Aa
Confused and Scared, is this Herpes or what?
I am going through a depressing time just like some people I have read up here going through something similar.
I am a 37 year old man and getting confusing symptoms for the past 18 days that I fear it might be herpes. I need people with experience to give me honest opinions what this might be.
I went on a business trip and met up with a lady at an event, I don't know her sexual history but she had no sores or whatsoever and looked real healthy. We both had unprotected oral sex but no penetration and I didn't feel any symptoms or anything days afterwards.
Another week later we met again and this time we had proper penetration sex but somehow the condom I was using broke through the act and I noticed after ejaculating.
2 days later I had this weird tingling sensation running from the tip of my penis all the way through the urethra and sometimes I think I feel it run to my anal area. There was no discharge or itch but it was such an uncomfortable feeling. This tingling and burning sensation in my urethra has continued for the past 18 days but I haven't seen any obvious rash, blisters or sores. I have to take a light to look at the sides of my penis to see really tiny hair like bumps.
I had some legs muscle cramp and back ache on day 3 but I had worked out vigorously in the gym class for 3 days straight, so I guess that might be the reason.
I haven't felt any fever or illness and neither have I felt any serious itch anywhere else, except an occasional mild itch at my anal and I have looked with a mirror but there is no rash or sore there.
For some days I get really cold feet at night and I noticed a slight oral thrush at the back of my mouth.
I really don't know what is going on, I am engaged to this wonderful woman I want to marry and I would never put her at risk over this stupid mistake, I have every intention to end the relationship if this is herpes because I rather die than ruin her future.
Can someone please shed some light on what this might be, I have read so many things online and I am so confused, could this be even yeast infection or diabetes?
I am waiting for 6 weeks to do some full tests.
I am a 37 year old man and getting confusing symptoms for the past 18 days that I fear it might be herpes. I need people with experience to give me honest opinions what this might be.
I went on a business trip and met up with a lady at an event, I don't know her sexual history but she had no sores or whatsoever and looked real healthy. We both had unprotected oral sex but no penetration and I didn't feel any symptoms or anything days afterwards.
Another week later we met again and this time we had proper penetration sex but somehow the condom I was using broke through the act and I noticed after ejaculating.
2 days later I had this weird tingling sensation running from the tip of my penis all the way through the urethra and sometimes I think I feel it run to my anal area. There was no discharge or itch but it was such an uncomfortable feeling. This tingling and burning sensation in my urethra has continued for the past 18 days but I haven't seen any obvious rash, blisters or sores. I have to take a light to look at the sides of my penis to see really tiny hair like bumps.
I had some legs muscle cramp and back ache on day 3 but I had worked out vigorously in the gym class for 3 days straight, so I guess that might be the reason.
I haven't felt any fever or illness and neither have I felt any serious itch anywhere else, except an occasional mild itch at my anal and I have looked with a mirror but there is no rash or sore there.
For some days I get really cold feet at night and I noticed a slight oral thrush at the back of my mouth.
I really don't know what is going on, I am engaged to this wonderful woman I want to marry and I would never put her at risk over this stupid mistake, I have every intention to end the relationship if this is herpes because I rather die than ruin her future.
Can someone please shed some light on what this might be, I have read so many things online and I am so confused, could this be even yeast infection or diabetes?
I am waiting for 6 weeks to do some full tests.
Hey, sorry about the broken condom. First, you don't sound to have any lesions. That's good. If you had that, you could get them swabbed. Since you don't you can only wait enough time to take a blood test. I wouldn't necessarily read all of your symptoms into herpes. Even straight anxiety can play a part in our symptoms and you sound anxious. Talking about "you'd rather die" is a sign of that. This, no matter what, is not the end of the world. The odds that she has herpes aren't great and you could ask her possibly. And if she does, even then, the odds are still greatly in your favor that you wouldn't get herpes from the one time condom break or giving/receiving oral one time. So, I'm sure others will chime in but I'd consider discussing this with your doctor.
17 Comments
Thanks for the response. Sometimes I actually feel maybe mind and anxiety is making things worse but I have never felt something like this before.
The burning sensation at my urethra is not something like a pain really, it is an annoying discomfort and when I noticed the oral thrush, with my feet getting really cold for some days my mind became really messed up. I was thinking this is some sort of prodrome but I read it may or may not last up to 2 weeks and that has confused me like crazy
The burning sensation at my urethra is not something like a pain really, it is an annoying discomfort and when I noticed the oral thrush, with my feet getting really cold for some days my mind became really messed up. I was thinking this is some sort of prodrome but I read it may or may not last up to 2 weeks and that has confused me like crazy
Ok so first, there are other things you could get that you need to test for.
