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Possible Herpes, etc. Cosmetic (visible) symptoms only?
Hey there, thank you in advance for any help offered. I am concerned that I may have contracted an STD, possibly Herpes Type 2, and would love a health professional's opinion based on my photos and symptoms. I am an unemployed, uninsured college student and have not yet been checked by a professional or been tested, as I lack the money until my student loan entitlement comes next month.
What has me so confused is that I read that Herpes is supposed to be VERY uncomfortable, making someone miserable, which I do not exhibit. In a very small amount of pictures I found to compare to on the internet, it looks similar, but in a vast majority of them it doesn't look anywhere as severe. I have no flu like symptoms, they (the spots) were not painful, itchy, BARELY irritable and even then only for a few days. Everything on the bottom of my penis was not fluid filled, and the small ones seemed to be too fragile to be Herpes. My anus had itched for a period of time after, but I attributed that to my uncharacteristically bad dieting habits during that period (not a lot of fiber, a lot of fast food). There was no anal contact on my part. Also, another point worth noting: I performed very invasive, intimate oral sex inside and around the woman's vagina and anus, and I have ZERO symptoms in or around my mouth. Anyways, here is the details of the progression, etc.
I had unprotected sex with someone I did not know well at all on the night of July 13th. About two days later, I noticed what I thought to be a a razor cut on the lower left part of my penis.
I had shaved my pubic area about an hour or 2 before the encounter and did not think anything of it. If I remember correctly, I did cut myself somewhere in the area in question, but cannot be sure of the exact spot.
I also noticed two hair follicles reddening as if they were infected that were about 3/4th of an inch away from the initial spot, another thing that commonly happens. I cannot remember if this was on the same day or the next day of noticing the initial spot. These two did NOT resemble a razor cut, just reddened hair follicles that I would BARELY consider "bumps", although unlike the first spot they could be called a bump when I ran my finger over them. I did something questionable at this point and I plucked the hair out of them with a tweezers, thinking it was just an infected follicle and I could just pop them and they'd heal. They were not zits or filled with anything; they were not "poppable". About 3 days after I noticed these two, it had spread to another spot right next to them, but from what I can tell this spot is not a hair follicle.
All 3 of these started out as nothing more than skin redness, however, they would remain as redness during regular living but turn white while in the shower. After a few showers the skin that was turning white would come off in the shower. It was painless, the skin would kind of just flake off. They have existed in the state you see them in the picture pretty much since day 4, although over time they have become less and less sensitive to the touch (I would already say they were barely sensitive to the touch at their worst). They do not itch, they do not hurt. I do not have any fever like symptoms. At no point were they filled with any fluid and burst open; they came in to their current state of appearance only after the white portion of the skin came off in the shower. I tried treating them based on the notion that it was a run of the mill infection and tried to bandage the initial 4 spots and applying Neosporin to them overnight for a few days (maybe days 8-11 after the sex). If it did anything to help it was barely noticeable.
About 5-6 days after the initial sighting, I noticed a small spot on the tip of my penis. It was red, smooth to the touch (no swelling, or "zit" type deal) and at that point about the size of a pen tip. I tried to grasp it as if it were a zit to see if it had the potential to pop and it didn't. About a day or 2 after the first appearance, it had grown ever-so-slightly in size and at that point when I squeezed it (really hard, much harder than a zit that might appear on my face), a very very small amount of blood did come out but that was it. At that point, it too started to turn white while in the shower and the skin began to come off while wet, as the first group of spots. It has since grown just a little bit larger, but is noticeably more red and swollen; not too bad though compared to the other stuff. As of this post, when I run my finger over it, it feels pretty much like a scab; no pain, no discomfort, slightly sensitive probably due to the location, but essentially just cosmetic. I read that this was probably just an aggravated nerve ending from the sex that would heal in time.
Even after all of this, I had written all of it off as just a regular infection as a result of my poor shaving habits that would heal eventually. However, about 3 or 4 days ago, another group of 3 very very small bumps showed up about 1.5 inches up my penis shaft. When these first appeared, they were slightly visibly swollen (kinda like a zit) but not as red as the other type previously described, barely red at all. Where they differed that has me worried is that they looked like they had a small amount of clear fluid inside them, and they were very fragile. After I ran my finger over one of them a few times, it broke. The other ones held up a little longer, but they had broke after the first shower. They did not turn white like the other stuff. They have existed as they are in the photo for about two days; they did not turn red and resemble a scab like they appear until about 2 days after they broke in the shower.
