin (all over my body) seems to be hyper sensitive. If I put a bandaid the covered skin turns into a rash. Any skin that is blocked from air quickly turns red and irritated.
Have you or anyone else in this forum found out what is the cause of this 'red scrotum'? I had protected sex and received unprotected oral from a girl with Herpes 2. 3 days later my groin started burning and developed into a rash, but no blisters. the rash has persisted and seems to be popping up in random places on my body (wrist, stomach, inner thighs) but primarily on my scrotum and a little on my shaft. It varies. At times, it is worse than others, seems to be helped by being open to air. the 2 doctors I've been to so far both said it's not Herpes, one prescribed Jock itch cream that doesn't seem to be working. I also had a couple of small odd bumps on my stomach and upper thigh... both on the left side. After 8.5 weeks, My IGG herpes blood test came back negative for both types. I just took it again at 12.5 weeks and I'll get the results in a couple days. It just seems unlikely that this is not herpes since it started just 3 days after I had that exposure to HSV2. Is this a new type of herpes or something? There must be an answer out there somewhere. Please help.
Hi there, my husband has got a similar thing. He cycles and developed a rush from excessive sweating and lycra. He used to treat this rush a corticosteroid cream. Then he started to see his scrotum turned red and it had a distinctive border. He was first prescribed another anti fungal cream. Then he got anti funal pills to take for 4 days but no help. Now he is being treated with doxy 4 weeks, started only now. Good luck with finding a cure, there is a case published on the internet where a person had it for 20 years - hope it is not going to take that long!
yes, I have herpes 2 diag. since june and 2 weeks later my scrotum
became red same systoms as kashmir13. I have visited 3 doctors
doctor #1 a expert on herpes told me that I have a red scrotel syndrome.
nothing to do with herpes he told me.(told me to take zinc pills).
doctor #2 a diases expert told me that was not red scrotel sys. that was
yeast, gave me powder 15 nystop 2 weeks later same no progress, next
visit change to fluconazole 100mg I almost finish the 30 pills.
doctor #3 a dermatologist told that is fungal infection and gave me a cream call alclometasone dipropionate. on it for 2 weeks.
I see that early in the morning my scrotum is a normal color after the day progress it becomes red.
also with the same systoms of burning sensation on thights and buttoms
please any info.
became red same systoms as kashmir13. I have visited 3 doctors
doctor #1 a expert on herpes told me that I have a red scrotel syndrome.
nothing to do with herpes he told me.(told me to take zinc pills).
doctor #2 a diases expert told me that was not red scrotel sys. that was
yeast, gave me powder 15 nystop 2 weeks later same no progress, next
visit change to fluconazole 100mg I almost finish the 30 pills.
doctor #3 a dermatologist told that is fungal infection and gave me a cream call alclometasone dipropionate. on it for 2 weeks.
I see that early in the morning my scrotum is a normal color after the day progress it becomes red.
also with the same systoms of burning sensation on thights and buttoms
please any info.
see a dermatologist to work on figuring out if there is something causing it that you can avoid or treat. they can do a skin scraping to see if it's still a fungal issue or not ( not at all painful either! ).
Grace,
Thank you for your help. I bring this up because I have similar symptoms. After protected sex, I had a strange irritation on the scrotum, then some small red dots on the groin on the same side. No blisters, fever, discharge, etc. This evolved into a red scrotum which has sensations of "tingling, burning" etc.
Symptoms have lasted for quite some time (5 weeks) and multiple anti-fungals, creams, etc have not worked.
I know it is unlikely, but have any posters over the years responded afterward to say their symptoms relieved themselves after some time? Seems to be a recurrent theme on the posts.
Thank you for your help. I bring this up because I have similar symptoms. After protected sex, I had a strange irritation on the scrotum, then some small red dots on the groin on the same side. No blisters, fever, discharge, etc. This evolved into a red scrotum which has sensations of "tingling, burning" etc.
Symptoms have lasted for quite some time (5 weeks) and multiple anti-fungals, creams, etc have not worked.
I know it is unlikely, but have any posters over the years responded afterward to say their symptoms relieved themselves after some time? Seems to be a recurrent theme on the posts.
I stand by what I've posted on this. this same information is also what Terri Warren, HHH and Dr Hook also post regularly and they are tops in their field.
also yes indeed I've been following posts here since 2005 dear, not a single one of them has ever had herpes shown as the cause.
grace
also yes indeed I've been following posts here since 2005 dear, not a single one of them has ever had herpes shown as the cause.
grace
I'm sorry but after doing reading, it is apparent there is some form of symptom that is perhaps Herpes (evolved?) that causes red scrotum.
Please consider doing more investigation into this - the amount of men affected is large.
It would be good to follow up with some of the older posters (2005 - present) and see how they have progressed.
Please consider doing more investigation into this - the amount of men affected is large.
It would be good to follow up with some of the older posters (2005 - present) and see how they have progressed.
Yes, I'm currently in the middle of a 2 week treatment (pills & cream) for a yeast-type infection. My PCP has certainly seen the rash I've ot in my groin and buttocks, but has never encountered red scrotum syndrome. I'm sure my Friday (my next appointment) he will refer me to a dermatologist. That's the common experience I've read about for so many guys dealing with this. Bounced around between MD's who don't know what causes it, let alone how t cure it. It just seems too coincidental to me that I got this right after my primary herpes outbreak subsided. But as you said before, it could be a deep-seated fungal infection from the unprotected oral sex. But would it take 5 weeks for that to surface? I'm just stressed out at this point. The herpes diagnosis was bad enough to deal with, but then I get this right on top of it. I haven't had any time to emotionally adjust to having herpes. Not a good year, to say the least. Thank you so much for responding to my comments. How do I connect with Terri via this site?
it's very unlikely this is herpes related.
please feel free to pay to post on terri warren, our herpes expert here on medhelp, for her advice also. I'm sure she has plenty to say about herpes causing long term pain issues in males :)
please feel free to pay to post on terri warren, our herpes expert here on medhelp, for her advice also. I'm sure she has plenty to say about herpes causing long term pain issues in males :)
OK, I've continued to do a lot of research on this and I have come across something that is very disturbing. The symptoms of burning and tingling pain in the genital area can be a form of dysaesthesia, which is called vulvodynia in women. This can be caused by "lesions on the nerves". Obviously, herpes travels via a nerve path. I also read in multiple areas that recurrent herpes simplex is a potential cause of this. What is so disturbing is that this appears to be a chronic, incurable problem. Also, i'm not sure why the herpes community isn't more aware of this as a potential complication from a herpes infection. There appears to be thousands of guys suffering from this, and many of them have herpes (though not all). This is an awful condition and I've only had it for about a month. I can't imagine going through the rest of my life with this. Does anybody have any similar information or thoughts on this? Thank you.
chronic fungal infections are a real issue for males especially.
this is not related at all to herpes.
this is not related at all to herpes.
Thanks Grace. I did see my PCP and I am on meds for treating a yeast / bacterial infection. Still too early to tell if it's working. Just curious as to how often this issue comes up in this forum? There are a ton of blogs out there with so many guys claiming to have had this for years and no MD has been able to help them. A lot of them (not all) claim they came down with it after receiving unprotected oral sex from someone they didn't know very well. In your opinion, is it even possible that this could be herpes related? Thanks.
odds are this is a fungal infection aka jock itch, not herpes causing your symptoms. see your provider for a proper evaluation.
grace
grace
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Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Millions of people are diagnosed with STDs in the U.S. each year.
STDs can't be transmitted by casual contact, like hugging or touching.
Syphilis is an STD that is transmitted by oral, genital and anal sex.
