2 Month Invisible Rash

[Realness22]

I have had a burning sensation, tingling, numbness, inflammation feeling in my inner thighs or groin area for 2 months now. I have not been to a specialist yet because I did not have medical insurance but I do now. I have not got my insurance card yet so I am waiting till it comes to make an appointment. I don't know what it could be. I received these symptoms after I received unprotected oral from two women and had protected sex with 1 of them. The one who gave me just oral told me she had HSV-2 after the fact and has had it for 4 years and not had a outbreak since she first got it. the doctors told me i should not worry because its very rare that you get HSV-2 through oral from a person who has type 2. I got tested and my results came back negative for the regular stds and HIV but I have not tested for herpes yet because I have no visible signs or symptoms. I will be taking a blood test in February though. The doctor gave me hydrocortisone cream but it has not worked for the symptoms i have been feeling. I have no visible signs of a rash it just burns and feels in flammed everyday. But the strange thing is that the longer I stay naked the symptoms decrease to a feeling close to not feeling any at all. What could this be?  

[Realness22]

any help?

[Realness22]

so when i go back should i tell the doc to do the skin scraping?

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hi,

Neurontin is gabapentin which is used for post herpetic neuralgia. By skin scarpings, teh doctor must be meaning biopsy skin and you can go ahead with it to confirm the diagnosis. Kind regards.

[Realness22]

Dr. Kaur I went to the dermatologist about a week and a half ago and they could not diagnose me with anything because I did not have any visible signs or symptoms. They gave me some neurotin pills i think thats the name of them to see if they will cure whatever i have.i don't feel right because i feel as though i am a guinea pig to the doc to see what works instead of them doing more.all he did was looked at the area and t\said that he could not do anything but guess what it could be based on the symptoms i told him i was having and still am.i heard something about skin scraping.would that work to help diagnose whats going on?

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Since your HIV test has come negative, so there is not much to worry about. It is good that you have clarified on the symptoms, so another possibility that can present with such symptoms is of parasthesia. Chronic paresthesia indicates a problem with the functioning of neurons.

Are you a diabetic or do you take alcohol?Parasthesias are common in alcoholics and metabolic disorders like diabetes, hypothyroidism, and hypoparathyroidismThey can also be due to peripheral vascular disease, vitamin B12 deficiency or malnutrition.

Get your blood sugar and thyroid hormones levels evaluated. You can take some vit B12 for some days and see if the tingling is gone or not.

In case the symptoms persist then please consult a neurologist as it can be due to some neurological disorder. I hope it helps. Take care and regards.

[Realness22]

could these symptoms also be those of HIV?

[Realness22]

Dr. Bhupinder Kaur, thank you fo rthe advice and information. I also want to inform you that the symptoms I am having is not in just one spot it jumps from leg to leg and sometime both and the symptoms occur anywhere from my pelvis to my knee. I have not had any bumps or lesions or anything just the feeling. I was told that herpes should not have lasted this long without any signs based on the symptoms I am having and also was told by the way my sexual action was that I could not have contracted it. I just got my medical insurance sent to me so I am going to go see a dermatologist. Is there a certain time I have to wait to get tested for herpes or it will show accurate anytime I take it? Thanks again for taking time out to answer and help with my post.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
The symptoms that you are having can be due to herpes infection. Most individuals have no or only minimal signs or symptoms from HSV-1 or HSV-2 infection.  Pain, burning, tingling, or itching occurs at the infection site before the sores appear. Then clusters of blisters erupt which break down.

The only way of ruling it out is by getting yourself tested for genital herpes. Laboratory tests include: culture of the virus, direct fluorescent antibody (DFA) studies to detect virus, skin biopsy, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to test for presence of viral DNA. I sincerely advise you to consult a dermatologist and get it ruled out. If it is ruled out then other possibilities like vitamin B 12 deficiency, diabetes, neurological causes etc need to be ruled out.

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your dermatologist. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.

[Realness22]

Can anyone give me some advice or answers as to what this could be?