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friction burn or herpes
I am a 30 yr old male. After masturbation I noticed I had really dry skin on my penis and that I had rubbed two small, I call them friction sores onto my penis. I have experienced similar "friction sores" before so I didn't pay them much attention. The next day or maybe 2 days later I again masterbated and irritated the small sores. They began to get bigger and itch like any little sore would do, but as I itched... it got worse and they got bigger and almost looked infected. I have noticed that around the biggest one has gotten inflamed and sticks up like a small cluster of bumps. its not really painful at all, its more of a tingly feeling or numb feeling. It doesn't hurt to touch the cluster and I don't have any other sores on or around my groin area. Also when I urinate, it kind of has a tingly feeling at first, no discharge or anything like that. I jus last night applied calamine lotion to the area and it is heeling great. The sores are heeling and the inflamation is going down but is still there. I'm wondering if I contracted herpes, I did have unprotected sex with a girl 2 weeks ago or do I jus have an infected sore. I didn't really treat the small sores til the calamine lotion. Please help
so the lesion culture was hsv1+?
you already have hsv1 in the entire genital area. you don't have to worry about transmitting it to other genital areas.
on average, hsv1 genitally doesn't reoccur very often.
if you have a regular partner, they need tested to know their own status.
can you transmit your hsv1 to a partner, you can but the risk of such is pretty low.
have you read the free herpes handbook yet?
you already have hsv1 in the entire genital area. you don't have to worry about transmitting it to other genital areas.
on average, hsv1 genitally doesn't reoccur very often.
if you have a regular partner, they need tested to know their own status.
can you transmit your hsv1 to a partner, you can but the risk of such is pretty low.
have you read the free herpes handbook yet?
Ok update... the dr just called and said the type was hsv1. 1st question is.. how accurate are the typing tests? And now that I've been diagnosed with 1 and not 2, does this mean that I can transfer 1 to another genital area and how often are the outbreaks? Do I need to take daily meds to prevent tranfer, and can the 1 be transferred if someone performs oral on me? If so, would they jus get hsv1? Thanks
so your saying that if you have oral sex once your partner will not be infected with herpes?
correct. you are not contagious 24/7/365 and your partner is always more likely NOT to contract herpes from you than to get it.
really, read the handbook and watch the patient counseling video on the same site. both are very informative.
really, read the handbook and watch the patient counseling video on the same site. both are very informative.
I do like his questions tho... so basically jus because I sleep with someone or receive oral, it doesn't mean they will automatically get infected?
I have a question for you. It is difficult for me to shower because everytime I dry off with a towel, I find later on that day that single little red bumps will have risen on my skin in places like my forearm, my shoulder...areas that I know were not infected at the time of my initial contact with the person who infected me. How can I avoid this, because I thought that in between outbreaks this should be safe..."(like avoiding sex during an outbreak)". But the phrase "dduring an outbreak" has come to be irrelevant as the infection seems to spread from where ever I touch and even transmitted by a towel. Reading information online, I thought this would not beable to happen. Also, what is the point of taking valacyclovir if the drug information clearly states that is does NOT preven the spread of herpes. I could order some, but I wonder why I should pay for an expensive med that still wont allow me to have skin contact let alone sex. I cant even keep from spreading it on my own body. Please try to understand my concern and take into considerato everything I have mention if you indeed choose to reply.
yes you will be able to receive unprotected oral sex. it'll be totally up to you and your partner what precautions to take.
your on and off partner will also need tested to know what her status is too. assume nothing!
did you read the handbook link we gave you?
your on and off partner will also need tested to know what her status is too. assume nothing!
did you read the handbook link we gave you?
will i ever be able to receive oral sex unprotected again? what do you recommend i do now that i know im positive. i do not want to transfer this to anyone else. i have an on again off again love interest and she is going to be devistated to hear this, i really wanna have my facts straight and know what im talking about before i break the news to her. what the best preventative medicine i can take? im jus so confused and feel so disgusting jus lookin for some answers.
thanks
thanks
I wouldn't have known I had genital herpes for quite sometime if I hadn't have had a partner come to me to tell me that they had been diagnosed with genital herpes and they were pretty sure it came from me. I had no idea. at this point since you've had no blood testing to try to tell if it's a new infection or not, why not give your last partner a heads up so that they too can pursue testing for themselves? Don't be accusatory, just state the facts as you know them - you never noticed symptoms before, you just found out you have herpes, you don't know the type yet but it's probably not a bad idea for her to test to see what her own status is. since you've had similar symptoms before, no easy way to know if this is new infection for you or not unless you also get a type specific herpes igg blood test done.
encourage your clinic to read the 2010 cdc herpes guidelines. they desperately need to update their herpes testing knowledge it sounds like. CDC recommends typing of all herpes infections and them not following those standards of care is not in their best interest as well as not in the best interest of their patients.
grace
encourage your clinic to read the 2010 cdc herpes guidelines. they desperately need to update their herpes testing knowledge it sounds like. CDC recommends typing of all herpes infections and them not following those standards of care is not in their best interest as well as not in the best interest of their patients.
grace
Maybe it would be better to wait for your culture results and pursue a blood test to try to understand if this is a recent infection or not. Then you can decide what to do and who to talk to.