You are focusing on herpes because it's not curable, but you could have gonorrhea, chlaymdia, mycoplasma genitaliam or NGU and have some burning.
No STD is going to give you cold feet. Your work outs likely gave you the muscle aches. The little bumps you saw are probably hair follicles or oil glands called Fordyce spots.
You can get tested now for the things I listed. Gonorrhea isn't as common as chlamydia and NGU, and mycoplasma is still an emerging STD, so don't be surprised if your doctor doesn't know about it.
Getting herpes from a one-time, somewhat protected encounter is unlikely. If you get herpes from unprotected oral sex, it would be genital herpes type 1, and you may already have that. About half the adult population does, even if you never get symptoms.
"Slight oral thrush" isn't really a thing, and if you think you have thrush, you need to see a doctor.
Remember that guilt doesn't equal risk. It sounds as if you are catastrophising this - you did something you regret, so now the worst will happen, and you could infect your partner will something incurable, and you'd rather die than let that happen.
So go get tested for what you can now. You can test for herpes now - ask for a type specific IgG herpes blood test. (It's not that easy to get in some places, so depending on where you are, you might not be able to get it.) If it's positive now for hsv1, it's probably a pre-exisiting hsv1 infection that you've had for years and didn't know it.
Let us know what happens.
You are focusing on herpes because it's not curable, but you could have gonorrhea, chlaymdia, mycoplasma genitaliam or NGU and have some burning.
No STD is going to give you cold feet. Your work outs likely gave you the muscle aches. The little bumps you saw are probably hair follicles or oil glands called Fordyce spots.
You can get tested now for the things I listed. Gonorrhea isn't as common as chlamydia and NGU, and mycoplasma is still an emerging STD, so don't be surprised if your doctor doesn't know about it.
Getting herpes from a one-time, somewhat protected encounter is unlikely. If you get herpes from unprotected oral sex, it would be genital herpes type 1, and you may already have that. About half the adult population does, even if you never get symptoms.
"Slight oral thrush" isn't really a thing, and if you think you have thrush, you need to see a doctor.
Remember that guilt doesn't equal risk. It sounds as if you are catastrophising this - you did something you regret, so now the worst will happen, and you could infect your partner will something incurable, and you'd rather die than let that happen.
So go get tested for what you can now. You can test for herpes now - ask for a type specific IgG herpes blood test. (It's not that easy to get in some places, so depending on where you are, you might not be able to get it.) If it's positive now for hsv1, it's probably a pre-exisiting hsv1 infection that you've had for years and didn't know it.
Let us know what happens.
Thanks for the response auntiejessie. I have set up an appointment with my doctor.
I am really just curious about all this, I thought all STDs had a discharge that come with urethra tingling and burning sensation.
And does a herpes prodrome last more than 2 weeks?
I have even thought this might be some yeast infection as well since I noticed the thrush or perhaps I am even diabetic.
So many thoughts but the one that bothered me the most as you have noticed was the fear that this could be herpes after feeling the tingling sensation 2 days after the encounter and the annoying burning sensation for days.
I had a full test last year and I was 100% clean for everything including HSV 1 and 2, I have never had mouth sores before even since when I was a kid.
I am really thankful for your responses, I am really trying to stay strong and understand everything. The crazy thing is I am not even scared for myself but I am just totally petrified of hurting and losing the woman that I love, life would seem so meaningless.
I am really just curious about all this, I thought all STDs had a discharge that come with urethra tingling and burning sensation.
And does a herpes prodrome last more than 2 weeks?
I have even thought this might be some yeast infection as well since I noticed the thrush or perhaps I am even diabetic.
So many thoughts but the one that bothered me the most as you have noticed was the fear that this could be herpes after feeling the tingling sensation 2 days after the encounter and the annoying burning sensation for days.
I had a full test last year and I was 100% clean for everything including HSV 1 and 2, I have never had mouth sores before even since when I was a kid.
I am really thankful for your responses, I am really trying to stay strong and understand everything. The crazy thing is I am not even scared for myself but I am just totally petrified of hurting and losing the woman that I love, life would seem so meaningless.
If you get symptoms from an STD, you might get a discharge. Most people don't actually get symptoms.
Herpes doesn't usually cause a discharge, though some get one.
Herpes prodrome 2 days, at most. It wouldn't last 2 weeks.
How's your water intake? I don't mean to sound dismissive, but dehydration is one of the more common causes of burning and one of the most overlooked. Up your water intake (reasonably so - don't go overboard), and avoid alcohol and caffeine, as those are dehydrating.
