Worried about oral sex and herpes

The other night (5 nights ago), a friend who also happens to be a stripper performed unprotected oral sex on me.  The oral sex lasted not that long, certainly less than a minute.  We also "French" kissed for awhile.  On two prior occasions we kissed, but on those two other occasions there was no other sexual contact.  

A day after she performed oral sex on me (which was quite vigorous, and I do recall feeling her teeth on my penis, which caused some discomfort during the oral sex), I noticed that the head of my penis (the corona) seemed to be sensitive and possibly slightly swollen.  There have been no other symptoms --  no burning, no discharge, no discoloration.  Now, tonight, on the corona itself, just to the left of center, there seem to be what might be one or two very, very small blisters or vesicles, although I can't be sure of this -- I'm so worried and anxious about all this, that it may be that what I'm seeing are just part of the ordinary skin geography of my penis.  In the meantime, the sensitivity and swelling of the corona seems to have subsided to a large degree, and though the woman kissed me, I have felt no symptoms of any sort on my mouth.

I've made an appointment to go see a doctor, but I'm wondering if what I've described sounds like oral to genital transmission of herpes.  I should mention that I've previously been tested for HSV-1 and HSV-2 and tests came back negative.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

I see no cause for serious concern.  Neither herpes nor any other infection can cause symptoms less than a day after exposure; anything that quick has to be due to trauma or direct irritation of some kind, and that also fits with the apparent vigor of the oral sex event.  Also, oral herpes (HSV-1) has much less asymptomatic viral shedding than genital herpes due to HSV-2. That means that oral herpes rarely is transmitted unless there is an overt herpes outbreak.  So if your stripper friend didn't have a visible oral herpes episode, your risk was very low.  On top of all that, if any visible "abnormality" is so subtle that you're not even sure it's abnormal at all, then probably it is not.  Your anxieties probably are inflating your self assessment of your symptoms.

That said, it's always wise to see a health care provider for unexplained symptoms.  But when you see your doc, don't insist on HSV testing unless s/he comes to that conclusion without your prompting.  In particular it makes no sense to be tested for HSV unless there are overt sores to test for the virus, which obviously there are not.  And it takes several weeks for the blood test to become positive.

Finally, you should call your friend and ask if she has oral herpes.  If she does not, the risk is even lower.

Bottom line:  Follow your own plan to see your doctor if your symptoms persist or you remain concerned.  But I very much doubt you have herpes or any other STD.

Best wishes--  HHH, MD