I have not only because I don't wanna frighten her or start any unnecessary rumors right now. I would be looked upon as dirty and don't wanna deal with that on top of this. Should I at least ask her if she's ever been tested?
Acually, the virus can be transmitted even without visible outbreaks are present, since the virus is shed from skin from time to time, with no symptoms.
If you want to avoid transmission, it would be best to take on suppressive therapy - taking antivirals everyday - and using condoms. This way, risks of transmission are very low. Grace will give you the details on that.
But as I said above, the type of herpes will define your approach.
And yes, it could be an old infection - in your first post, you mention recurrent friction burns - they might have been herpes outbreaks. If you get a blood test for HSV2 IgG now and it's negative, most likely it's a new infection; if it's positive, it's most likely an old one. Have you talked to your last partner about it?
If you want to avoid transmission, it would be best to take on suppressive therapy - taking antivirals everyday - and using condoms. This way, risks of transmission are very low. Grace will give you the details on that.
But as I said above, the type of herpes will define your approach.
And yes, it could be an old infection - in your first post, you mention recurrent friction burns - they might have been herpes outbreaks. If you get a blood test for HSV2 IgG now and it's negative, most likely it's a new infection; if it's positive, it's most likely an old one. Have you talked to your last partner about it?
In theory, the virus may have been in your bloodstream for any length of time, but usually symptoms appear within 14 days of exposure. So chances are you were exposed when you had unprotected sex 2 weeks ago. Outbreaks can occur if the body is stressed or the skin surface is damaged so it could also be that the 'friction' you describe activated the virus.
You'll need to have a culture or blood test done to determine if it is HSV-1 (oral herpes) or HSV-2 (genital herpes). Both viruses can affect either area. HSV-1 infection in the genital region is becoming increasingly common. Up to 80% of people have HSV-1 antibodies in their blood, and up to 25% of people have HSV-2 antibodies, which means they have been exposed to the virus at some time. So you are not alone! The stigma the disease carries far outweighs it's effects. You will most probably find it is a minor skin irritation, and with sensible precautions (like avoiding sex during an outbreak, safe sex with new partners and discussion in long-term relationships) it will have little impact on your life. There is plenty of information on the web. Talk to your Dr, or perhaps find a Dr with more experience with HSV.
I jus talked to them and they said they would type it, it will take 3-5 days to get results. They seem to think its no big deal, they said I could have unprotected sex as long as there was no outbreak? Also, if this has been inside of me for a while what could make it finally appear?
Call the office now and insist on typing of the culture. If the specimen is still there, the lab can type it.
There's no such thing as "location of the outbreak" - it is possible to catch HSV1 genitally, not only orally. They are outdated.
It's important to know the type to know the prognosis - HSV2 reoccurs and shed more, HSV1 less, etc.
There's no such thing as "location of the outbreak" - it is possible to catch HSV1 genitally, not only orally. They are outdated.
It's important to know the type to know the prognosis - HSV2 reoccurs and shed more, HSV1 less, etc.
Well the dr jus called and said the culture test came back positive. They said it didn't specify a type and that they go by the location of the outbreak. I asked about igg testing and they seem to discourage me from that and said there isn't much way to determine the type that they were the same except for there location?? I'm quite depressed about this considering chances of this being wrong are slim to none... would my last sexual encounter with a girl be the prime suspect of where I got it from or could it have been dormant inside of me for years and now jus showing its ugly face? Do I need to have protected sex for the rest of my life now? I was negative for hiv, ghonorhea, syplilis, hep c but they did not blood test for herpes. How rare is hsv1 in the genital area and how do I find out which type it is? Thanks
it shouldn't burn. stop using it tonight and contact your provider about it tomorrow to seek out further advice.
the zovirax cream is actually starting to burn it?? is that normal? also, once you start the medicine does that make the outbreak go into remission? like could it get worse before it gets better?
sometimes just the moisturizers in the cream help whatever is going on.
continue to follow up with medical providers as needed.
continue to follow up with medical providers as needed.
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You are reading content posted in the Herpes Community
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.