So hear me out for a minute. Is it possible that what you are feeling is caused by anxiety? I'm not dismissing your symptoms - anxiety causes real symptoms - but it also causes us to be hyper-aware of things that we wouldn't normally be aware of.
If you think you have thrush or diabetes, you need to see your doctor.
Herpes doesn't usually cause a discharge, though some get one.
Herpes prodrome 2 days, at most. It wouldn't last 2 weeks.
How's your water intake? I don't mean to sound dismissive, but dehydration is one of the more common causes of burning and one of the most overlooked. Up your water intake (reasonably so - don't go overboard), and avoid alcohol and caffeine, as those are dehydrating.
So hear me out for a minute. Is it possible that what you are feeling is caused by anxiety? I'm not dismissing your symptoms - anxiety causes real symptoms - but it also causes us to be hyper-aware of things that we wouldn't normally be aware of.
If you think you have thrush or diabetes, you need to see your doctor.
Saw the doctor yesterday and said I have no signs whatsoever for herpes and I am to do only tests for other STDs. He thinks it might be chlam and gave me antibiotics Azithromycin and Doxicycline.
And being that I have had this tingling and burning sensation for more than 2 weeks so this can't be a prodrome, especially I didn't have any sore or lesion outbreaks, right?
I do agree I might be suffering some anxiety issues because since that very incident I have been overworking myself noticing everything going on with my body.
I need to also start drinking lot of water, my water intake is not so good.
Thank you for your responses I really appreciate them.
And being that I have had this tingling and burning sensation for more than 2 weeks so this can't be a prodrome, especially I didn't have any sore or lesion outbreaks, right?
I do agree I might be suffering some anxiety issues because since that very incident I have been overworking myself noticing everything going on with my body.
I need to also start drinking lot of water, my water intake is not so good.
Thank you for your responses I really appreciate them.
I am starting to believe I am suffering some anxiety issues with this burning sensation because I only feel it when my mind is concentrating on my genitals, for example whenever I wake up in the morning I feel nothing and I am just normal but when I want to urinate I panic and after that my thoughts are just on it. I honestly don't feel any pain or burning when urinating.
I have always thought I had a strong control on my mind but this is really upsetting my mental balance, I just wish for this feeling to go.
Thank you again for your response.
I have always thought I had a strong control on my mind but this is really upsetting my mental balance, I just wish for this feeling to go.
Thank you again for your response.
"I am starting to believe I am suffering some anxiety issues with this burning sensation because I only feel it when my mind is concentrating on my genitals" - this is extremely common, especially when guilt is involved.
"I have always thought I had a strong control on my mind but this is really upsetting my mental balance..." - this doesn't make you weak, it makes you human. Having anxiety doesn't mean you don't have strong control on your mind.
Make sure to increase your water intake - that won't hurt you, so long as you don't overdo it.
If this is chlamydia, you only need azithromycin OR doxy - not both. The dose for azithromycin is 1000 mg one time, and for doxy, it's 100 mg twice a day for 7 days.
Did he say anything about the thrush?
"I have always thought I had a strong control on my mind but this is really upsetting my mental balance..." - this doesn't make you weak, it makes you human. Having anxiety doesn't mean you don't have strong control on your mind.
Make sure to increase your water intake - that won't hurt you, so long as you don't overdo it.
If this is chlamydia, you only need azithromycin OR doxy - not both. The dose for azithromycin is 1000 mg one time, and for doxy, it's 100 mg twice a day for 7 days.
Did he say anything about the thrush?
Never knew anxiety could cause this much thought of physical discomfort.
Doc thinks the thrush is nothing serious and it would go.
The results came back negative for STDs but there was no test for MG. I mentioned to the doc and he says the antibiotics would take care of it if there was anything and asked me to come back in 10 days if there are no changes in my condition.
Thank you for your replies it helps, it means so much to hear back from you and GuitarRox, your answers has helped relax me some what and I really appreciate it.
Doc thinks the thrush is nothing serious and it would go.
The results came back negative for STDs but there was no test for MG. I mentioned to the doc and he says the antibiotics would take care of it if there was anything and asked me to come back in 10 days if there are no changes in my condition.
Thank you for your replies it helps, it means so much to hear back from you and GuitarRox, your answers has helped relax me some what and I really appreciate it.
Anxiety is no joke. It can manifest actual physical symptoms. Sometimes, it's things like neck or back pain, headaches, etc., from holding your body tighter than usual and stress, and other times it's being hyper-aware of certain parts of your body and noticing things that you experience a lot, and are normal, but that with anxiety, seem a lot worse.
