Question for Ms. Warren

[concernedskin]

I take Valtrex every day for HSV1 infection that occurs orally for me. I was diagnosed in 1996. In January of 2007 I had unprotected sex with a stranger and two days later I noticed redness all over my penis, I then noticed a small sore on the base backside of my penis I saw a GP on day 9 and she said she thought it might be herpes so she swabbed and ran a blood test. Both came back negative for HSV2 the culture negative for both HSV1 and HSV 2 on day 12 everything cleared up Since then I hadnot had any other occurances other then a pimple in March of 2008 that I went and had swabbed on day 2, that I never called to get the results for, I assumed since they didnt call it was ok and it cleared up in a few days. Back on September 10th I noticed a pimple and a lot of itching on my genital area, it never really got any worse it just sort of turned into a redish spot and went away, right after that I noticed another red area that again stayed red and never really turned into anything. Finally though on Monday of last week, I noticed something that concerned me that looks worse then anything else I have seen. It basically appears as a crack in the foreskin, it has now been 9 days and nothing has got worse or better it just looks like a crack in the skin but not really red. It is just a crack in the skin, it seems painless I put rubbing alcohol on it and it didnt sting. My question in all of this is if it were herpes wouldnt it go through "stages" and after 9 days look a little different? I am going to go to the doctor regardless but just wanted someone else's perspective on this. I should also say that I was blood tested 6 months after my original concern in 2007 and that came back negative for HSV 2 as well... Also do you think I should come to the Westover Clinic or someplace like that, most GP's seem to have no idea what they are talking about on this topic, thanks!!!

[Terri Warren, RN, Adult Nurse Practitioner]

HPV is very common indeed.  I would recommend that you go to ashastd.org and read their very good info about HPV for answers to the many questions that arise.

Terri

[concernedskin]

Hi Terri, I wanted to let you know I went to the Doctor today and he diagnosed what I have as HPV. He believes that I may have got this from my current girlfriend. He prescribed a cream for me that he wants me to apply daily that he said should help after a few months. I know very little about HPV and am obviously a little distressed by this news. Is HPV incurable like herpes, meaning I now have this for life? How common is this infection? Should I mention this to my Partner at this point? I certainly do not want to be accusatory but I did not have it before we met and I have it now so that would sort of narrow it down, but I am really not angry or upset I am just confused.

Thanks

[Terri Warren, RN, Adult Nurse Practitioner]

That might be useful, yes/

Terri

[concernedskin]

Thanks, I appreciate your comments. I do think this skin crack is odd but I also think what you said makes sense, I get cold sores and they do not behave in such a way. They seem to progress through stages. I think something is going on down there but I think it might not be herpes after all. I will give it some more time and see. In the mean time I am going to continue to be safe with my GF using condoms and hopefully nothing will happen.

I did have sex with her several times this past weekend because I know I am very prone to anxiety and I did not want to let that get the best of me. I seem to have developed quite a phobia around herpes. I should probably talk to someone about this... I

[Terri Warren, RN, Adult Nurse Practitioner]

I think if you had a negative HSV 2 antibody test in 2007, then you didn't get infected with HSV 2 in January of that year and you can put that experience and your worries about getting herpes from that experience behind you.  However, if you have had sexual encounters that have put you at risk since, then you may wish to test again.  The crack doesn't sound herpetic to me, since it hasn't changed its appearance in 9 days.  Herpes normally goes through a process of different stages, it doesn't' just stay the same once an outbreak begins.  I don't think you need to come to the clinic or a specialist, you are doing the right thing by doing testing as you are.  A specialist probably wouldn't do much more, truth be told.  They might be able to swab this crack, but 9 days later, don't think that would be very reliable anyway.

Terri