[Question #13421] Irritated hair follicles

1 months ago

Hello,

I am about to enter in a new relationship and wanted to ask about possible herpes symptoms from a year ago.

I had a protected sexual encounter with an acquaintance. 13 days later I noticed a collection of bumps toward the bottom of my penile shaft and pubic area. I had recently trimmed and had just done a long hike. All the bumps were associated with hair follicles and I never saw any blisters. I used my phone camera to zoom in and it was clear the bumps were swollen skin. Over a year later I can still make out where the bumps were and the hair sticking out of them. I’ve never had anything recurring since then.

I have oral HSV 1 and whenever I get cold sores it manifests in text book fashion so I know what to look for. . I was out of town and when I got back it had cleared up. My doctor said it was probably irritation from hiking and shaving. Does this sound like herpes?

Terri Warren, RN, Nurse Practitioner

1 months ago

well, since you have oral HSV 1, that's not what's going on down there. But I couldn't rule out herpes here as the location of the bumps was in an area the condom may not have covered. If you were my patient, I would send you to labCorp for the HSV 2 IgG test (it may be combined with HSV 1). There are very few false positives on this new labCorp test so I feel comfortable suggesting that you test there - no where else right now.

I've certainly seen herpes in this location so I don't feel it's a good idea to say with blanket certainty that this isn't herpes. How do you feel about testing?

Terri

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1 months ago

I am fine with testing. Is 13 days after exposure typical to see symptoms? I’ve read that most symptoms are within 10 days. Also, all the bumps were associated with a hair follicle. Is that typical?

Thanks!

Terri Warren, RN, Nurse Practitioner

1 months ago

13 days is a bit long, but not out of the range of possibility. In that area, as there are many hair follicles so it can be confusing to accurately sort this out.

Terri

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1 months ago

Spoke to my acquaintance and she said she was positive for HSV 1 and negative for HSV 2. She said she never has had any symptoms so I’m not sure if it’s genital or oral.

Went to the doctor and showed him the pictures and he said it looked like a fungal infection and NOT Herpes. He showed me some examples and it looks exactly what I had. I think the mystery has been solved. Thanks for the help!

Terri Warren, RN, Nurse Practitioner

1 months ago

You are most welcome

Terri

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