Herpes?

[curious_george31]

I am a healthy 30yo male who has been in a 8 year monogamous relationship. My last sexual encounter with her was roughly 3 months ago. I work overseas so that's why it's been so long. As far as I know I've never had an STD. Just a few days ago I woke up itching my groin. The next morning I inspected the area and noticed some small red bumps in my pubic hair region above my genitals. It didn't itch anymore so to get a better look I trimmed my pubic hair and discovered 5 small red bumps that almost looked like pimples. I thought two were ingrown hairs so I tried to pop them. A little white head came out of one and it bled, there was no pain afterwards. Since it didn't burn or itch or anything I kind of forgot about it until a couple days after and it somehow got in my head that maybe it was herpes. I'm not sure why... But by then the other bumps had gone away and all that was left were 3 faint ones. The two I tried to pop and another. They're barely visible now. It's been almost 5 days now and there hasn't been any itching, burning or tingling. I haven't experienced any back pain or flu like symptoms. Normally I'd just go take a blood test but at the moment I don't have that kind of medical testing at my disposal. I'd just like to get an opinion so I can either rest my mind or brace myself for when I go back home and get tested. Thank you....

[curious_george31]

Thank you sir.

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Your facts are indeed correct but even considering those factors, I see little reason to worry about herpes.   Take care.  EWH

[curious_george31]

Dr. Thank you for your rapid response. My reasoning for thinking it might be herpes is because
1. I've never had any issues down there before that resulted with intense brief itching and left me with red bumps.

2. My girlfriend gets really bad cold sores and has given me oral sex before during a break out.

3. I've read that sometimes this disease can remain dormant in your system for years before showing any symptoms.

Now I've heard that you can contract genital herpes from a partner who has HSV-1 through oral sex, though it is possible, it is rare. But since I've heard that I've been hesitant to allow her to do so when she is showing symptoms. Is that a good enough safe guard or should I even be worried about that?  Again, thank you for your answer.

Regards

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Welcome to our Forum.  I'll try to help. Like you, I am a bit perplexed as to why you might be worried about herpes.  neither the description you describe nor your timeline, nor the location of your lesions is at all suggestive of herpes.  Rather, the description you have provided us with an excellent description of folliculitis.  As you may know, 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.   In some instances, if you look closely you can see a hair coming out of, or nearby the bump- this too is typical of folliculitis).  

From your description I see no reason to worry about herpes and see no reason to test for it.  The best management for folliculitis is soap and water, perhaps using a washcloth to help keep your pores open.  I would however suggest that you stop squeezing these lesios as this can make skin infections spread.

I hope this comment is helpful. EWH

[curious_george31]

I forgot to mention that I have been diagnosed with eczema and I've had a couple bad cases of folliculitis before. The living conditions aren't always the best. I've been prescribed with Fluocinonide for any outbreaks I have.