Possible STDs

About 10 weeks ago I had unprotected sex with a questionable partner.  A couple days later I started to experience some itching in my pubic region.  After ten weeks I am still experiencing itching on my scrotum and the shaft of my penis. I am also still experiencing sensitivity near the tip of my penis and painful masterbation (masturbation).  I got tested 8 weeks after the incident for clam/gohnorea and herpes 1&2 - all of which came back negative.  Despite the itching however I haven't noticed any blisters, or broken skin.  I have a couple questions 1. How reliable is my herpes test after 8 weeks 2. Given this information are there any other stds I should be tested for 3.  Is there anything else that could explain my continued symptoms 4.  Would you recommend I see a doctor 5. Finally you say that herpes is fairly hard to contract.  How then are an estimated 1 in 4 people infected.
Thanks for your help doctor.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Itching of the areas you describe is not an STD symptom, with the possible exception of scabes or pubic lice (crab lice).  Scabies is a mite infestation; that and crabs can be sexually transmitted.  But scabies causes discrete itchy bumps, not diffuse itching.  Herpes doesn't cause the symptoms you describe; even if you had atypical herpes, the symptoms always clear up within 1-2 weeks, never persisting for as long as you have had.

1) If you had been my patient, I would not have recommended testing for herpes based on your symptoms.  Technically, you could have caught herpes, since it can take 3 months for the test to become positive.  But if so, you have 2 entirely separate problems:  asymptomatic herpes plus pubic/scrotal itching of some other cause.

2) No STD is the cause.

3) Speculation only:  fungal infection (e.g., tinea cruris--that's jock itch), scabies or crabs (see above), folliculitis, allergic reaction to something--or almost any of the other innumerable things that can cause itching anywhere on the body.  You can check yourself for pubic lice by looking carefully for the nits (eggs), which look like little white spots attached near the base of pubic hairs; or for the lice themselves, which first look like little brown spots (the size of a pin head).

4) If you see nits or lice, over-the-counter treatments are avilable.  Also, it wouldn't do any harm to try an over-the-counter cream for jock itch.  Otherwise, your only option is to see a health care provider.  

5) I don't think I ever said herpes is hard to catch.  It's actually pretty easy.  Anyway, lots of things other than ease of transmission contribute to the prevalence of an STD in the population.  But it's clearly not an issue in your case.

Good luck---  HHH, MD