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I am not sure if I have herpes and could use some help

Hi! I am a 20 year old male and I have been experiencing a burning sensation in the tip of my penis for some time. Around 2 weeks ago I had a mini sore right at the opening of my urethra, I squeezed it and some clear, bloody fluid came out. The next morning within 12 hours of this happening I got a culture test for HSV 2 and a urine test Chlamydia and Gonorrhea, they both came back negative. About 5 days later I break out with a heat rash type thing with itchy hives all around my pubic area and upper thighs, again all this time experiencing a light burning sensation at the tip of my penis. I went back to the same urgent care and got another culture around the tip of my penis, she swabbed into my urethra and made sure it was a good sample. This too came back negative. Now I still have the same burning in my penis as well as a red sore that is not particularly painful to the touch on my shaft that started off by peeling, although yesterday I had been squeezing and rubbing this area of my penis excessively and this morning I had masturbated twice before noticing it. I have had unprotected sex with two sexual partners who both claim to be tested and clean. One girl I had sex with two months ago most recently and she ended up testing positive for chlamydia, her nurse got me the antibiotics without being tested. The most recent girl I had sex with about three weeks ago and she said that she got tested three weeks before we had sex and that she had only had one other partner a week before that test.  I just want to know if you guys think this is herpes. Thank you!
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Avatar universal
What you describe doesn’t sound like hsv. Good thing you were smart enough to get swabbed but don’t squeeze or mess with any sores. Just get them swabbed as soon as you se them. A rash covering your upper thighs doesn’t sound like herpes.
Did the girls you were with specifically have hsv tests? An IgG test, the test for HSV, is not normally included in the standard STD panel. You have to specifically requested. Doctors don’t normally test for HSV unless there are symptoms or a patient requests it. Also, the girl who tested a week after her last sexual encounter (before you) would not have been positive on an hsv test if she caught it from a previous partner. The body needs time to build the antibodies to the HSV virus. Most people will test positive on an HSV test around 8 to 9 weeks after exposure. Most everyone will have an accurate HSV-2 test, the common cause of genital herpes, by 12 weeks.
While having a sore does raise a little bit of concern, there aren’t any other symptoms you mentioned that sound like a herpes infection.
Since you have had more than one instance of unprotected sex with different partners, the best you can do is have any sores that show up swabbed. And if so inclined, get an hsv IgG test at 12 weeks.
I am not going to tell you what to do but might I suggest considering using condoms. Condoms do not offer 100% protection against hsv but it does provide some reassurance that you are taking care of your health. Once the hsv fear creeps in, it’s hard to shake. Protecting yourself is the best medicine.
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@TooHip1973 what do you think the chances of a false negative are?
For HSV2, the IgG test is excellent. A recent study by the University of Washington shows the HSV2 IgG is about 92% accurate after 12 weeks. For HSV1, the IgG is less than reassuring as it can miss up to 30% of infections.
False negatives happen when someone tests too soon after exposure. It is recommended that one wait till 12 weeks from their last sexual encounter, or concerning encounter, to test.
Testing too early can be good for a baseline, to know your status shortly after an encounter and then compare weeks later, as to pinpoint the source of infection.
Unfortunately, hsv testing isn’t as foolproof as HIV testing or other std testing. But the IgG for HSV2 is darn good if enough time has passed.
@TooHip1973 Meant for the culture tests that were already given to me. The chances that those are false positives?
Culture/PCR tests, if positive, are taken as definitive. The test looks for the actual viral dna and aside from a lab error, the chances of a false positive are pretty much zero.
A negative swab means no viral dna is present. A negative swab can be wrong If a sore/lesion is in the healing stages. That is why it’s important to get swabbed at the first signs of a sore.
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