Weird Situation - Looking for Some Opinions
Posted , 3 users are following.
Hi All,
Just tested positive for HSV 1 in my genital area & I was a little surprised. A lot of things don't add up so I'm looking for some opinions.
Here is the situation. I had a sexual encounter with a new partner. Used protection for sex but not when i was receiving oral. I had recently manscaped my genital area. I did so with an old razor & it was a dry shave which isn't the best idea. I cleaned up the base of the penis & testicles.
A couple of days later it felt a little itchy. I noticed red bumps on the penis base exactly where i shaved. The bumps looked like a popped pimple head. I never noticed any blisters. It did burn & was painful at times. I went to get checked out at a small clinic & the nurse said it looks like herpes. She asked if there were blisters & if i had fever symptoms which was a no in both cases, but there was some swelling. She took a swab sample & it came back positive for HSV 1.
There are a few confusing things for me here. The first is that the bumps appeared exactly where i shaved. Just at the Penis base. If i were to get herpes from oral sex wouldn't it make sense that some parts of my actual Penis would be infected as well? Isn't HSV transmitted through contact? There was more contact on the penis than the base itself. It's also weird that they showed up exactly where I shaved. Because of that i was convinced it was Folliculitis (inflamed hair follicles / razor burn). Hair is growing back over the infected area now.
The second confusing part is that a friend was with the same girl twice before i was (within a week) & he is not infected. I know, we are a bunch of crazy guys partying & she is no angel, but he said he is good. Based on him & the weird location of this infection, i was convinced that it wasn't herpes but the swab test was positive for HSV 1.
Does this all sound weird? I read swab tests are usually reliable but something isn't adding up. I am thinking of getting retested but some tests aren't great. Could a swab test get corrupted by some kind of Folliculitis bacteria? Just trying to solve this confusing puzzle.
Any advice, opinions & information is greatly appreciated.
Thanks
0 likes, 5 replies
Lukav kamkam
Posted
I get the same thing. They look like a blister with white in the middle, like a pimple almost. But I never get ulcers, and the pain isn't anything that bad. Also mostly in the same place, usually close to the base of the shaft, and usually only a couple of them every 2 months or so. I notice they usually appear after irritation has resulted after that 2 month window, otherwise they don't seem to appear, so it can sometimes be 3-4 months. Sounds about normal to me from my experience. I also got them from oral. It's impossible to protect yourself 100% from herpes, and even condoms aren't nearly 100% effective.
I mean, in your case it very well could be folliculitis, but swab tests are usually pretty accurate. If anything, they will result in more negative results if the area isn't tested in time. False positives aren't very common, but I suppose it's possible. I would just keep an eye on it, and next time you get any sores (if you ever do, that is) it wouldn't hurt to have them swab tested again. Blood tests are also pretty accurate after 6 weeks of possibly being exposed to the virus, so you may want to consider that.
kamkam Lukav
Posted
Thank you for your reply & info. So you got HSV 1 from oral & the outbreaks live at the base? Nothing on the actual penis itself?
Lukav kamkam
Posted
I got a couple blisters once about midway up the shaft, on the top part. But that was only one time. The other 3 or 4 times they've all been at the base.
sam35005 Lukav
Posted
this advice I'd follow and be careful in the meantime... to protect others.
preferably tell your partners so they have the choice.
herpes is a pretty complicated virus. it is most likely to find its way through moisture skin like genitals or open skin like shaved skin. when it manages to, it travels through a nerve to hide in a ganglia in your spine. from there it can "attack" when it sees a chance: for example when the end of your nerves are irritated by shaving. then it more easily can infect those nerves which makes you feel itchy.
f****d up huh. dont have sex when u experience this! its very contagious. luckily hsv1 is mostly less often genital drama. but,
you can also shed virus without symptoms thats why you should always warm your partner.
thats why the sores/irritation doesnt have to occur at the "touched" area.
sam35005
Posted
btw im a girl and regularly get pimple like irritation in my groin after shaving after contracting the virus.
and nerve pain and twitching and tingling, tiredness and muscle weakness. yes it sucks.
never had ulcers.
its different for everyone.