folliculitis question

[inquisitive541]

Good evening Dr.

I was diagnosed with folliculitis Wednesday. Here's my situation, I had sex for the 1st time One week ago. A day or two before, Iused a razor to trim some of my pubic hair. The next night, I took a shower  and noticed small  pimple like bumps on my innerthigh/groin area. The next day, before having sex, those bumps were less apparent, I could only really see a couple.

After having sex, I arrived home and showered about 40 miutes later. While showering, I noticed the bumps were back, and there was one on the base of my penis where my pubic hair was shaved. After a couple of days, the bump was less apparent, but there was a bit of redness in that area, as well as along the part where I shaved where my scrotum and penis come together. The bump on my base would become slightly noticeable when irritated. Well, I then made a Dr. appt. at the campus health center. It was looked at, and diagnosed as folliculitis.This was on Wednesday.

Today, I just noticed that the bump on my base, and a bump more in my pubic hair have became more skin colored/white. It now looks as if I could peel it off(which I will not do). They do not feel different. Just feel a bit irritated when touched. Is this normal with folliculitis? How does folliculitis usually heal? The intercourse I had was protected, but I did have unprotected oral sex. Do you think this is anything other than folliculitis?




Thanks Dr. I really appreciate it.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Welcome to the forum.  I'll try to help.  The bottom line is that I see no reason to suspect you have anything other than folliculitis, a superficial, nonsexually transmitted skin infection.

You describe typical symptoms for that diagnosis; you had one of the most common predisposing factors, shaving the pubic area; and a health care provider diagnosed it.  The details of your description don't count for anything after a professional diagnosis.  Perhaps you're worried about herpes, but your description doesn't sound like that.  Therefore, my conclusion is that you have folliculitis.  Follow your doc's advice about treatment.

My closing comment is similar to what I said in another thread earlier today:  What's the deal with pubic hair shaving or trimming?  I can understand it for women a whose pubic hair spreads beyond a reasonable bikini line (but even there, waxing is probably a better approach).  But men?  What's the point?  Until recent years, probably nobody ever did that -- and I doubt very many women (or male partners, for that matter) ever were bummed out by untrimmed pubic hair.  And judging by the large and increasing numbers of questions on this forum the past few years, shaving leads to an awful lot of folliculitis and unnecessary STD/HIV fears.  Anyway, I suggest you stop.

I hope this helps.  Best wishes--  HHH, MD

[inquisitive541]

By the way, even when the bumps were reddish, like when they first formed, they were slightly sensitive to the touch. There's really no change except the color.

Thanks again.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

I saw this before I replied above.  It makes no difference in my opinion or advice.

[inquisitive541]

Thank you Doctor.

i'm a step ahead of you on the stop shaving part. I wish I had never done it.



Is it normal for skin on your genitals to react different to things, such as folliculitis, than skin on your inner thigh? Because the bumps on my inner thigh seem to just go away, no crusting, and they weren't as irritatng.


Thanks again Doctor, appreciate it very much.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Yes, that certainly is possible.  It's a much more likely explanation than the possibility of 2 different conditions that happened to start at the same time.

That's all for this thread.  Take care.