Here are the photos:
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/696/photoeow.jpg/
-The spot in the middle of the two groups of three down at the bottom is the initial spot. As you can see, compared to the other ones it looks to be healing and on its way to disappearing, which would have boded well for me if that second group of 3 had not appeared. Again, no pain, no itching. Sometimes they'd be very slightly irritating to the touch, but that's it.
The spot furthest to the right is the one that appeared AFTER the two other ones close to it. These "other two" were the spots that I thought to be infected hair follicles. In this group of 3 spots, you can see what appears to be some sort of crusted up moisture, presumably from the lesions. (Side note: the terminology of abrasion, lesion etc has me very confused in my attempt at self-diagnosis, another reason why I'm on this board.) Again, no pain, no itching. Sometimes they'd be very slightly irritating to the touch, but that's it.
The second group of three is the furthest to the left, that reignited my worry. They had a small amount of clear fluid inside them, were VERY sensitive, breaking very quickly, and then just over the last day or 2 they have started to look like the scabs they appear to look like in the photo. If I remember correctly, they did grow back once as fluid filled but broke just as easily.
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/822/photo1bnb.jpg/
This is the one at the tip of my penis. As far as it's initial size, it was about the size of one of those smaller spots up the shaft of my penis (far left in the first picture). After I popped it and that small amount of blood came out, it pretty much got to where it is in the picture within 24 hours and has been that way since.
Thank you for reading my long winded story. As you can tell I am very worried and I hope to get to the bottom of this sooner rather than later!
-T
What has me so confused is that I read that Herpes is supposed to be VERY uncomfortable, making someone miserable, which I do not exhibit. In a very small amount of pictures I found to compare to on the internet, it looks similar, but in a vast majority of them it doesn't look anywhere as severe. I have no flu like symptoms, they (the spots) were not painful, itchy, BARELY irritable and even then only for a few days. Everything on the bottom of my penis was not fluid filled, and the small ones seemed to be too fragile to be Herpes. My anus had itched for a period of time after, but I attributed that to my uncharacteristically bad dieting habits during that period (not a lot of fiber, a lot of fast food). There was no anal contact on my part. Also, another point worth noting: I performed very invasive, intimate oral sex inside and around the woman's vagina and anus, and I have ZERO symptoms in or around my mouth. Anyways, here is the details of the progression, etc.
I had unprotected sex with someone I did not know well at all on the night of July 13th. About two days later, I noticed what I thought to be a a razor cut on the lower left part of my penis.
I had shaved my pubic area about an hour or 2 before the encounter and did not think anything of it. If I remember correctly, I did cut myself somewhere in the area in question, but cannot be sure of the exact spot.
I also noticed two hair follicles reddening as if they were infected that were about 3/4th of an inch away from the initial spot, another thing that commonly happens. I cannot remember if this was on the same day or the next day of noticing the initial spot. These two did NOT resemble a razor cut, just reddened hair follicles that I would BARELY consider "bumps", although unlike the first spot they could be called a bump when I ran my finger over them. I did something questionable at this point and I plucked the hair out of them with a tweezers, thinking it was just an infected follicle and I could just pop them and they'd heal. They were not zits or filled with anything; they were not "poppable". About 3 days after I noticed these two, it had spread to another spot right next to them, but from what I can tell this spot is not a hair follicle.
All 3 of these started out as nothing more than skin redness, however, they would remain as redness during regular living but turn white while in the shower. After a few showers the skin that was turning white would come off in the shower. It was painless, the skin would kind of just flake off. They have existed in the state you see them in the picture pretty much since day 4, although over time they have become less and less sensitive to the touch (I would already say they were barely sensitive to the touch at their worst). They do not itch, they do not hurt. I do not have any fever like symptoms. At no point were they filled with any fluid and burst open; they came in to their current state of appearance only after the white portion of the skin came off in the shower. I tried treating them based on the notion that it was a run of the mill infection and tried to bandage the initial 4 spots and applying Neosporin to them overnight for a few days (maybe days 8-11 after the sex). If it did anything to help it was barely noticeable.
About 5-6 days after the initial sighting, I noticed a small spot on the tip of my penis. It was red, smooth to the touch (no swelling, or "zit" type deal) and at that point about the size of a pen tip. I tried to grasp it as if it were a zit to see if it had the potential to pop and it didn't. About a day or 2 after the first appearance, it had grown ever-so-slightly in size and at that point when I squeezed it (really hard, much harder than a zit that might appear on my face), a very very small amount of blood did come out but that was it. At that point, it too started to turn white while in the shower and the skin began to come off while wet, as the first group of spots. It has since grown just a little bit larger, but is noticeably more red and swollen; not too bad though compared to the other stuff. As of this post, when I run my finger over it, it feels pretty much like a scab; no pain, no discomfort, slightly sensitive probably due to the location, but essentially just cosmetic. I read that this was probably just an aggravated nerve ending from the sex that would heal in time.
