Genital Herpes?

I am a 17 year old male and worried that I have genital herpes. My only sexual encounter was when I was around 14. It was with a girl that I really connected with. After a while, I am ashamed to say that I found out we were related. Cousins to be exact. I received unprotected oral sex from her about 3 or 4 times I can’t remember to be exact. Each were on different days where we met and the oral sex lasted very short each time. Mostly handjobs. I also played with her vagina with my penis a couple times making contact which also didn’t last long. I did not put it in her. She was a virgin when all this occurred.

I also masturbate a lot, more than once per day actually. I have hair that grows on my penis and ends at the middle. What I worry about are these frequent pimples I get on the shaft of my penis. They are generally small, sometimes raised red bumps that have a whitehead on top. Sometimes they are not that raised and just a whitehead. They are around my hair and even have a hair growing out of the bump or whitehead sometimes. I can pop them easily and they usually don’t hurt. The water from the shower sometimes breaks these pimples as well. Sometimes the whitehead comes off by itself. After popped, a white substance comes out and sometimes a little blood afterwards. When they heal, they generally get smaller in size and look sort of dry, and some of them form a tiny scab. They differ in healing time. Sometimes 2-6 days and others that lasted more than a week.

I don’t recall when I first started getting these but they still continue on today even when I clean that area. I’ve looked at pictures of genital herpes and they don’t really look like that. Part of me thinks it’s from masturbating a lot and the other side of me thinks the worse, Herpes!

1.Does the fact that this girl is my cousin make any difference?
2.Can you pop genital herpes?
3. Just because sometimes they form a scab does that make it genital herpes?
4. Does hair on my penis play a role?

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Welcome to the STD forum.

You can relax.  This doesn't sound at all like genital herpes.  Almost certainly you just have folliculitis, i.e. minor inflammation/infection of the hair follicles.  Anyway, the chance someone with a single lifetime sex partner would catch genital herpes is very low.

1) That you and your partner were related makes no difference.  

2-4) Herpes doesn't occur around hairs; popping or not makes no difference; and any kind of skin sore will form a scab, not just herpes.

You should see a health care provider, who will not even suspect any STD.  You might benefit from an antibiotic cream or pills, so please see a professional.  For free, confidential  care, you probably can find a teen clinic or health department clinic in your area.

Good luck--  HHH, MD

[xroitxniocex]

Thank you doctor.

One more thing. What you have informed me with makes a lot of sense now. I just don't understand why I continue to have them monthly. Sometimes they appear as one and other times more than one in different areas. If I pop one, and it starts to heal, sometimes another will start to form somewhere else. Why does that happen even with good hygiene. Also can I show this to a dermatologist? Would that be a good idea. Thank you doctor.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Definitely show it to a health care provider to know for sure what you have.  Poor hygiene is not the cause of folliculitis and similar problems.