Herpes Lesion With Hair ?

[Fidelio451]

Ok, here we go.....I am a 25 year old Male. A couple days ago I found a single painless open sore that had two hairs growing out of it on the shaft of my penis (looked like a minor syphilis chancre). I was confused but figured it was ingrown hairs and plucked them out. Then I noticed two other bumps in the crease where the pubic hair meets the leg. I plucked the hairs out of these lumps as well. Then I noticed a couple 2 or 3 really small pimple like bumps filled with clear fluid on the shaft of my penis most with fine hairs growing out of them. The timeline from appearance of the single chancre to the clear fluid filled pimples is 3 days.

There is no pain or puss or any other herpes symptoms except it has yet to heal. What worries me is that I have never had anything like this before and I have been sleeping with a new girl frequently for the past month both with protection and not.  She has no history of signs or symtoms of herpes. When having sex she gets very wet and this fluid pretty much covers my groin and I usually just fall asleep after having sex. Could this fluid cause a folicle infection?

I also am very physically active and workout and run 5 times a week and wear spandex compression shorts. I have been wearing compression shorts and working out for years with none of these symptoms.

I went to a Nurse and got tested she seemed pretty clueless. I live in a very isolated community and it will take over a month for results and the doctor only flies in once every two months....and I am going totally nuts. Can or does folliculitis start as a single sore and spread ? Any Help PLEASE !

Cheers

[Fidelio451]

Can Herpes lesions and bumps even contain hairs??

[Edward W Hook, MD]

The lesions you describe do not suggest herpes to me at all.  The sound like classical folliculitis.  Folliculitis occurs when the pores in your skin get plugged.  This allows that normal bacteria that are present on just about every-one's skin to grow and cause what is essentially a pimple.  Some of these just appear as red bumps which may or may not be  tender while others go on to actually form pimples containing pus.  In either case, they can but do not have to be accompanied by swelling of nearby lymph nodes (FYI, swollen lymph nodes are a totally non-specific indicator that your body is reacting to something.  In some instances such as yours, if you look closely you can see a hair coming out of, or nearby the bump- this too is typical of folliculitis).  Why folliculitis occurs can be hard to sort out but I can make suggestions about how to prevent it.  Regular use of a wash cloth or even a loofah sponge to help keep your pores open when you shower is often highly effective for preventing folliculitis.

Hope this is helpful to you.  There is little in your question to make me concerned about HSV.  EWH