Even after all of this, I had written all of it off as just a regular infection as a result of my poor shaving habits that would heal eventually. However, about 3 or 4 days ago, another group of 3 very very small bumps showed up about 1.5 inches up my penis shaft. When these first appeared, they were slightly visibly swollen (kinda like a zit) but not as red as the other type previously described, barely red at all. Where they differed that has me worried is that they looked like they had a small amount of clear fluid inside them, and they were very fragile. After I ran my finger over one of them a few times, it broke. The other ones held up a little longer, but they had broke after the first shower. They did not turn white like the other stuff. They have existed as they are in the photo for about two days; they did not turn red and resemble a scab like they appear until about 2 days after they broke in the shower.
Here are the photos:
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/696/photoeow.jpg/
-The spot in the middle of the two groups of three down at the bottom is the initial spot. As you can see, compared to the other ones it looks to be healing and on its way to disappearing, which would have boded well for me if that second group of 3 had not appeared. Again, no pain, no itching. Sometimes they'd be very slightly irritating to the touch, but that's it.
The spot furthest to the right is the one that appeared AFTER the two other ones close to it. These "other two" were the spots that I thought to be infected hair follicles. In this group of 3 spots, you can see what appears to be some sort of crusted up moisture, presumably from the lesions. (Side note: the terminology of abrasion, lesion etc has me very confused in my attempt at self-diagnosis, another reason why I'm on this board.) Again, no pain, no itching. Sometimes they'd be very slightly irritating to the touch, but that's it.
The second group of three is the furthest to the left, that reignited my worry. They had a small amount of clear fluid inside them, were VERY sensitive, breaking very quickly, and then just over the last day or 2 they have started to look like the scabs they appear to look like in the photo. If I remember correctly, they did grow back once as fluid filled but broke just as easily.
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/822/photo1bnb.jpg/
This is the one at the tip of my penis. As far as it's initial size, it was about the size of one of those smaller spots up the shaft of my penis (far left in the first picture). After I popped it and that small amount of blood came out, it pretty much got to where it is in the picture within 24 hours and has been that way since.
Thank you for reading my long winded story. As you can tell I am very worried and I hope to get to the bottom of this sooner rather than later!
-T
Ok. The original one had since manifested in to a typical zit, so I am not worried about the thing in between my leg anymore. Thanks for your input.
this doesn't sound at all like herpes going on. I wouldn't even bother with a swab of symptoms.
Grace,
While I was staying with my family over the last two days, something has appeared about 2-3 inches from the outbreak in question I had back in July. It is perfectly round, about a quarter of an inch in diameter, and pretty inflamed (it sticks out a decent amount). It is hard, and very sensitive to the touch, but if i squeeze it it doesn't seem to want to break like a zit would. It is located in the region where my pubic hair grows, about 2 inches from the base of my penis. I still haven't mastered the distinction between zits that "grow under the skin" or potential Herpes lesions which grow "on top of the skin", but I do not feel like this is a normal zit; it is very inflamed and sensitive to the touch. Granted, the initial outbreak in July exhibited noticably different symptoms, and nothing has reappeared in those locations. By the way, I have not shaved in over a week so I don't think it's skin irritation due to that. At any rate, I didn't think much of it because of all my negative blood testing.
Now, in the crease of my legs, I have stretch marks. While I was taking a shower this morning, I felt a stinging sensation on the left side (same side as original outbreak) in this crease when I was washing down there with soap, and discovered that a layer of my skin had broken, was slightly bleeding, but mostly just a layer of skin folded back. It is impossible for me to tell if this was a blister or anything initially because I did not see it until it had already broken. Anyways, this is what has me nervous again.
I am unable to be seen today because everything seems to be closed for the holiday. I was able to make an appointment at planned parenthood for Monday, but I fear it will be too late for a PCR or culture test.
Any thoughts?
While I was staying with my family over the last two days, something has appeared about 2-3 inches from the outbreak in question I had back in July. It is perfectly round, about a quarter of an inch in diameter, and pretty inflamed (it sticks out a decent amount). It is hard, and very sensitive to the touch, but if i squeeze it it doesn't seem to want to break like a zit would. It is located in the region where my pubic hair grows, about 2 inches from the base of my penis. I still haven't mastered the distinction between zits that "grow under the skin" or potential Herpes lesions which grow "on top of the skin", but I do not feel like this is a normal zit; it is very inflamed and sensitive to the touch. Granted, the initial outbreak in July exhibited noticably different symptoms, and nothing has reappeared in those locations. By the way, I have not shaved in over a week so I don't think it's skin irritation due to that. At any rate, I didn't think much of it because of all my negative blood testing.
