Unsure

About a year a half ago i dated a girl who i slept with about 5 times and then told me she had herpes.  All times i was safe and used a condom and she was apparently on valtrex.  I never had an outbreak or any symptoms.  Someone told me it was stupid to get a blood test because they were unsure that it would show anything anywas.  So recently my new girlfriend was giving me a handjob without any lubrication.  The day after a had a red spot on the tip of my penis the size of a fingernail and another sensitive mark right below the tip.  The marks were a little painful to the touch but more of an annoyance. i couldn't tell if there were any pimple like blister but after two days it looked like there might have been very litle dark spots. i'm takling maybe two or three. the red spot healed and looked like it was just dry skin but was still oncomfortable.  It took a week to be back to 100% i was wondering if this sounds like herpes?

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

The obvious explanation ususally is the truth:  that is, most likely the red spot you describe was a minor trauma/abrasion from friction.  If you had herpes, you would first have a blister-like lesion (or several of them), that over the next several days turned into open sore(s) with scabs, then would heal--all over 1-2 weeks. Subtle "dark spots" probably are not herpes, and herpes never appears as just "dry skin".

Since 20-25% of the population has genital HSV-2 infection, and most of those are asymptomatic, I cannot guarantee that you don't have it, since you have been the partner of a person with genital herpes.  But if you do, almost certainly you have asymptomatic herpes plus some other cause of the penile irritation you describe.

It is true that an HSV blood test can give confusing or miseading results.  But >90% of the time the test gives accurate results.  If you want to pursue that idea, see a health care provider.

Good luck--  HHH, MD

[gstrong44]

thank you, i was wondering what you meant by other causes, whether it be another kind of std or just something else.  the irritation is all gone it was just ocnfusing to me as to why it was sore the whole week even when the red mark healed.  i actually did just get the blood test done.  how long normally do those results take?

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

I don't speculate about causes other than STD.  Test results might be available anywhere from a couple days to a couple weeks later, depending on the lab.  That's a question for the provider who ordered the test; I have no way of knowing.