recurring rash on foreskin..help please

[jk1058]

Im currently dealing with a recurrent rash that appears on the foreskin and occassionally on the head of the penis. There is little warning when the rash will appear, but it seems to be most common the morning after sex, or after walking around for extended periods of time. It is not painful, does not really itch, and if i had to describe the feeling i would say it just feels a little moist/sweaty. It seems to come back at least once a week, and generally lasts between 24-48 hours. On occassions i feel as if there may be tiny sores, but there is never any pain or pus. The rash is generally quite red, and sometimes i feel there is almost a purple tinge to it. There is no pain when urination or any discharge. It responds well to an antifungal cream with 1% hyrdocortisone. Ie. it is generally gone within 24 hours of using the cream, only to come back shortly after stopping.

It began about 9 months ago, following a large night which i remember very little about. Immediately the morning after i presumed i must have an std, despite no initial symptoms. About 3 weeks later i had worked myself up intensely, and felt as if i had burning sensations whilst urinating and sore testicles. On one night i also though i had a clear discharge from the penis.

I went to the doctors and had a full std panel done, all negative. Repeated testing a week later with the same results, and a 3rd time for good measure. The doctor told me that there was absolutely no sign of urinary tract infection at all. After the 3rd round of testing, the burning at the end of urination and pain in testicles seemed to fade away. I had several visual inspections, but was told that what i had looked, at best, like a mild form of candida.This was from about 3 doctors on several occassions.

I had a swab done which only came back with light staph auereus, which i was told was not and STD, and normal.

So i have convinced myself it must be herpes, as it is the only condition i can think of that is recurrent, given the swab came back with no signs of yeast.

I have not had a classical 'primary' outbreak, just the rash every week or so. Occassionally i do feel a burning sensation on the head of the penis that might last for a few days, but that does not continue into any other symptoms.

I had tried taking 2x500mg valtrex daily, yet that seems to have little effect.

So i guess my questions are:

1) is it possible to have an atypical hsv infection with the symptoms listed above? ie recurring rash, occassional burning sensation that occurs weekly
2) is it likely that valtrex does not work on me as i have some kind of atypical hsv infection?
3) could the staph infection be causing these symptoms, or something else?
4) could it in fact be some form of candida that was not picked up as i was using the anti-fungal steroid cream for a couple of days before the swab

any other ideas?

[jk1058]

And thanks for the reply, I forgot to say thAt

[jk1058]

I'm not 100% sure. I Described my symptoms and they provided the tests. I presumed that they would have came to the same conclusion you did and given me the right tests. At least one of the docs anyways. I'll have to check and follow up if needed.

[jk1058]

Thanks for the advice. Did you get to the bottom of your issues, as it would be interesting to know what someone else with the same symptoms has been told. I'm getting tired f being turned away from docs telling me not to worry it is nothing

[txr890]

Get a blood test for HSV IgG and call various doctors for a Biokit HSV2 test.  Together, these will give you a practically certain result of - or +

You say you had a full STD panel done, did it or did it not include "HSV1 and HSV2 IgG" tests?

If it did and you are negative, then you are for all intents and purposes HSV1 and 2 negative.

You could check your prostate as well...see urologists and have a full battery of other tests.

[ParanoidGuy1010]

This sounds an awful lot like what i'm dealing with myself. Have you had HSV blood tests?
I'd suggest trying to get a swab or skin scraping when the stuff is showing.. don't treat it with the cream until after you're seen.. the reason the cream helps is more likely caused by the hydrocortisone itself, which mainly acts to alleviate redness.
Blood tests are said to be more effective 4 months post exposure.
I'd also be leery of using hydrocortisone too often on your genital skin, as it could cause some permanent damage if used too often. The skin down there is especially sensitive and absorbent.