Now, in the crease of my legs, I have stretch marks. While I was taking a shower this morning, I felt a stinging sensation on the left side (same side as original outbreak) in this crease when I was washing down there with soap, and discovered that a layer of my skin had broken, was slightly bleeding, but mostly just a layer of skin folded back. It is impossible for me to tell if this was a blister or anything initially because I did not see it until it had already broken. Anyways, this is what has me nervous again.
I am unable to be seen today because everything seems to be closed for the holiday. I was able to make an appointment at planned parenthood for Monday, but I fear it will be too late for a PCR or culture test.
Any thoughts?
the captia test is a fine test for testing for herpes. it's the 2nd most widely used after the herpeselect.
I have never seen the name of this test or this manufacturer mentioned on this site or if it was it wasn't discussed in any detail. That's all I wanted to know about.
Well, in practice I have moved forward. I am currently dating someone and we are intimate. As you well understand from your experience here, that 5-10% is very nagging to someone who is ignorant or not regularly exposed to these situations. I am all but 5-10% confident that I don't have Herpes, and I know in the absence of being seen by a professional that's all I will ever have. I am trying to find a path to determine what it actually is I experienced in case it happens again or something.
More than anything, I am just mad at myself for not being seen by a doctor.
More than anything, I am just mad at myself for not being seen by a doctor.
Hey Grace,
As a matter of curiosity, I e-mailed the company I tested through about the precise test I had taken for my Herpes Type-Specific testing. What I want to know is, based upon what you understand about the different types of testing, is his comparison to a Herpeselect test valid here? Would you say that the 90-95% reliability figure applies with this test at 12 weeks post encounter as it does with the Herpeselect?
Again, I took this same exact test at 13 days, 6 weeks and 12 weeks post exposure.
This is the correspondence I received:
"At Labcorp locations we use the type specific CAPTIA serology test to detect herpes. This test is as accurate as the HerpeSelect, but it's made by a different company. It is a type specific IgG test and is very accurate at distinguishing between a type 1 and type 2 herpes infection. This is an industry standard test administered routinely in doctors’ offices nationwide. CAPTIA is a highly accurate, type specific test (as recommended by the Centers For Disease Control) with a very low false negative rate. A false negative is a negative test result in a person who actually has herpes. That happens less than 3% of the time. In other words, it’s very rare to have herpes and get a negative test result (unless you tested too early after an exposure)."
As a matter of curiosity, I e-mailed the company I tested through about the precise test I had taken for my Herpes Type-Specific testing. What I want to know is, based upon what you understand about the different types of testing, is his comparison to a Herpeselect test valid here? Would you say that the 90-95% reliability figure applies with this test at 12 weeks post encounter as it does with the Herpeselect?
Again, I took this same exact test at 13 days, 6 weeks and 12 weeks post exposure.
This is the correspondence I received:
"At Labcorp locations we use the type specific CAPTIA serology test to detect herpes. This test is as accurate as the HerpeSelect, but it's made by a different company. It is a type specific IgG test and is very accurate at distinguishing between a type 1 and type 2 herpes infection. This is an industry standard test administered routinely in doctors’ offices nationwide. CAPTIA is a highly accurate, type specific test (as recommended by the Centers For Disease Control) with a very low false negative rate. A false negative is a negative test result in a person who actually has herpes. That happens less than 3% of the time. In other words, it’s very rare to have herpes and get a negative test result (unless you tested too early after an exposure)."
Hey there, just a follow up, more for the observers who come here for help. I received more testing for Herpes at 6 weeks and 3 months and both came back negative. I know it can take up to 6 months to seroconvert, but as far as I am concerned it's not Herpes and I have moved on. Dr. Hook and Hansfield would both agree that considering neither one of them thought my lesions were Herpes to start with 3, negative tests is pretty much conclusive. Thanks again for the help Grace.
I can definitely add loss of appetite and swollen lymph nodes to my list of symptoms. It was in my lower left abdominal; I thought it was a strained adductor but the pain is now gone. I was waiting to see if it would go away to say anything about it. I didn't even know lymph nodes existed down there.
Indeed.
When I get the re-test at three months, do you recommend I get the same test or that I get a Western Blot?
When I get the re-test at three months, do you recommend I get the same test or that I get a Western Blot?
many things look like pictures of herpes which is why follow up testing is recommended.
