Condoms aren't perfect because they don't prevent all skin-to-skin contact. But consistent condom users rarely get genital herpes. However, if you want 100% protection against HSV-2 and HPV, complete avoidance of sex is your only option.
HHH, MD
hey thanks a lot doc, i feel a lot better.
im just wondering if the constant rubbing against my clothes could have caused that cut to heal irregularly after a length of time? its just odd, it seems the cut and the sore are connected, given they were in the exact same spot.
Would a urinalysis taken show a present std? If not, would certain things like white blood count indicate an infection, thus leading the doctor to give more tests?
I don't know what you found online that made you think the spot you describe could be due to syphilis. It doesn't sound like it to me. (On the other hand, ANY skin lesion can look like syphilis sometimes. Syphilis was once called "the great imitator" because the symptoms are so varied.) Anyway, your risk for syphlis seems to have been zero, and indeed if you had it, the penicillin V wouid have cleared it up. On top of all that, if that spot were due to syphilis, it would have to be the secondary stage, which always appears within 12 months of infection. So it could not have been syphilis from your exposure more than 3 years ago.
The answers to your question are: 1) For that symptom, up to a year, no longer. 2) No. 3) Sounds unlikely. Syphilis is rare in most heterosexual population groups in the US and other western countries. 4) No. 5) I haven't a clue what it might be. Any of the hundreds of conditions that cause skin rash can show up on the genitals--ringworm or other fungal infection, psoriasis, eczema, dermatitis, chemical irritation, etc, etc, etc. You'll need to see a health care provider to know.
HHH, MD