Herpes, Ingrown hair, or something else?

[Freakedout313]

First off, Thank you doctor for taking the time to read this.

3 1/2 weeks ago I had a one night stand with a girl I met at a bar.  We had vaginal sex and I used a condom.  There was no oral sex or anything else.  Two days ago when I was in the shower I noticed a raised bump on the left side of the shaft of my penis.  It's maybe a third of the way out from the base.  It wasn't irritated at all or sore but it definitely felt as if something was under the skin.  I kept squeezing it until it popped which turned out to be blood.  I was hoping it was just an ingrown hair and have checked daily for the past two days looking for a hair but have not found one.  I've popped it daily and yesterday and today it had a little bit of blood and some pus.  After each attempt to find a hair it usually scabs over.  I've looked at pictures of Herpes online and it doesn't really seem to match any of the pictures but I'm still concerned because maybe it's just a more mild case compared to the pictures shown, I don't know.  

What I can tell you is this, it's raised, not sore at all, even when squeezed, it sometimes appears slightly pink but not really red unless I squeeze it.  There is what appears to be a pore in the middle the raised area almost like a pimple.  I haven't seen a hair there to suggest an ingrown but I've been looking hard.  I do shave but haven't shaved in 2 months.  When it scabs over it's usually read around the edges of the scab and then white/yellowish in the middle of the scab.  When I pop it there is usually a little pus mixed with some blood.  This is the only area in which I can see anything.  I've checked everywhere else and there isn't anything to be seen.  It's just this one area.  I put some antibacterial ointment on it to see if it helps.

Thanks in advance

[Freakedout313]

Thank you very much for the response and I'll certainly be sure to stop squeezing the area.  I'll keep an eye on it to see if gets any better over the next day or two.  The swelling has gone down from what it was initially, hopefully it continues.

Thanks again.

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Welcome to the Forum.  Before I address your concerns, please let me give you some emphatic advice- STOP SQUEEZING AND AGGRESSIVELY EXAMIINING THIS SPOT! .  Please - repeated squeezing will hinder healing, make it harder to sort out if you need a professional evaluation and places you at risk for getting a secondary infection of the site.  I understand that it is tempting to do so but please don't squeeze it more.

Now, on to my comment.  What could this be.  What it is almost certainly not is herpes.  Herpes lesions appear 4-10 days following exposure, not 3 and 1/2 weeks later, do not have the appearance you describe and are rarely solitary.  It could be a folliculitis lesion, molluscum contagiousum or a cutaneous cyst unrelated to the exposure you describe.  At this time the best thing you can do it to keep it clear with soap and water and see what happens.  if it is still present or recurs over the next 5-7 days, you may want to get it looked at by your local STD clinic or by your own doctor.

You do not need to worry  about HSV.  I hope this comment is helpful to you.  EWH