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Most likely herpes or just anecdotal prediction from dermatologist?
*DISCLAIMER* So here's the bottom line. I'm 22 years old. I don't have much direction in life or much going for me, I have OCD, depression and anxiety. This possible diagnosis is killing me. How will I ever find someone? I just feel so limited now with my sex life and.. just terrible. I would love to hear your opinions here and if you read all of this I greatly appreciate it. I am suffering right now and don't know what to think, where to go, or turn. I'm trying to accept the possible diagnosis the best I can, I just know it is an ailment that will be there for the rest of my life.
I will try to break this down as best I can for all of you to understand, I'll incorporate all the details I think are necessary despite how long it will be. Over 2 weeks ago I had unprotected sex with a woman I had just met, we were talking through text for a few weeks. About 3-4 days later, I noticed a rash on my penis (foreskin area). It was red spots, kind of how typical eczema or dermatitis looks. I didn't think much of it, it did not hurt, itch, or anything really but I was concerned. The next morning I receive a text from this woman saying she was concerned with similar symptoms.
In great anxiousness, I booked a doctors apt. as soon as I could. When I arrived to the primary care physician he examined the rash and said it looked to be tinea cruris (jock itch). He prescribed me lotrisone to use twice daily for 2 weeks. The woman went to her GP about 2 days after I visited my doctor, who told her she was experiencing a bad yeast infection. He prescribed her diflucan, fluconazole and a topical ointment. She responded well to the treatment and things started to clear up for her, right away.
While her symptoms were improving right away (allegedly), my rash was not improving with the lotrisone. I was about 4 days into using it, and the rash became scabby, and if I could describe it best without a picture of my genitals- it looked a lot as if it were shingles or chicken pox on my penis (foreskin area). Again, this was never painful or burning and barely itchy, if at all. I do get a burning sensation when I urinate sometimes, but only when I'm not hydrated and my urine is more concentrated. It almost feels as if I'm getting urinary retention as well, when its bad- When I'm hydrated I barely notice any discomfort though.
So the fact that my rash was not improving, I was concerned and went into an urgent care clinic to get bloodwork/urinalysis (urinalysis was clean just like the one I took a few days before) done right away. The results for my bloodwork took a while to get back to me,- the herpes hsv1 and 2 came back negative. Between that time frame of waiting on results, I revisited my GP and he examined the rash again. His response was that he was "perplexed". He said it looked like chicken pox was on my penis, and that more realistically it looked like a herpes or syphilis rash. He told me to wait on the test results and prescribed me fluconazole since I mentioned my female partner had a yeast infection - and if the rash goes away with that then we can assume it was just the yeast.
So it has been about 12 days since the rash appeared. It is starting to look better, like it is healing. I decided to book a dermatologist appointment today, considering the rash on my genitals was still technically undiagnosed. When I arrived, I told him a quick tid bit of what has been going on. Before I even pulled down my pants he mentioned 'herpes'. He examined the rash briefly and said it looked to be viral and that his "hunch" was genital herpes. He seemed pretty dead set on it being herpes, but he couldn't give me a definitive diagnosis because he said it looks like it has already has ran its course and the swab test would do nothing at this point. I showed him several pictures I took of my genitals a few days ago, one of the pictures showing a somewhat fluid filled lesion.. not your typical blister but it just looked white. There's only 2 of those near the top of my foreskin which is not a part of the majority of the rash (which looks very scaly/scabby now). After I showed him the pic of the whitish lesion he said "that's the best pic you showed me" he was even more convinced it was herpes. He sent me on my way and did not prescribe me anything. He said if it comes back, come back to him and to use a condom. He also said you can continue to use ointment after 2 weeks. But there was a complication, I told him it was Lotrimin I was using, when really it was Lotrisone. So I'm not sure if it is ok to use still. I called the woman after the derma visit, and she said that it was strange because her symptoms went away rapidly with the yeast infection treatment. (allegedly) I don't know if I should even believe her at this point, and if shes not lying then what can this be? Again, thank you if you took your time to read this.
I will try to break this down as best I can for all of you to understand, I'll incorporate all the details I think are necessary despite how long it will be. Over 2 weeks ago I had unprotected sex with a woman I had just met, we were talking through text for a few weeks. About 3-4 days later, I noticed a rash on my penis (foreskin area). It was red spots, kind of how typical eczema or dermatitis looks. I didn't think much of it, it did not hurt, itch, or anything really but I was concerned. The next morning I receive a text from this woman saying she was concerned with similar symptoms.
In great anxiousness, I booked a doctors apt. as soon as I could. When I arrived to the primary care physician he examined the rash and said it looked to be tinea cruris (jock itch). He prescribed me lotrisone to use twice daily for 2 weeks. The woman went to her GP about 2 days after I visited my doctor, who told her she was experiencing a bad yeast infection. He prescribed her diflucan, fluconazole and a topical ointment. She responded well to the treatment and things started to clear up for her, right away.
While her symptoms were improving right away (allegedly), my rash was not improving with the lotrisone. I was about 4 days into using it, and the rash became scabby, and if I could describe it best without a picture of my genitals- it looked a lot as if it were shingles or chicken pox on my penis (foreskin area). Again, this was never painful or burning and barely itchy, if at all. I do get a burning sensation when I urinate sometimes, but only when I'm not hydrated and my urine is more concentrated. It almost feels as if I'm getting urinary retention as well, when its bad- When I'm hydrated I barely notice any discomfort though.
So the fact that my rash was not improving, I was concerned and went into an urgent care clinic to get bloodwork/urinalysis (urinalysis was clean just like the one I took a few days before) done right away. The results for my bloodwork took a while to get back to me,- the herpes hsv1 and 2 came back negative. Between that time frame of waiting on results, I revisited my GP and he examined the rash again. His response was that he was "perplexed". He said it looked like chicken pox was on my penis, and that more realistically it looked like a herpes or syphilis rash. He told me to wait on the test results and prescribed me fluconazole since I mentioned my female partner had a yeast infection - and if the rash goes away with that then we can assume it was just the yeast.
So it has been about 12 days since the rash appeared. It is starting to look better, like it is healing. I decided to book a dermatologist appointment today, considering the rash on my genitals was still technically undiagnosed. When I arrived, I told him a quick tid bit of what has been going on. Before I even pulled down my pants he mentioned 'herpes'. He examined the rash briefly and said it looked to be viral and that his "hunch" was genital herpes. He seemed pretty dead set on it being herpes, but he couldn't give me a definitive diagnosis because he said it looks like it has already has ran its course and the swab test would do nothing at this point. I showed him several pictures I took of my genitals a few days ago, one of the pictures showing a somewhat fluid filled lesion.. not your typical blister but it just looked white. There's only 2 of those near the top of my foreskin which is not a part of the majority of the rash (which looks very scaly/scabby now). After I showed him the pic of the whitish lesion he said "that's the best pic you showed me" he was even more convinced it was herpes. He sent me on my way and did not prescribe me anything. He said if it comes back, come back to him and to use a condom. He also said you can continue to use ointment after 2 weeks. But there was a complication, I told him it was Lotrimin I was using, when really it was Lotrisone. So I'm not sure if it is ok to use still. I called the woman after the derma visit, and she said that it was strange because her symptoms went away rapidly with the yeast infection treatment. (allegedly) I don't know if I should even believe her at this point, and if shes not lying then what can this be? Again, thank you if you took your time to read this.
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You are reading content posted in the Herpes Community
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.
