What could it be

I had my first ever cold sore. I used Abreva and then noticed swelling in my lips and mouth, and rashy red bumps on my mouth above my lip. the cold sore scabbed over and healed but the red bumps, rash and swelling did not go away. It was like this for almost 5 weeks. I was lathering it with topical lysine at this point, thinking it was recurring from the herpes infection. 5 weeks later I masturbated a couple of times in one night, I should have not done that. 2 days later there were red bumps on my penis between the head and foreskin. I figured I had transfered the herpes to my penis. 1 week later I went to the doctor who looked at it for a split second and told me it wasn't herpes on my penis. He did notice the swelling in my mouth and prescribed me some type of antibiotic. The swelling went down in about a week but the bumps on my penis did not go away for several weeks after. Then after the bumps finally subsided I noticed a red irritation on my penis where the bumps were, so I went to another doctor. He told me that I probably had a fungal infection from the medicines I was putting on my face and transfered that to my penis. He said I was left with dermatitis. He gave me medicine and that went away. The problem is that I now also have redness and flaky skin on my scrotum. I noticed it once before when the infection took place initially on my penis, my scrotum was red and bumpy, and figured I must have been scratching there without realizing. Anyway it was a day or two after my second visit to the doctor that I noticed the redness appear on my scrotum. One day it grew very itchy and I scratched it kind of hard. That was apparently not the right thing to do. For the next few days it was peeling and flaking and now it is redish, scaly and somewhat tender. My question is, does this sound like dermatitis like the doctor said, or do you think I could have transfered a herpes infection to my genitals?

[gracefromHHP]

it's doubtful you transferred herpes to your genitals like that.

my first thought when reading about your cold sore was that it wasn't a cold sore. odds are that you had a bacterial or fungal infection that you transmitted elsewhere. continue to follow up on this as needed until it's cleared up.

do you have a regular partner?  have either of you been tested for herpes ever?

grace

[Needfeedback]

Thank you. No I have not had a test and I do not have a partner. I haven't had sex in 6 years. I have shared some cigarettes before with a friend who has had cold sores, which is why I think it was a cold sore. I didn't notice him having any sores at the time but now that I have done some research, I feel like such a careless fool. I do have a question for you. What are the chances that my friend has HS2 sores on the mouth and transferred HS2 to me by sharing a cigarette? I really wish I had researched this disease before ever sharing anything with anyone. Thanks

[gracefromHHP]

it's incredibly unlikely you'd contract hsv1 orally thru sharing a cigarette.  You were also seen by a provider who evidently thought it was a bacterial infection around your  mouth that they gave you antibiotics and then it finally cleared up for you.  

just a fyi - you have your gender listed as female - might want to change that if you have a penis so that you don't confuse folks :)

fungal infections can be hard to clear up. continue to treat your genital area as instructed and follow up with your provider and/or the dermatologist as needed to get the peace of mind you need for this.  

http://www.ashastd.org/herpes/herpes_learn_oralherpes.cfm  is a good link for info on oral herpes for more reading.

grace

[Needfeedback]

Thank you for the feedback and information. ASHA appears to be a good resource for this type of information. I did speak with my dentist today and she said that it does sound like I had a cold sore initially. She gave me a prescription for valtrex, in case I get another one in the future. However the after infection she said did not and could have been my body's reaction to an allergen or the infection itself. After reading ASHA though, it seems that herpes appears in many different forms such as red spots and bumps, chapped lips and acne. With this occurrence I had some uncharacteristic acne appear on my face and especially on my neck, red bumps, swelling and chapped lips. I suppose the only way to know for sure is to get a blood test. I haven't been with anyone in a long time, and for this to just come out of the blue like this, especially with the infection being spread to my genitals (with similar symptoms), it has been a really hard thing to deal with for me. It saddens me to know how many people have been forced to suffer with this but It is encouraging to hear how people have overcome it and gone on to live happy lives and develop loving relationships. Of course I hope this isn't my case but if it is, I hope that I will still be able to have the happy and healthy relationship that I have always wanted. Thanks again.

[gracefromHHP]

Asha is a terrific resource. They co-sponsor the cdc's std conference :)

Odds still are that this wasn't oral herpes going on.  If it was, it was the bacterial infection that triggered a recurrence of a previous hsv1 oral infection.  did you have any herpes blood testing don eyet?

grace