burning inside tip of penis

[mirvus]

a little over a month ago, i had unprotected sex with a female who approximately 2 weeks later was diagnosed as having HSV2.  i still haven't presented with any of the obvious symptoms such as bumps or warts on my penis, but i've experienced an on-again off-again burning sensation just inside of the tip of my penis.  most of the time i would say it's simply irritating, though for a day or two about a week ago it did move up to what i would call painful.  i went to the doctor on the second "painful" day and he ran blood tests for herpes, chlamydia and gonorrhea, all of which came back negative, and he also did a urine analysis, which came back clean.  after seeing my doctor, over the holiday weekend, i pulled the tip of my penis apart and looked in (it hadn't occurred to me to do this prior for some reason) and saw what looked like might've been a cold sore type wound about 1/4 of an inch inside.  i couldn't really get a very good look at it, but it appeared grayish.  the area immediately around it didn't appear to be any more red than the nearby skin.  i had actually assumed it had healed up and was going away because over the past weekend, it didn't bother me at all, but then suddenly today the burning sensation has come back again (to irritating level, not painful).  i haven't had any sexual activity since october 30, which was when i slept with the girl that turned out to have herpes.

i realize that a blood test for herpes can come back with a false negative if done too soon.  my blood test was done approximately 4 1/2 weeks after the exposure, but am i wrong in thinking that, since i had this sore (assuming it is herpes) for a full week prior to testing, wouldn't i have developed antibodies by then?  also, why would the burning go away for upwards of 3 days and then return?  any thoughts/suggestions are welcome and appreciated.  thanks.

[hopeful111]

mirvus - that's great to hear! keep up the positive attitude. very happy to hear your symptoms are subsiding. hopefully this will be 100% behind you very soon and for the rest of us as well.

[traviskelly]

Hey guys,
Been reading your threads and my problem sounds similar.....I had sex about a month ago, protected penetrative, but genital rubbing without protection for a while...About a day or two later I noticed a tingling sensation in the very tip of my penis. It wasn't painful, nor was it itchy, just tingling, doesn't sting to urinate either...I think my groin glands were slightly swollen? But I don't check them very often so had nothing to compare them to. I woke up one night covered in sweat and felt like I may have been coming down with something? Went to the Dr and got checked out for chlamydia and gonorrea, both came back negative, he looked around my penis and couldn't see any evidence of herpes.  Since then the tingling has subsided (that lasted about 2 and a half weeks) but now I just have a slight irritation about an 1/8 or an inch inside my urethra.....I can see something on the skin inside, it's very faint, not a blister or a red spot, looks more like a small circle......Does it sound like herpes? Or would a herpes sore in the urethra be very painful (which this isn't, just irritated).....HELP put my mind at rest! I'm going nuts! advice, knowledge, experience anyone!!!!!! The problem is I'm beginning to not know what is real and what's not? Anxiety I guess....contacted the girl and she says she's never had anything???? She could be asymptomatic though, right  

[mirvus]

i *thought* i saw something just inside the tip of my penis as well - evidently either my eyes were playing tricks on me and making me see things that weren't really there, or it was something that's always been there and i just never noticed.  either way, i had it cultured, and it came back negative for herpes.  it's actually STILL there now, so i'm guessing it's just some kind of mark that i've either always had, or i developed at some point in the not too distant past and it's harmless.

also, the tingling is very likely just anxiety driven - with herpes, when it comes to what's referred to as "prodromal symptoms," which include tingling, burning, itching, etc., those symptoms usually only last a day or two before the actual red spots and blisters appear.  if you've been having this tingling for 2+ weeks, then i think it's safe to assume whatever it is - if it's anything at all - is not herpes.

[traviskelly]

Thanks Mirvus,

Yeah the tingling did last for a few weeks, then anxiety took over, I wasn't feeling well though and did wake up in a cold sweat one night, but as one blogger puts it "The mind is very powerful and can make phantom symptoms come and go!" Having said that, the tingling did diminish after a few weeks (i really wasn't imagining the tingling)  what was left was a little pain/discomfort (not painful or itchy) in the spot where I could see something inside my urethra. What i thought I could see was sort of a raised circle, tiny, it's still there now but I guess like you, if it doesn't disappear then it always was there!
So, if it all comes back, I'll head on down for a herpes test I guess!

[livelihoodlost]

Well, I really don't want to be over my head about this but I think I MIGHT be having an OB.  I see a few small bumps on my rear right where I sit, i'm thinking it might be it and also where my thighs feel itchy I can see a tiny little dark red dot.  I'd been feeling that area tingling alot the past couple weeks but hadn't seen anything.  I guess because it's so small.  Not sure if I should spend the money on getting it cultured or just wait 3 more weeks for an 8 week blood test.  Can they culture something a millimeter in size?  Teste pain has returned and I had been eating some mixed nuts the past 2 days.  Had been going for coffee, chocolate, potatoes, anything I could think of that would cause a reaction but nothing had happened.  Pain/tingling was gone a few days and I don't know, perhaps the mixed nuts did it.  Or maybe it's just returned by it's own will.  Oh I hate this.

[mirvus]

i honestly wouldn't worry much about that.  i don't think i've ever heard or read about an initial outbreak of herpes happening anywhere other than directly on the genitals or mouth.  you're just looking way too hard and getting way too anxious about it, i think.  granted, of course,  if that red spot gets bigger, if blisters appear, yeah, head to the doc, but something that's in a not terribly common spot and only a millimeter in size... you've probably had that 1mm red bump your whole life and just never saw it until you started self-examining for herpes.  just be cool and breathe easy.