Outbreak when I shave my pubic region

Posted , 13 users are following.

I was diagnosed with herpes about 3 years ago and take medicine every day. I'm now 32. I've always cleaned shaved once or twice a week since I was a teenager. The past 3 weeks I've been having a constant outbreak that won't go away. It's only in the pubic hair region (like under my stomach, but not on or in my vagina) the sores are very painful and burn. Almost as bad as my very first outbreak. They get puss filled about the size of an eraser head. There are about 6-8 of them. And when they pop and are trying to heal my panties stick to them and pull, what I'm thinking is a scab starting to form. Then they bleed. My panties are not tight at all. I'm not going to shave for awhile and see what happens. Has this happened to anyone? Any suggestions or advice?

1 like, 15 replies

15 Replies

  • Posted

    Have you considered getting them swab tested to make sure it's definitely herpes and not a skin infection? Since this is different to your normal herpes recurrences, it's possible that it isn't related. Of course, it could well be herpes. If I were you, I'd want to confirm that it is (or isn't) and get appropriate meds from the doctor.

    • Posted

      When I had my first outbreak 3 years ago they were on my vagina. I did get them swabbed to confirm. I have not got these swabbed but thinking I should go.
    • Posted

      I would, since its location, severity and persistence is different. Good to know if it's still herpes causing the issue or an unrelated skin infection that might need treatment.

  • Posted

    Hi i made a post similar to this the other day but I didn't really get any good advice. My issue was I always get an outbreak when I shave. Unfortunately long hair does irritate it too but not as much as shaving. I'm now taking suppressants to see if I'll be able to shave without getting an outbreak. Letting your outbreak heal and not shaving whilst it does is definitely the best idea.

    • Posted

      I haven't got much of a response either. I can't get into the doctor until Monday. I'm not gonna shave for awhile to see if it helps. It's so crazy because it's not like any other outbreak I've ever had.

  • Posted

    I've had herpes for 3 years also and I'm 31. In the beginning this used to happen to me but now not so much. As time go on your outbreaks get less and less frequent and I think that's what happened to me. Like when my period would start I would get an outbreak and mine just be one or two bumps only in the pubic area as well. But lately I've noticed no outbreaks before my periods. I hope this helps!

    • Posted

      That's really good to know, I'm a year in and I get outbreaks every time I get my period, get sick, have sex or shave so it's really frustrating. Can't wait until they are less frequent. I'm trying suppressants for a couple of months to see if that helps.

  • Posted

    did this situation improve? how long did it take for that new outbreak to go away and stop coming back? I have a similar situation where I shaved while having a small outbreak and I spread the infection. now it's been over 6 weeks and the outbreak has yet to fully heal or go away.

  • Edited

    i have had genital herpes for 10 years now and this is exactly how my outbreaks go. i take a ton of Lysine and this seems to help. I also only take the RX (valtrex) when i feel an outbreak coming on, daily a week before traveling or stressful situation, or when i start a new sexual relationship.

    best advice i can give,

    put a bandaid over the sore or gauz pad when the ulcer bursts. this keeps it from scabbing onto your panties. change them regularly. go bottomless as much as you possibly can.

    dont shave. this always causes me to break out! get lazer, use a trimmer, grow a bush, or wax.

    eat healthy, stop drinking, exercise, and try to stay stress free! i also take a multi vitamin and collogen, which helps your immune and skin.

    find a super lysine. take it regularly.

    stay positive.

    • Posted

      thank you so much for all the tips! i was recently diagnosed with hsv2 about a month and a half ago, and although i'm doing my best not to overthink it all- i've been dreading the process of figuring out what is or isn't going to cause a breakout. i'm already aware my diet is going to take a massive shift from my love of wine and pasta, to try and clean it up and add more vitamins but it all feels so unpredictable. like, shaving?? what kind of torturous virus is this for your body to react to shaving? 😭 trying to stay positive, but right now i have a tiny cluster right in the crease of my inner and outer labia that seems impossible to heal since its tough to air out during the day while i have panties on.

    • Posted

      Hi Lee, I totally understand what you are going through, I was also just diagnosed with hsv 2 about 2 months ago myself, I have been such an emotional mess, I also suffer with anxiety and depression as well , so throw something like this virus into the mix and I feel like a total mess 😭 I am so glad I found this online discussion site , as I feel too ashamed to discuss this problem with anyone, I feel like no one would understand, they would just simply judge me 😭 I also seem to be getting an outbreak back when I shave , there are so many things that can cause the outbreaks to reoccur, it's so frustrating, stress is also one of them and I'm trying to train myself to be positive and not to stress, but it's so hard.

      Are you cleaning the area with salt water a few times a day, apparently this helps to dry it out and also ensure that the sores don't get any infection in them

    • Posted

      Hey Hehrow, how much lysine do you take daily & does the brand matter?

  • Posted

    So I’ve been diagnosed with genital herpes about 2 weeks ago when I had my first outbreak.. my pubic hair has been growing really long and getting itchy, sore, and uncomfortable so it looked and felt like my outbreak was healed so I had shaved last night and my vagina is starting to itch but not where I shaved it’s more in the inner creasing of my vagina and I’m starting to get what looks like ingrown hairs but I can’t tell if that’s what they are or if I’m getting another outbreak and now I’m stressing out about it…. If y’all could I would really like some tips about what I’m going through and how to live with this please!!!

  • Posted

    I'm 10 months into my HSV2 diagnosis and have been having what I feel is a lot of outbreaks (5 that i can directly recall). I normally shave but stop shaving during the outbreak and then shave again once clear. My most recent outbreak comes 3 days after shaving. After reading your posts, I'm wondering if shaving is a trigger for me?? Should I consider another form of hair removal? I've always wanted to wax but never wanted to spend the money. That brings up another question - do you tell the waxer??

    • Posted

      Hello, I'm a 29 year old girl and I want to know if someone can help me figure out if I got something the other night. I got oral herpes for the first time 2 months ago. I know because I saw scabs for a week. About 2 days ago, I had tiny oral sore on my bottom lip. I shaved near my lip that was next to that cold sore. About 7 hours later, I washed that same razor with soap and shaved down there quickly Saturday night. Within 20 minutes of shaving, I got small cuts & what looked like small open sores right after & I’ve never seen it like that down there. Hurt to pee right after too. It was like that for 2 hours. Then I went to sleep for about 3 hours & when I woke up, it didn’t hurt to pee, and things looked normal down there again. It’s been about 2 days & I never saw any scabbing, still looks normal down there. Can genital herpes symptoms only last for about 3 hours & then go away? Could the razor I used to shave near my oral herpes or just shaving down there have given me genital herpes? Is it possible I infected myself with genital herpes from the oral herpes I have?

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