Possible "mild" first herpes outbreak?

[JJWilliam]

Hi.

I have had a cluster of three very, very tiny blisters (for lack of a better word—very small bumps with a pale head) on the head of my penis for about 4 weeks now. They are soft to the touch and do not hurt, nor do they have much of a rash or redness around them. They don’t seem to be going away, but nor have they burst into a sore. No flu-like symptoms. Maybe some headaches, but I get those anyway.

Now, I know this isn’t a common presentation of herpes, but is this how one of the many “mild” cases typically present? Would the blisters remain mostly unchanged for the last...3 weeks?

I have had unprotected sex with a couple of people of unknown status within the typical 16 week timeframe I’ve read about for an accurate igg test so I’m looking to get an idea in the meantime of how likely it is that I’ve become infected.

[auntiejessi]

You can always go and get it looked at by an STD clinic to rule out warts or something, and wait for the herpes test.

I don't know Sleepy's story, but it's rare that it takes longer than 4 months to test positive. Honestly, the best thing you can do is try to get this cultured. A doctor will be able to tell you if there is anything they can culture, or if it's something else, and not related to herpes. (Again, though, herpes outbreaks wouldn't last this long without changing.)

I know cost is an issue, but it's in your best interest (and that of any partners you may have) to get this checked. If they think it's herpes, than you can deal with the blood testing later. At least get it checked. They can diagnose warts visually.

[JJWilliam]

That makes sense.

I'll see about getting in for a visual check at a low-cost center and then go from there. I can always get the blood test later.

But to clarify--CAN they culture something that hasn't burst and is very, very small? And also over a month old now? My understanding was that the culture had to be done just after the blisters naturally popped (at which point they would normally be much bigger than they are right now).

Thanks again for all of your help and insight. I appreciate it.

[auntiejessi]

They can do a PCR swab on it, which is far more sensitive than a culture (though more expensive and not a lot of STD clinics do it) and they can try to culture it, though chances are good that they wouldn't be able to find herpes if there is no blister.

Again - this isn't likely to be herpes. :)

[Sleepy12345]

I was diagnosed by blood test. I had one small spot appear. No symptoms. No itching, tingling, not the typical blister, wasnt filled with fluid, no rash, didn’t hurt to touch, never scabbed over. First time I had this, I went to have it cultured. They didn’t get enough of a sample to test since there was no fluid that never came from it. Fast forward 9 months later, I had the exact same single spot again. I went in and it was confirmed this hsv2. I made sure they really dug in there and scrapped it pretty hard so they actually got a sample this time. So apparently my outbreaks are just one single place that doesn’t resemble herpes at all. Even two doctors said it wasn’t herpes. Well culture proved it was. My primary outbreak was exactly the same as the reoccurrent on. No pain either time. I could only see It with a magnifying mirror. The first episode the spot took almost a month to heal. It never changed appearance, just finally disappeared with no crusting or scabbing. The second time I got it (when I went and had it swabbed again to confirm) I started meds right away and this time it only took maybe 3 days to completely disappear verses a month like the first one. I even took antivirals the first time around and it still took that long to go away. So there are some of us who dont have any of the classic tell tel
Signs as outbreaks.

[ddhhss]

How long did it take for your blood test to be positive.

[Sleepy12345]

Over 4 months

[JJWilliam]

Thanks for commenting.

Not gonna lie, your comment kinda terrifies me, but I still appreciate you sharing your experience :)

At this point, I'm a few days over a month since the initial tiny pumps became visible (appearing over 3-5 days and then more or less staying the same ever since without any change).

I do plan on getting a blood test done after 16 weeks (though unless it's HSV-2 I'm not sure if it will do much good--I know I have HSV-1 in my mouth and would not know if it spread). But not sure if there's really anything TO do about it in the meantime. The pimples or blisters are very, very tiny and currently intact so I'm not sure if they can really BE cultured or if there's sufficient material available for a good test anyway...

[auntiejessi]

While it's possible for sure to get a mild first outbreak, the sores wouldn't remain unchanged for that long. Have you seen a doctor?

Obviously, we can't say if you have herpes or not, but these symptoms don't sound like it.

[JJWilliam]

Thanks for replying.

I, of course, realize you guys can't say for sure if I do or don't have herpes (in fact, I KNOW I have HSV-1, presumably in my mouth, from previous blood tests going back years, though I'm not sure if I've ever had an actual outbreak). But I'm dealing with some anxiety about this and I appreciate the thoughts of people that know more than me. Helps me not to fixate as much :)

To your question, I haven't seen a doctor yet.

My understanding was that the blood test for herpes isn't really accurate before 16 weeks and my last unprotected sexual encounter was only about 8 weeks ago. And I don't really have an open sore for them to culture at the moment.

As I will have to pay out of pocket, I was trying to avoid the expense of a visit if all they were gonna say was "we're not sure--come back in 8 weeks and we'll test you."

Do you think I should go in sooner? Is there something they could do at this point to diagnose considering I'm not presenting in the most typical way for a visual exam?

[auntiejessi]

I understand that paying out of pocket creates different difficulties. You don't have to take a blood test now, but in the case that this is something else - a wart, for example - you'll want to get it treated.

Is there an STD clinic near you? Most are free or low cost, and you can get the spots looked at. If you are comfortable letting us know where you are (and by all means, if you aren't, that's okay), we can help you find an STD clinic near you. If not (again - totally understand if you don't), try googling "STD clinic and your location", like "STD clinic Denver" or "STD clinic London" or whatever. If you are in the UK, they are called GUM clinics, so you might try searching for that instead of STD clinic.

[JJWilliam]

Hi.

Again, I appreciate your reply. Sorry I didn't get back sooner, for some reason my email did not inform me of this update.

As for my location, I'm in Portland, OR.

We do have several free on low-cost STD clinics in town, but all the ones I looked at seem to either not deal with Herpes or offer only a visual examination (and again, I'm just not sure how usefull that is under the circumstances as my symptoms seem to be non-typical with the cluster of blisters/pimples being very small, not bursting into sores and being quite difficult to see).

I would post a picture, but I had a post deleted previously for (I presume) linking to a picture of my penis and the bumps in question.

When I called my doctor's office about getting it tested they were talking about $400+ between the visit and testing which is more than I can afford for a non-emergency right now. And I'm still a little unclear if they even CAN test it if the blisters/pimples are still intact and have not burst into sores. Worst case scenario I'm envisioning is that I go in and spend $154 on the visit and then they just tell me that there's nothing they can test for right now.

So far, 7 days after my post my syptoms remain identicle. No better, no worse, no pain, maybe some SLIGHT sensitivity but I think that it just me being more aware of it and maybe the slight rise of the spots rubbinjg against my cloths.