same symptom

[cubbies1982]

I was reading what fred281 had posted and him and i have the same symptom i get dry flaky skin that is red and shiny but never any blisters or bumps but little paper cuts like 4 or 5 of them. Is this herpes because i was told by my doctor that herpes was blisters or bumps and NOT LITTLE PAPER CUTS! I thought i was freaking out for nothing but doing research im concerned now! Is this herpes or is that normal? And i have one more question when u have herpes does it come back in the same spot every time or can it be in different spots?

[mike0371]

I have exactly what Jim111, Cubbies1982 and Ridin are experiencing. I do have HSV2 that I contracted from my ex-wife. Let me note that she would encounter the herpes out break on her buttocks periodically. We used caution, but still had unprotected sex because we tried to have children. Turns out that once the virus is in your system, you constantly shed the virus through the cells during enter course, which spreads the virus to the other person, regardless if the other person is having an out break or not. I have had Herpes virus for 6 years and encounter the outbreak roughly twice a year in the same location that it originally occurred. About 5 small blisters appear where the foreskin scare meets the shaft. The symptom starts with mild aching in the groin area and sourness in the right thigh. The next day I will notice the blisters appearing. I take my generic Valtrex (ACYCLOVIR) to suppress the out break. The blisters dry within a day or two and then the little scabs form where the blisters where. In about 5 days the scabs fall off revealing the read areas where the virus out break occurred. About 6 months ago I purchased some cheap hand lotion at the dollar store and immediately encountered what is being described in the aforementioned posts. The thin skin under the head of the penis was similar to a brush burn. I discontinued use of the cheap lotion, but the damage has been done. If I do not masturbate or have any sexual activities with my girlfriend the skin seems to heal and all seems fine, but as soon as I do anything, the skin cuts open and the areas become inflamed causing a brush burn like scab the next day. I assure you that this is Not herpes. I have it and know what it looks like. The Herpes virus will subside and pretty much go back and lay dormant in the base of your spin until you experience anxiety again or something else to make it appear again. In fact the Herpes virus isn’t as bad as the symptom we are all experiencing. This symptom that we are discussing does not go away. I am about to go see a Dermatologist soon if it continues. Unlike the Herpes virus, this redness in the effected area never seems to go away. Some days it looks like it is gone and then the later the areas are showing redness again. Two of the areas are on the outer helmet area of the penis and when I spread the skin wide in the area, I notice the skin seems inflamed or something. It is frustrating and as you gents put it, “Weird”. I will post again when I find out more. Hope this post could help.

[gracefromHHP]

The blood tests are 98% accurate for hsv2 by the 4 month period.  peeling, raw, irritated skin sounds a lot like fungus to me.  Have you seen a dermatologist when this is going on?

grace

[Ridin]

I too get the same syptoms...It's a wierd thing I get some peeling/irritated/raw skin on my genitals sometimes. They never look typical and I did have a negative HSV2 blood test (Herpeselect), while positve for HSV1 at least 8 months after my last sexual exposure. I keep seeing herpes into everything that goes on on my genitals.

I did also have a pimple that had what looked like a tiny hair in the middle of it. To say the least this freaked me out.

But the thing that freaks me out the most is the fact that 5% of the people with HSV2 never develope positive blood tests. So how will i ever know what I have? What if I infect someone? Grace can you put in your two cents into the reliability of the blood tests.

And if I have genital herpes would it be more likely for me to have genital HSV1 given my test results? or would it be more likely for me to have a false negative HSV2 test results and my lesions are HSV2?

[gracefromHHP]

We gals anatomy is a little different than it is in you boys.  Our skin splits more easily to look like a cut than a male's skin does and for different reasons.  

You two are worried about things that aren't herpes.  It's time to move on past herpes as a cause of your symptoms.  You are only adding to your anxiety by continuing to allow yourself to "see" herpes symptoms instead of "seeing" them as what they most likely really are.

grace

[jim1111]

cubbies my doctor wont do a culture on me and doesnt think its anything but why would it be a fungal infection under my penis i also get flaky skin that gets red and shiny but grace just responded back to me and said it didnt sound anything like herpes but i also will get the occasional "paper cuts" and i dont know what it is mine goes away in a couple of days but again after reading grace's response to u why wouldnt it be in a male if its in a female? And how common is it to get those paper cuts in a female? (question to grace not u cubbies) How common are fungal infections on the penis? And if this is a symptom in females is it never a symptom in males?(Again all questions directed to grace) Cubbies how often does this occur with u?

[cubbies1982]

jim i am experiencing the same symptoms that u are i also get dry flaky skin with occasional cuts under the head of my penis. What other symptoms do u have and grace why would it look like that in a female but not a male? That worries me too. Jim let me know if u what your doctor thought of this because mine thinks that i worry about this too much but if your doctor doesnt think this is anything either at least i can have some closure that maybe its nothing. Grace sorry to ask again but why would it look different just because your a male and not a female? Could it be a symptom in a male?

[jim1111]

Well now im scared because u said paper cuts can be a symptom i am a male however but why would it look like that in a female? Its right under the head of my penis and they are very small and last 3 to 4 days but my doctor doesnt think its that and refused to do a lesion culture on me but if its a symptom in females why not males? And is it usually from oral sex? And if someone did have type 1 in the genitals is it rare to have 3 or 4 reoccurences in a year? Would it be odd to have a fungal infection under the head of my penis? Now that i know it can look like paper cuts IM REALLY FREAKED OUT!

[gracefromHHP]

If I"m recalling - none of your original posts sounded like you had herpes ( too lazy to go look thru your prior posts and you didn't just keep adding your new questions to your other posts to make it easy for me like is requested in our posting tips ).  It really isn't the only thing that can cause issues in the genital area believe it or not!

Paper cuts are more common as a symptom of herpes in females than males.   Your description of your symptoms has always sounded more like irritation, dry skin or even a fungal infection that's never been treated properly.  Also hsv1 genitally more typically doesn't reoccur very often so the chance of this being hsv1 genitally is also incredibly low.

grace

[cubbies1982]

i've been to the doctor many times and ive had those little cuts 3 different times and he looked at them and said u can get abrasions down there from time to time and it not be herpes. He says herpes looks like bumps or pimples or blisters. I just get irritated skin that is red but it goes away in a couple of days and sometimes those little cuts. My question is has anyone been diagnosed with herpes with the whole shiny red skin or a cut or dry flaky skin? Because i didnt notice it until after i had oral sex. Is this a symptom of type 1 genitally?

[gracefromHHP]

Have you been back to your provider for further exam since you last posted?

grace