[Question #7253] Herpes Exposure: Next Steps
 |
60 months ago
|
On August 17, I had my last of 4-5 unprotected encounters (starting in late July) with a woman who later received two positive IGG tests for Herpes II. On Sept. 2, I tested negative via Herpeselect for HSV I and HSV II, as well as negative urinalysis for gonorrhea and chlamydia.On September 8 (19 days post final exposure) I started to feel a faint pain at the tip of my penis when it would rub against my pants. I believed it was psychological, until the next day when I noticed that my meatus was red and somewhat swollen. There began to be more pain, and a pinching discomfort, at the tip of my penis when it would touch something, or *after* urination. The whole head of my penis became sore, and occasional pain would shoot from the end of my penis through the shaft and sometimes into my abdomen. To get a better look at the swelling and to determine if the tip of my penis had a small lesion (as it appeared there was bump, but I could not see that it was fluid-filled) I gave myself an erection and observed that the entire head of my penis was red, swollen, oddly wrinkled, and bumpy both subcutaneously and with tiny dots evenly-distributed over the head of my penis. Where the foreskin would be (I am circumcised) I observed a sheen, and the skin looked somewhat inflamed and thin. On Sep. 10, I went to an urgent care clinic, where a PA diagnosed me with balanitis and gave me a clotrimazole and betamethasone cream to apply twice daily. Today, Sep. 15, the pain and discomfort are subsiding, though not absent, but the appearance of my penis hasn't changed all the way.In addition to the symptoms described above, I have had some swelling and tenderness in my inguinal lymph nodes, and some mild testicular pain occasionally. I don't know how much is psychological, as I must admit I am very anxious about this.Any symptoms that I have not mentioned have not appeared. 1. Is my IGG test at 2 weeks totally useless, or just less reliable? 2. When should I be retested? 3. Can you comment
|
60 months ago
|
on probability of contraction? The precarious timing of the balanitis has me concerned.
 |
Terri Warren, RN, Nurse Practitioner
60 months ago
|
I believe you posted this twice?
Terri
---