Allright, I just learned somewhere else NOT to put cortizone on viruses. So, obviously, I stopped doing it.
Thanks doc and mtbb for your uselful replies. I will get a Herpes blood test just for peace of mind. I put hydrocortizone on it last night and this morning and the itching and burning are now completely gone. So I guess one disease will be enough for me.
As for why it is being used, well, my guess is that I have a disease and Aldara helps me get rid of it, it's as simple as that. It just seems to accelerate threefold the healing of the lesions. MC is really hurting me right now and anything I can do to heal it faster, I will use it.
I used aldara to treat a possible wart on the shaft, and after about a week and a half i got pretty much what you are desribing on my scrotum also ... the skin got really nasty looking and started peeling etc ... my doc gave something he referred to as prescription strength hydrocortizone when it happened to me and it cleared up completely in 3 days with that and backing off of aldara
You should return to the provider treating your MC for advice. Herpes doesn't commonly involve the scrotum. However, if some imiquimod (Aldara is the brand name) got onto your scrotum--e.g., you spilled a drop or two and it didn't get washed off, you might get a burn-like or ulcerative lesions of the more sensitive scrotal skin. But if your doct thinks the lesions were likely herpes, you should be tested for herpes simplex virus (HSV) by culture of the ulcers, if they are still fresh, and/or by blood testing for HSV-2 antibody.
To date the research in imiquimod for MC is almost entirely limited to children. The need for alternative therapies is greater in toddlers and kids than adults, because they often have more lesions and more widespread ones, and the kids (and their parents) don't tolerate the quicker but more painful approaches like currettage (scraping the lesions off) or freezing. The result in kids are promising. But I don't see the advantage for adults, and I wonder why it is being used in your case. Indeed, I doubt we will see much research in adults, with the possible exception of studies in HIV-infected persons with persistent or recurrent MC; the demand likely isn't sufficient to justify the manufacturer's investment in studying MC in healthy adults.
Good luck-- HHH, MD