very anxious about possible herpes

[djjacks121]

I am a 32 y/o M who had unprotected vaginal sex with a female I've known for many years about 13 days ago. I had a negative STD screen 6 months ago. A few days after the encounter, I started to feel burning sensation at the tip or glans of my penis and a feeling of discharge (but no discharge when I look).  Initially I attributed to very vigorous washing that I did of my genital area using chlorhexidine based product.  The burning has gotten better but I did notice some patchy areas of redness on the glans of my penis.  It's very mild and barely perceptible under certain lighting but it's definitely there.  No raised lesions that I can see. In addition, I also had very mild symptoms of fever (although when I took temperature it was normal), mild malaise, no appetite, and mild nausea without vomiting for about a week or so now.  That has also gotten better.  I am very anxious that these constellation of symptoms may be genital herpes.  
My question is, it's been almost two weeks and if I have been having these symptoms for a while not shouldn't I have obvious lesions on my penis that looks like herpes?   Can the burning and patchy redness be explained by soap?  Or is this something else all together?
Thanks for your help

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

I can't comment on specific treatment for something I didn't diagnose.  Most likely the urgent care doc knew what treatment to use, but you'll have to contact them directly for any additional advice about it.  I'll say that yeast infections don't respond to steroids -- indeed steroids can make them worse, unless combined with an antifungal cream. But again, this is a clarification for the doc you saw.

Since this clearly isn't herpes or any other STD, I won't have any further advice about it. That will wind up this thread.  Take care.

[djjacks121]

I meant antifungal cream, not steroids.  

[djjacks121]

Thank you for that response Dr H.  I actually just came back from an urgent care center and she looked at my genital area and seems to think that it may be an yeast infection.  I was prescribed some steroids for it; we'll see how it works.  
I forgot to ask this to the urgent care doctor, but do I need to take any systemic antifungal like diflucan, especially since I have some systemic symptoms?
thanks

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Welcome to the forum.  Thanks for your your question.

However, you won't learn anything that wasn't covered on the herpes forum.  I agree exactly with Terry Warren's responses. Your symptoms are not at all typical of herpes.  Most unexplained genital rashes and irritation that don't look and behave like herpes are in fact not herpes; any number of other.  The timing is wrong as well.

From the herpes forum thread, I understand you have been tested for HSV-1 and 2, with negative results, proving that you don't have recurrent herpes; and that you're waiting on the result of an HSV blood test in your partner.  If that's negative, as I predict, it will prove herpes is not a possible cause of your symptoms.

If your symptoms continue and you haven't been professionally evaluated, that's obviously the next step.  In the meantime, you shouldn't be concerned about herpes, unless perhaps if your partner's test is positive -- but even then, I doubt herpes is the problem.

Best wishes--  HHH, MD