Concerned about herpes..

[concerned02]

Hi folks, I'm having a fair amount of anxiety about having herpes. A few months ago, I had unprotected sex with a girl and a few days later I had itching around the glans of my penis. A few red patches of skin (not raised, just red areas) about half a centimeter in diameter popped up. Of course, I went to my doctor and he looked at it and said it was a mild fungal infection, told me to wash and dry well in the shower and that it would go away on it's own. I did so and it left within a week or so. I was relieved, thinking that it was gone and thinking myself foolish for being so worried. Then last weekend, about 3 months after the last time, I went out and partied pretty hard with some friends, noticed the next evening that the itching had come back, and the next day the patches were there again. I went back to the doctor, who said the fungal infection had come back again, and he gave me a bit of loprox (anti-fungal cream) to treat it. I've been using that for 3 days, and it hasn't done a whole lot. Should I be getting a HSV-2 test, even though my doctor (who I trust a lot) insists that there is nothing to worry about and that it's not an STD?

[gracefromHHP]

I'd see a dermatologist at this point . also sometimes you have to try a few antifungal creams until you find one that works.

[concerned02]

Hey y'all. Just checking back, I can't seem to drop this. The tingling/itching subsided after about 2 weeks, although it didn't seem to be due to the anti-fungal cream. My doctor reassured me, once again, that it wasn't H, but he had no diagnosis for me as the treatment for the fungal infection had little to no effect. Even now, there's a number of bumps on my glans (they seem somewhat inconsistent from day to day), and I feel mild irritation. There's also a pretty major amount of cracking near the bottom of the glans, and the anal itching is persisting. If it was fungal, wouldn't the cream have cleared it up? Whatever it was, it seemed to be triggered by a night of (fairly) heavy drinking and some "physical" dancing. I'm frustrated as to what's going on, I asked my doc if I should get testing and he said that it was entirely unnecessary. I've been seeing someone the past couple week but I'm afraid to expose her to anything nasty!

[gracefromHHP]

you haven't seen the fungal infections I have in my career!! This is all pretty typical for fungal infections.

[concerned02]

Hey, glad to say that after the week of the cream the rash has nearly entirely subsided. I'm confused, not to be too vulgar but I was having symptoms of anal itching since just before the fungal outbreak, and even though I was not treating them with the cream they seem to have subsided in exact unison with the itching on the glans, as if they were related? Also, prior to the rash subsiding I got a number of raised bumps on both sides of the glans which seemed to disappear (for the most part) after a 3 or 4 days. Is this all still symptomatic of a fungal infection? I don't know why I keep coming back to Herpes is just seems bizarre for a fungal infection!

[concerned02]

Thanks a lot grace, you seem to be a godsend to the people on this forum, really nice to see someone helping people like this! I tend to have a habit of framing things like this in a really negative light, I think I just need to relax and take my doctor's advice as he has stressed to me over and over that I'm fine. Again, thanks so much for your help, and for all the help you seem to be providing to all the folks on this forum. Have a great day! :)

[gracefromHHP]

not unusual for fungal infections to come back again in the genital area.

you were seen and your provider saw your symptoms and gave you a diagnosis. herpes recurrences wouldn't present as multiple patches and your symptoms match up with a fungal infection exactly. Be patient - it can take a few days before antifungals start working. If this doesn't make your rash noticeably better within a week, consult your provider about changing to a different antifungal cream to see if that works better for you.

since you had unprotected sex, did you follow up with proper std testing at the proper times? You can test for chlamydia, gonorrhea, trich and ngu after 1 week post encounter. syphilis after 6 weeks. herpes, hiv and hepatitis after 3 months.

grace