What is it?

[notimenow]

Hi, on Aug 21 and 22, 2013 I slept in the same bed with a woman (I’m a 30 y/o male).  She's a friend.  We cuddled (spooned) throughout the night, did not kiss or have sex.  I wore boxer briefs and she was wearing a sports bra and tight shorts.  We went to a concert on the night of the 22nd and we were rubbing up against each other during the concert, I was only wearing jeans and no tshirt (no underwear either, commando) and my jeans were somewhat low on my hips.  She was wearing sweat pants and a tank top.  She was in front of me for the concert (we were standing in a large crowd).  We had skin to skin (abdomen and back, legs, arms, etc. contact in the bed and at the concert, but never direct genital to genital contact.)  

I'm married. About 28 days later I found 3 red bumps under my foreskin.  They were not itchy and did not hurt.  I saw a MD and she said they looked like herpes, but could not be certain.  My wife is/was pregnant at the time (about 3 months along) and had a yeast infection.  The bumps went away in about 5 days.  I used an antifungal cream and took a diflucan.  Fast forward to January 6, 2014 I had a HSV Western Blot (5 1/2 months later) done.  It came back negative to HSV1 and HSV2,  No signs of prior infection.  Then on Feb 5, I noticed 2 more red bumps under my foreskin (no pain).  They went away in 5 days as well, just washed with water in the shower, did not use soap and did not use antifungal cream and did not use diflucan.  I have unprotected sex with my wife who is now about 8.5 months pregnant.

Could this be herpes?  The lab got the Specimen on Jan 8 at around 10 am.  I had sent it to them on Jan 6, but due to bad weather it got held up.  It was packed in a cardboard specimen box, and was lined with a styrofoam type case and had an ice pack etc.  The lab says the length of time shouldn't have any effect on the results.  I've since sent another sample to them to be sure.

I'm worried about Herpes being passed on to the baby.

[Terri Warren, RN, Adult Nurse Practitioner]

Good!  Now just remind you about the way you feel now if you start to backslide about this worry.

Terri

[notimenow]

Hi Terri,

I had a WB done because of the response I got in the STD forum from Dr.Hook.  Dr. Hook said he did not believe it was Herpes either, but that with a baby being on the way that you should not take any risks.  I don't remember the username/email I had used to post the original question in August.  I tried to look back, but there were so many pages I had to create a new account.

You're right there is way too much going on in my head!  I am/was freaked out about the bumps, pimples, spots that formed under my foreskin.  I described them as spots, but they were more like pimples 1-3mm in size, red and then turned to spots.  I had no idea what they were, I didn't think the July incident could have done anything.  When you go online and type things in you get a whole bunch of answers.  

All the worry really started with the first walk in MD I saw in August when I first saw the bumps/pimples/spots.  She immediately said that it looked like herpes.  She hadn't even gotten a history from me!  This is what got me started on this "crazy" worry!

My wife or I have never shown any symptoms of Herpes. I was feeling guilty about the situation I had put myself in the month prior with the incident that you and I both know carried zero risk, and worried myself sick about passing it on to our unborn baby.  That's why I got the WB test done at 5 1/2 months after.   I've also since followed up with my own MD, with the most recent bumps/pimples/spots happened and he said it couldn't be herpes, because of my history, and the results of the WB, and it was probably fungal, but could be a whole variety of other things-non std related.  I had a partner 4 years ago and have been with my wife ever since, (besides the thing that happened in July which is zero risk).  I had an appointment with a counselor to talk about all of this.  Clearly, I should probably have a few more.

I hoped that the WB results would stop me from worrying, but because the sample took longer to get to the lab than it should I worried that the results were compromised.  That's why I got retested.

Thanks for your comments.  They are appreciated.  I actually do feel better about the test results from the lab.  But even better about getting a dose of reality therapy about the zero chance incident.  

[Terri Warren, RN, Adult Nurse Practitioner]

May I ask why you had a western blot for herpes done at all?  Having asked that, and if you have had no recent new partner, I am not at all concerned about herpes in your situation.  The western blot if the best test available to diagnose herpes by antibody test, and though it is not 100% perfect, it is very very good.  No test is 100% perfect.  

The contact that you describe with this other person presents zero risk of getting genital herpes.  Zero.  

If you are having bumps under the foreskin, and you responded to fungal treatment and you have a negative western blot for herpes, I would strongly suspect that it was fungal.  We see far more fungal problems in men who are not circumsized than those who are, and most often it presents are red spots under the foreskin.  

I am also not concerned at all about the stability of the western blot sample that was shipped.  These samples are very stable.  I think you are wasting your time sending a second sample, but your choice.  

There seems to be a lot going on here in your head, and I think we have just scratched the surface here and here may not be the appropriate place to has this out, but at some point, I think talking to someone professional about your herpes concerns would be useful.

Terri