Worried Stupid

[Samnina]

About five weeks ago I had protected sex with a stranger receiving both oral and vaginal sex. It was brief, as I hated the experience and I washed myself thoroughly afterwards.  But when I got home, I felt disgusted by my act and "unclean". I panicked and washed myself with mouthwash and applied some Fucidin to my genitals.

The next morning my genital skin was red and irritated and I noticed that the meatus was getting red. I applied regular hand lotion to calm it but the redness got worse, especially the meatus. The skin around my pee hole got raised on both sides, almost like a raised slightly red halo around it. The rest of my genital skin was irritated and sensitive and red in several places. The skin felt as if it had slight sunburn.

I freaked out about STDs and went to a dermatologist who said its only irritation, prescribed Lotriderm and said it would go away in a week. At that time walking around was hard, so I would also apply aloe gel for soothing.

After the problem persisted, especially the meatus, I went back to the dermatologist. He a swap for bacteria just in case (he said for "normal" bacteria not STD) and told me to apply Cultivate instead.

Well, a week passed and the problem was still there. He referred me to a urologist, who also examined me and told me that he sees no signs of herpes and recommended that I just stay off ointments and gels and let the skin heal, again assuring me that it will be gone in a week.

Well, it has been over 5 wks and my meatus is still raised/irritated. The rest of my genitals is also slightly irritated and sensitive, but is better. I also tend to pee a lot (may be due to scare/stress and all the water I am drinking), however, I notice that I don't clear all the urine in the pipes and try to pat myself dry with a tissue.

How do I make this go away? I can't focus on anything else for wks now

[Edward W Hook, MD]

My approach would be to allow the body's natural lubricants to move the healing process along at it's own pace.  No cremes.  Just go about your normal activities.  No harm in swimming if you wish to do so. EWH

[Samnina]

Thank you again. Is there anything I should apply to expedite the healing process and decrease the irritation? Vitamin E ointment? Another lotion? MEBO? Does salt water (going to the sea) help? Should I  avoid pools?

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Thanks for the clarification.  Sometimes these things take quite a while to resolve and improvement can be delayed with application of well intended topical medications or repeated self examination. Given that all is improving, just not as soon as you'd hoped, my sincere advice is to wait this out, making all possible attempts not to self examine or treat with topical medications, reams, etc. EWH

[Samnina]

Thank you for your reply. Overall, most of my skin has improved, though it is still irritated. At first, just walking was hard and I had to carry aloe or vitamin E ointment with me if walking around to alleviate pain/irritation from rubbing of my pants. I also noticed that initially the skin was warm, though that could have been because of the anti-fungal medication. I am still irritated, but not nearly as much. Sometimes feels like a slight sunburn feel during the day. Not all the time.

The meatus is the exception. Seems that it is just as swollen as it was 5 wks ago. Not as red and the redness can subside or increase through the day. But it is just as inflamed as it was and none of the creams I mentioned have helped.

I am just tired of going to a doctor who tells me that it will go away in a week, when it clearly isn't. I've tried using ice, going to the sea for a swim, etc.  Doesn't seem to help much. It's very disturbing to say the least, leaving me completely depressed.

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Welcome to our Forum.  I'll try to provide some direction.  First, let me tell you what this is not.  This is not herpes or another STD. The manifestations do not suggest herpes and have lasted far longer than a herpes outbreak would.  The rapidity with which your symptoms began are most compatible with a reaction to one of the things that you applied to your genitals following the exposure, either the mouthwash (which typically contains alcohol and can be both irritating and drying to the skin) or the fusidic acid.  Sometimes chemical in such things can bind to tissue and take a while to resolve. Alternatively, they can sometimes cause a problem which is then replaced by a second problem.

Can you tell me if most of your genitals have improved and it is mostly the irritation of the urethra that continues to be a problem or if there is still irritation of the rest of the genitalia?  EWH