Herpes symptoms

[coach669]

I have been in a monogomous relationship for 5 years up until one year ago when I had a 3 day affair with a woman I met while away on business. I used a condom everytime and showered after. Everything was fine for over a year until about 3 weeks ago I got some bumps on my penis that were red near the middle and base and another area where the skin kind of broke open. I also got a painful burning sensation where my thigh meets the glute on both legs. I went to my doctor and he said it looked like herpes and drew some blood for a test. I see him this week for the result. I was devastated at this possibility. The doctor gave me Zovirax cream to rub on the areas and they have cleared some but I itch in the areas and also on the scrotum and inner thigh.

If it is herpes what are the chances I got it during this encounter? If so if over 1 year went by does that mean I will get an outbreak once a year? I guess I falsely believed if you used protection you would be protected against disease.

I do have Oral/Herpes 1. Is it possible it spread on its own to the genital area?

Could I have had genital herpes for years and it is just now appearing? The past six months prior to now has been the most stressful of my life and I wound up in the care of a psychologist. I wonder if this could have triggered it to appear.

Thank you

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Aassuming the health care provider is experienced in herpes, that probably explains the penile lesions; and your description certainly is compatible with herpes.  However, herpes rarely causes rash or burning in the of the skin in the groin or under the buttocks; that's probably something else.  If your penile lesions were fresh, i.e. not well on the way to healing, I hope your provider tested them for the virus.  But if not, the blood test will give clues if not final answers.

Assuming you do have herpes, however, there is no telling when you were infected.  Herpes transmission often occurs 5 or more years into monogamous relationships, i.e. it is possible your regular partner is infected.  Or you might have been infected for several years and only now experiencing your first recognized outbreak.  Condoms indeed are highly protective against herpes--not perfect, but enough to make it unlikely that you were infected during your brief affair a year ago.  But still that's possible.  The least likely of all is auto-inoculation of your own oral HSV-1 to the genital area.  That doesn't happen.

There are no clearly defined triggers for recurrent outbreaks of genital herpes, or for first recognition of a chronic infection.  It appears to be random.  There is a lot of folkore about stress as a trigger, but that has never been proved and remains uncertain.

Most likely you'll never know when you were infected, but as I implied above, it doesn't necessarily imply infidelity.  In other words, you can and should be frank about your diagnosis with your regular partner; and she probably should have a blood test for HSV.

Final word:  All this assumes that herpes indeed is the diagnosis.  The results of your blood test will help to sort it out.

Good luck--  HHH, MD

[coach669]

Thanks,
The doctor did not take a culture just a blood test. He said the burning soreness pain I am feeling in my thigh glute area was possibly nerve inflamation (inflammation) from the virus. I now have some more blistering that started yesterday that is where my pubic hair is and it burns and itches. Some of them have hair coming out of them. I did not think herpes would be located there or would have hairs coming out of the blisters. This has been going on almost a month now. I see the doctor in a few days. If it is positive what medication should I be taking?

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

With your additional description, this sounds more like folliculitis than herpes.  But not knowing the diagnosis (and because I cannot practice medicine from a distance), I cannot recommend any treatment.  Follow your doctor's advice.  If the symptoms are worsening or spreading, call and see if your appointment can be moved up to the next day or so.  I don't have any other advice or comments.

[frosa]

I have blisters almost everytime i have sex on my penis.In almost all cases they go away within days

[shylynnmarie]

this is my first pregnacy and i went in for a pap and the test came back that i had chlamydia, i got antibiotic for it. i also had group b strep and got treatment for that. since then i have not had sex with anyone and everything was clear. i think now i have a yeast infection. im very itchy and irratted. i soon developed some bumps down there on the lips and near the anal area. the bumps are skin color and i tried to pop or scrap them off and they just hurt and bleed. one of them actually came off at one point after i went to the bathroom and wiped. could the bumps be part of the yeast infection? i am worried becuse if they were an std then my pap would have seen it right? i also got a call from my dr and i have to go in for a level two sono cuz my blood test came back for a red flag that my baby might have edwards syndrome. were she has an extra chromosome and will be mentally handicapp. i am really worried my next appt isnt til the 21 of august. can some one please give me some feed back on this. thankx

[healthycurious]

Hi - my boyfriend and I have been holding off on kissing on the mouth because he had a sore a week or so ago on his lip. It is closed up completely, but I read that STD can be transmitted by saliva, so I am worried.  My doctor is out of town or I would have us see her this week.  He says his doctor said it wasn't herpes, but it was a reddish/purplish thing the size of almost a pea and the scab was biggish as it closed.  Boyfriend has told me that his previous partners never contracted anything.  Also, I've read that if he give me oral sex with herpes I can get genital herpes.  I also read that you can get herpes from a kiss even on the cheek if it is oral herpes.
1- can his doctor be correct that it is not?
2- what else could it be?
3- is the lip sore contagious after it's healed over?
4 - can I get genital herpes from oral activity?

He has no other current partners and I don't either.
Thanks

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

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