possibly contracted HSV on hand from partner's genitals

[Lucy199017]

Hello,
About a month ago I developed a vesicular rash on the palm of my left hand, about four small bumps.  This occured two days after masturbating a man.  The man had two bumps on either side of his crotch, however the did not look like herpes to me or like the rash I developed on my hand.  I did use my own spit to lubricate, however I have never had a cold sore or lesions in the genital area that looked like what developed on my hand.  I washed my hands afterwards.  I went to the Doctor within 48 hours of the rash developing.  She was certain that the rash looked like herpes, and took a PCR skin test of the fluid in the blisters to be sure.  The test came back negative for both HSV I and II.  
A month has gone by and I returned to the Doctor.  She said she can not think of anything else the rash could be because it looked so typically herpetic.   She said it is possibly not enough fluid was taken from the sores for the PCR test, or that it could be a very mild case of zoster as I have had chicken pox when I was around 1 to 2 years old.  She took a type specific blood test and I am waiting for the results.  I have a few questions based on my scenario.

1.  How likely is to autoinnoculate yourself? Could I possibly have done this from my own spit? (although I have no history of cold sores)
2.  How likely is it that my partner infected me with HSV I or II from his genitals to my hand?
3.  If my blood test comes back negative for both HSV I and II should I take this results as accurate, or retest later as there was only a month between the rash and the test?
4.  If the blood test comes back positive for HSV II (now, or later if I retest),  is it possible to assume that it is only on my hand and not on my genitals as I have never had vesicular regions on my genitals?  I had a negative HSV II test in February of 2012.

I'm very anxious about all of this, and scared and distracted, it is finals week for me :(.  Any answers would be much appreciated.
  

[gracefromHHP]

well if it's gone, not much else you can do. as I said, doesn't sound herpes related at all.

[Lucy199017]

Sorry not to mention this in previous post.  The rash did clear up, after she broke them and they scabbed over.  I can still see where they were, not sure if it left a scar, just reddish circles now.  Thankyou for the quick response!  I saw a nurse practitioner at my university's clinic.

[gracefromHHP]

herpes whitlow hurts like a s.o.b I've been told from folks who have had it.  A painless rash isn't likely to be herpes related . Having a pcr swab done that quickly is pretty trustworthy.  same with zoster would be very painful too and it would be unusual to have zoster show up only on a hand anyways.

is this your general gp you are seeing or a dermatologist?

far more likely this is a contact dermatitis that the provider you are seeing isn't recognizing than anything in the herpes family. Even without treatment, if this was herpes related, it would've cleared on its own by now.

grace

[Lucy199017]

I should also mention, the rash did not hurt at all.  It only felt like anything when I closed my hand and made a fist with it.  I would also like to add a fifth question.

5.  How unlikely is it my rash would be cause by zoster? Is it more likely to be caused by HSV I or II because it occurred two days after possible exposure?  Again I have never had anything like this on my body before so I am very skeptical about the zoster theory.