I found these photos on the University of Washington website. I don't know if you folks prohibit yourselves from looking at photos period or photos of the actual people posting, BUT...
http://depts.washington.edu/nnptc/online_training/std_handbook/gallery/pages/primaryhsvsevere.html
While there was nowhere near the amount, the ulcers I was experiencing looked almost exactly like Photo #27 when they began to scab up and heal.
The second set of three bumps that appeared looked very much like Photo #29, as well as one final small little deal that showed up about 2-3 days ago and is already gone (what remains looks exactly like the group of 3 it resembled).
The first four, the redness that turned white and came off in the shower, looked pretty much like Photo #31 for a period of about 8 days as they healed.
I don't know, I am just so stressed out about this. Like everyone says, not knowing is way worse than the finality, regardless of the outcome. I feel like I have to put my life on hold for the next 6 months, which is killing me because I just met an absolutely amazing person that I am going to have to tell about this soon.
http://depts.washington.edu/nnptc/online_training/std_handbook/gallery/pages/primaryhsvsevere.html
While there was nowhere near the amount, the ulcers I was experiencing looked almost exactly like Photo #27 when they began to scab up and heal.
The second set of three bumps that appeared looked very much like Photo #29, as well as one final small little deal that showed up about 2-3 days ago and is already gone (what remains looks exactly like the group of 3 it resembled).
The first four, the redness that turned white and came off in the shower, looked pretty much like Photo #31 for a period of about 8 days as they healed.
I don't know, I am just so stressed out about this. Like everyone says, not knowing is way worse than the finality, regardless of the outcome. I feel like I have to put my life on hold for the next 6 months, which is killing me because I just met an absolutely amazing person that I am going to have to tell about this soon.
Being that Herpes is permanent, concerned is definitely an understatement. The partner in question is going in for testing next week. If she tests negative, I will begin to operate on the premise that I don't have anything, but I will still be getting the tests done at three months.
oh sorry I was watching the olympics while on the forum last evening and obviously my brain was distracted!!! yes, you are negative on your testing. sorry about any confusion. should know I can't do two things at one time!!!
is there a difference between a .1 and a .8 as far as being negative? no there is not.
since it's only been a little over 2 weeks since you last had sex, if you are really concerned, repeat your syphilis after 6 weeks ( you can call your local health department or ask your student health center if there are even any cases in your area to make it worth testing ) and herpes, hepatitis and hiv after 3 months. all but the herpes testing can be done at your local health department for very low cost. should you get new symptoms, be seen for them to try to get a better idea of what is going on.
is there a difference between a .1 and a .8 as far as being negative? no there is not.
since it's only been a little over 2 weeks since you last had sex, if you are really concerned, repeat your syphilis after 6 weeks ( you can call your local health department or ask your student health center if there are even any cases in your area to make it worth testing ) and herpes, hepatitis and hiv after 3 months. all but the herpes testing can be done at your local health department for very low cost. should you get new symptoms, be seen for them to try to get a better idea of what is going on.
Even though the test is not 100% reliable that early, would it have been fair to assume that a 0.80 compared to a 0.001 or something like that would have been a little more telling than just a range? I probably would have been able to feel a bit better about it if I just saw flat 0s all around.
Unrelated, my Hep C results actually had a value of 0.1, don't know what the deal with that is.
Unrelated, my Hep C results actually had a value of 0.1, don't know what the deal with that is.
Update: I called them, they told me that when they do the test they only keep the range as a matter of record. They didn't keep the exact value. Kinda upset considering the money I spent but there's nothing I can do about it other than not test with them again in 3 months.
Oh, this is all I have been shown for my results. I guess I will have to call them. You mean the actual value that was below 0.91, right? That is the actual result?
For what it's worth (not much, judging by my research on the condition), I got my test results back today. Again, it was taken 13 days after what would have been the exposure. Everything has come back negative (tested for 8 different STDs). For both the Herpes Simplex Virus 1 and 2, the results were:
Value: <0.91
Range: 0.00-0.90
Result: Negative
I know this doesn't mean much as far as certainty, but I do feel a bit better. I will follow up with my 3 month test when I go do it in October. Grace, thanks again for giving my post the time of day.
-T
Value: <0.91
Range: 0.00-0.90
Result: Negative
I know this doesn't mean much as far as certainty, but I do feel a bit better. I will follow up with my 3 month test when I go do it in October. Grace, thanks again for giving my post the time of day.
-T
don't waste your time or money on a lesion culture thursday . far too late then for it to be of any use. follow up with a type specific herpes igg blood test 3 months after you last had sex to cover your herpes bases at this point.
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Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Millions of people are diagnosed with STDs in the U.S. each year.
STDs can't be transmitted by casual contact, like hugging or touching.
Syphilis is an STD that is transmitted by oral, genital and anal sex.