We tell people to seek help for their anxiety a lot here, and I'm sure we seem harsh when we do. We don't mean to. Treating anxiety can help a lot of physical symptoms, too, and mental health is as important as physical health.
I'm glad to hear your tests were negative.
We tell people to seek help for their anxiety a lot here, and I'm sure we seem harsh when we do. We don't mean to. Treating anxiety can help a lot of physical symptoms, too, and mental health is as important as physical health.
I'm glad to hear your tests were negative.
Auntiejessi can I ask a question or two?
Can Herpes cause the penis and scrotum to feel cold?
Can Herpes cause the penis and scrotum to feel cold?
No, no STD would. Does it feel cold to the touch or does it feel cold inside?
I couldn't find anything that causes this, except for lack of blood flow to the area, and I'm guessing that's not the issue. I'd guess it's being hyper-aware of the area, but if it lingers, get it checked by your doctor.
I couldn't find anything that causes this, except for lack of blood flow to the area, and I'm guessing that's not the issue. I'd guess it's being hyper-aware of the area, but if it lingers, get it checked by your doctor.
It feels cold to touch and it gives me a kind of menthol feeling. I am guessing I am hyper-aware, though some things I have read online says it could be diabetes or some nerve thing. Being that it is said the herpes virus moves through the nerves I was concerned.
I am to see my doctor next week but I hope I get my mind settled and everything eases.
I am to see my doctor next week but I hope I get my mind settled and everything eases.
Do you have numbness, too?
https://www.healthline.com/health/numb-penis#symptoms
Yes, herpes infects nerve groups, and some people can get post-herpetic neuropathy, but that's after an outbreak. You haven't had one.
Definitely talk to your doctor about your anxiety. Your mental health is as important as your physical health.
https://www.healthline.com/health/numb-penis#symptoms
Yes, herpes infects nerve groups, and some people can get post-herpetic neuropathy, but that's after an outbreak. You haven't had one.
Definitely talk to your doctor about your anxiety. Your mental health is as important as your physical health.
I don't have numbness. I still have an erection and do feel but it is just the cold and slight discomfort of sort.
I really would need to see the doc for anxiety issues, my fear must have really triggered something.
I really would need to see the doc for anxiety issues, my fear must have really triggered something.
Yes, I think that's a great idea to talk to your doctor about anxiety.
Keep in mind that statistically, most people don't have STDs. If your partner has hsv2, there'd be about a 1 in 1000 chance you'd get it from her if you didn't use a condom the whole time. If the condom didn't break, it's about a 1 in 10,000. Your odds are somewhere in between there.
If you had a relationship with this woman, and she had hsv2, you'd have at most, a 4-5% chance of getting this from her per year, if all you did was avoid sex during an outbreak, assuming you had sex 2-3x a week.
Chances of you getting herpes from a one-time encounter with someone who had no sores or anything are slim.
Don't let guilt cloud your mind from these stats. Your chances of getting herpes are really very low.
Keep in mind that statistically, most people don't have STDs. If your partner has hsv2, there'd be about a 1 in 1000 chance you'd get it from her if you didn't use a condom the whole time. If the condom didn't break, it's about a 1 in 10,000. Your odds are somewhere in between there.
If you had a relationship with this woman, and she had hsv2, you'd have at most, a 4-5% chance of getting this from her per year, if all you did was avoid sex during an outbreak, assuming you had sex 2-3x a week.
Chances of you getting herpes from a one-time encounter with someone who had no sores or anything are slim.
Don't let guilt cloud your mind from these stats. Your chances of getting herpes are really very low.
It has been a while since I gave any updates. So it has been weeks going through this discomfort and finally the doctor confirms that what is really going on with me is Prostatitis.
He said the cause might be UTI, STD or even stress. I have been put on some antibiotics for weeks now, symptoms have improved but I still sense them.
I want to say a big thank you Auntiejessi and everyone else who shared their experience with me here, you guys are awesome and I feel motivated to help others as well as much as you guys have helped me.
He said the cause might be UTI, STD or even stress. I have been put on some antibiotics for weeks now, symptoms have improved but I still sense them.
I want to say a big thank you Auntiejessi and everyone else who shared their experience with me here, you guys are awesome and I feel motivated to help others as well as much as you guys have helped me.
I'm glad to hear you've seen some improvement, and hope that continues. :)
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Herpes Community
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Millions of people are diagnosed with STDs in the U.S. each year.
STDs can't be transmitted by casual contact, like hugging or touching.
Syphilis is an STD that is transmitted by oral, genital and anal sex.
