Herpes?

[darmour88]

Dear Medhelp,
   A few days before the new year i had protected sex with a female. I didn't know her very long and so i am sort of worried about the # of partners that she's had since she seemed to be really promiscuous. Anyways, I was very careful not to let the base of my penis touch any part of her. She was careful as well as she did not even touch my penis with her hand until it was covered up. Anyways, everything was going ok until she got on top. I think that when she got on top for the couple of minutes the base of my penis that wasn't completely covered up might have been exposed and touched a part of her. But thats the only part that could've possibly come into contact with her.

  Anyways, i am aware of the STD's that you could get just my contact. I've been constantly looking to make sure that no big red spots or anything abnormal appear on me near the area of exposure. So far i can't tell if anything is abnormal. I do have really tiny bumps going all the way around the middle of the shaft but according to my physician at my last physical, he said that those were normal. However, i did notice  a couple of things that i am not sure whether or not may be related to herpes near my buttocks.

  I usually dont pay much attention to my rear. However, the other day i notice what looked like this white spot between my anus and my testicles. It's probably been about a week since i've noticed it being there but it hasn't healed nor does it hurt at all and it's still white. Then further up near where the butt crack is i noticed that the skin is a little red there. I can't really see it unless i try to open up the crack a little. Otherwise i dont even notice it. I'm not sure if that's normal or not. The red area doesn't hurt, nor is it dry or wet. It feels like normal skin just a slight red color to it. I just dont remember seeing anything like that. But it's not like i remember checking either. I also tend to get pimples often near the area as well for some reason. The pimples/blemishes there have been going on for a while as far back as i can remember. Today i noticed a spot on one of my butt cheeks. I thought i saw something white and crusty earlier today, but when i got a chance to take a closer look just now, the crusty stuff was gone, so i think that might be a pimple but i'm not sure.

   I understand that sometimes the herpes virus may travel from the area of initial infection to the anus area, however i was under the impression that the first area of infection is usually around where the virus entered the body?

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

You describe a low-risk exposure; even with a certain amount of skin contact above the condom's coverage, the likelihood of herpes transmission is low.  The lesion near your anus is unlikely to be herpes.  You are correct that the first episode of genital herpes usually occur at the site of inoculation.  Even in heterosexual men, a small proportion of herpes recurrences occur on or near the anus.  However, many conditions are more likely explanations for such symptoms than herpes.

Bottom line (no pun intended):  If your lesion persists, or especially if it recurs, see a health care provider.  Depending on his/her advice, you could have a blood test for HSV-2 infection.  But if positive, it would not necessarily mean you caught it during the sexual exposure you describe.

Good luck--  HHH, MD

[darmour88]

Sorry, i hit "submit" by mistake before i finished. I had a few more sentances i was typing. (continued)


   If you could help me out and let me know whether or not this sounds like herpes, i'd appreciate it. This has been on my mind since the encounter.

thanks

[darmour88]

Dr.
Were you talking about the lesion that's just below my anus between the anus and the testicals when u said if it reoccurs? or is persistant? How much time should i give it to heal?

thanks