STD/Herpes Question?

About one week ago while using the bathroom I noticed a tiny white bump on the top of my penis shaft.

It was very small, painless, and while examining it I squeezed it gently with my fingernails and it popped--releasing a solid white substance much like popping a pimple--from there it pretty much disappeared.

Again, no pain, no swollen lymph glands in the groin region.  I let heal and have been applying cornstarch baby powder a few times a day to the region.

Here is where the problem is:  I am not currently sexually active.  Have been in monogamous relationship for the past 3 years--haven't had sex in 3 months because of distance issues, and haven't had oral sex in well over a month.

I masturbate frequently, often with a store-bought skin lotion.  Yesterday, when I was satisfied that whatever had appeared on my penis had healed, I maturbated with the lotion--and IMMIDIATELY afterwards the region of my penis that was in question became irritated, red and the white bump all of a sudden reappeared.  I popped it again (painless) and it disappeared--but now there is a sizable red-region of my penis that is scaly and on very close examiniation looks like dozens if not hundreds of tiny skin-colored dots.

I am worried that this may be herpes, but I haven't really had any sexual contact recently to have contracted it.  Would I normally be able to pop a herpes blister like that?  And shouldn't they be painful not painless?  My penis looks worse now than it did initially, and it seems like the problem might be spreading when I masturbate.  Help!

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Sounds like you just had a garden-variety pimple or sebaceous cyst (blackhead); they can occur on the penis.  I would forget about it.

Good luck--   HHH, MD