5 days ago i received unprotected oral sex from someone who said they had no STIs or cold sores. The oral sex was a bit rough, and after I washed my penis outside and under the foreskin with soap which I normally do not do. I then masturbated that same day maybe 4-5 times. That same evening (BJ was in the morning) I had some mild swelling and irritation of the foreskin as well as a very tiny pink/skin coloured bump <1mm in that area which can only be seen on retraction. I think I have seen this before during previous irritations but am unsure. I have been quite anxious as this was a new sexual partner and have been checking/stretching/poking the area multiple times a day since. The inflammation has been up and down but today and yesterday seems a bit better but still feels irritated. The bump is also smaller. As I normally do not inspect my penis this closely, I have also found a tiny pink bump(very similar to the one on the foreskin) on the side my frenulum yesterday. I am not sure if this is new and it is not tender, painful or itchy. Yesterday I have been applying savlon and some miconazole which may be helping. Touching the area seems to worsen it.

Given the above, is this likely to be due to skin irritation or an STI?

I understand your concerns following exposure to a new partner however, most people do not have STIs (and oral STIs are even less common that genital infections) and  relatively few STIs are acquired following receipt of oral sex even when a partner has an oral infection..

The swelling and discomfort you described is not suggestive of an STI. Infections of the head of the penis and under the foreskin would rapidly evolve to become ulcerations and open sores if had an STI such as herpes.  Rather, the relatively short interval between the receipt of oral sex and additional friction related to multiple episodes of masturbation is likely to have cause some irritation and swelling. The bumps that you described are a manifestation of that swelling affecting otherwise normal skin. Repeated careful self examination will only increase the trauma to the area and inflammation. 

My advice is for you to do your best to not examine yourself so often, keep your hands away . And I would avoid using Topical cream such as as long or miconazole sometimes these are actually irritating if a fungal infection is not present.

I hope this perspective is helpful. I see no need for testing.  Is there further questions please feel free to use your act to follow ups for clarification. EWH

I will follow your advice and avoid contact. With regards to herpes in particular, I understand that HSV1 can be orally transmitted. What are the risks for me? 

I see that most people are asymptomatic/mild symptoms. What I see are tiny "papules"(fordyce spots?), the second one i noticed 4 days after(so within infection timeframe). I am other wise well(no fevers etc). If there is no change in the papule(bursts/ulceration etc) or if they resolve can I be confident that it is not herpes or could they be mild herpes? 

I would like to avoid blood testing as I see it can be inaccurate and may cause more harm than good, so should I monitor the 'papule' or maybe get them swabbed?

Kind regards

I urge you to not seek blood testing.  The tests have problems with sensitivity and with false positive results.  Further, even if your partner had oral herpes, in the absence of an active cold sore far less than 1% of exposures to infected partners lead to infection if you are susceptible ( remember, even if you’ve never had cold sores, there’s a 50/50 chance you, like most American adults, have already had HSV-1, making you not susceptible to acquiring it again)

I would not worry about herpes and certainly would not test.  EWH