Would need to get tested soon

Posted , 4 users are following.

Hi, I joined this forum to seek opinion if I may have herpes but after looking at a lot of examples, I'm afraid I may have herpes at all. It started as a single sore which I thought was just a razor burn. Then I noticed little blisters forming beside it. Anyways, I attached a disgusting image in this post. Few questions though, should I be worried about the infected area coming into contact with other parts of my skin? Thanks!

0 likes, 12 replies

12 Replies

  • Posted

    Ouch, that looks sore! If herpes, you are already technically infected in the whole boxer short region. However, it would be good practice to nevertheless avoid touching the sores and then immediately touching other uninfected areas.

    This is especially true with respect to other parts of your body, as non-genital autoinoculation can occur. More likely with Type 1, which is less fussy as to where it infects. After 3-4 months up to 6, this should no longer be an issue, as your body will have established sufficient antibodies.

    Handwashing with regular soap and water is enough to kill the herpes virus, so just remember to wash up after touching any lesions until you know what it is for sure.

    • Posted

      It does look like it could be herpes, but best to get that swabbed and tested asap. Did you recently have protected sex with someone who might have had it? I only ask because your sores are at the base, which is typical in men who acquire it while wearing condoms (only 30-50% effective in preventing transmission, which is a rather scary fact!).
    • Posted

      Yeah, it is kinda sore. But I'm still hoping it's not herpes as I am not experiencing other symptoms of herpes like fever etc.
    • Posted

      I don't mean to alarm you, but not everyone gets a fever or flu-like symptoms. I didn't. A swollen lymph node in the groin is usually a sign, though, especially during a first outbreak. May take a few days to be noticeable. But yeah, could always be something else, so get that looked at and tested. The usual swab test for herpes needs to be done on fairly new lesions, so make an appointment this week, otherwise you can see if your clinic can do the costlier PCR/DNA swab (no need for very new lesions).
    • Posted

      thanks for your input man, how long have you been living with herpes?. I already made an appointment for tomorrow. but do herpes sores appear slowly? the little bumps on mine appeared after 5 days of the big one.
    • Posted

      Happy to help!

      You're probably not going to like hearing this, but it is not uncommon for a first herpes outbreak to comprise two rounds of lesions separated by a few days. Happened to me, too.

      I was forever "gifted" with Type 2 genital herpes, which is the badașs true STD one, so I'm pretty p!ssed off about that! Got it only a couple of months ago, but I have been reading up on genital herpes ever since till there was little left to read, so though a relative GH newbie, I'm practically a herp guru at the same time, lol.

  • Posted

    Unfortunately I think it does look like herpes! .... Obviously avoid touching the area and if you do make sure you wash hands.

    I have same question as 5FelisCatus ... Did you have protected or unprotected sex with someone who had it? I'm just curious as I have HSV2 and worried about passing it onto future partners ... Even using condoms I thought it was only around 3% or something passing female to male!

    • Posted

      You're right. The F>M transmission risk with condoms is about 2-3% per year of regular monogamous, non-outbreak sex. But it's always possible to be that unlucky 2-3%! Also, those odds are significantly higher if the person was having an outbreak at the time or recently infected (less than 12 months; the more recent, the worse) due to increased shedding.
  • Posted

    Hi guys, just got the results back. Turned out it wasn't herpes but staph infection I got from shaving down there. Thanks for all your replys smile
    • Posted

      Wow, that's awesome! And so weird how it looked and behaved like GH, yet luckily wasn't. Guess there's always hope until you get your test results, lol. Anyway, thanks for the update, take care of that staph infection, and stay herpes-free!!

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