Brief encounter/herpes

[AnyNeedForStress]

Dr....about 60 days ago I had an encounter which involved genital rubbing with a female of unknown STD status.  I was on my back and she straddled me.  I held the head of my penis against my stomach and there was no penetration but her vagina did rub along the underside near the base of my penis for maybe 10 seconds however it was vigorous enough to cause ejaculation.  About 6 days after the encounter I shaved my pubic area and had a large red bump form which I struggled to pop but I eventually did and white puss came out.  The bump remained there for 3 -4 weeks and is now gone and it was in my pubic hair.  Since then I have developed another red bump on the other side of my pubic hair area more near the scrotum.  It is also large and was hard to pop.  It feels like a large mass under the skin and is now just red and appears to be healing a week after it first showed up and it is almost gone.  Other than that no symtpoms I can find and I have been checking myself througly every day several times for the last two months.  From reading online it sounds like I put myself at high risk for herpes and syphillis and am now quite worried and am struggling to wait the three months needed before I can test for herpes.  I have a regular partner and have avoided sex all but once over the last two months.  Decided to ask you for your advice and opinion on my situation.  Tha skin you for your time

[Edward W Hook, MD]

No need to continue checking.  If you had HSV it would have shown up bynow.  EWH

[AnyNeedForStress]

Wow..that is pretty good news...I was positive I had herpes at this point..so do I need to continue to check myself for bumps and abnormalities on a regular basis to rule out herpes or can I consider this part of my life over with?..and thanks again Dr..this will be my only follow up if you wouldn't kind answering..mainly I want to know info need to continue looking for lesions at this time?

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Welcome to our Forum. I'll be pleased to comment and provide some facts.  Perhaps the most important piece of advice I can provide is for you to stay off of the internet.  While there is much useful information on the internet, there is also a huge amount of mis-information.  A good example of this is the suggestion that this was a high risk encounter- it was not.  While there may be a theoretical risk for you to get herpes of syphilis from an encounter of this sort, the risk is lower- lower than your risk for getting struck by lightning.

The bumps you  describe do not raise concerns for  syphilis or herpes either. Instead, they suggest folliculitis.  Folliculitis occurs when the pores in your skin get plugged.  This allows that normal bacteria that are present on just about every-one's skin to grow and cause what is essentially a pimple.  Some of these just appear as red bumps which may or may not be  tender while others go on to actually form pimples.  Squeezing them is never a good idea however- you can cause infection that way.  Shaving increases the risk for folliculitis and the locations of the lesions you describe, in areas where there is some hair, are typical areas for folliculitis but atypical places for either syphilis or herpes.

My advice at this time would be to not worry further.  There really is no medical reason for testing related to this exposure and no reason for you to abstain from sex with your regular partner.  EWH

[AnyNeedForStress]

And sorry for the errors...supposed to say thanks again for your time...I'm typing on a phone and I apologize