Red patch on foreskin

[MDiamnot]

I have a red patch on my foreskin and just a bit of the rim of the head on the left side of my penis. No pain or itching. It is smooth/ red/pink. A bit more shiny than adjacent skin. No blisters or sores or discharge. Last Friday I masturbated in a hotel room using lotion. I do recall the lotion had a citrus scent and there was a very slight burning sensation from that or maybe alcohol in the lotion. Also, Saturday I rode the peloton for 30 minutes with boxers under my sweats. Typically I would wear softer, tighter fitting briefs for that exercise.

I only noticed the redness Monday or Tuesday, so I don’t know exactly when it started. The redness appeared to be reducing yesterday. Today it is quite red/pink again. Over the past couple days I’ve applied lotriman and hydrocortisone cream.

This is the first time I’ve noticed something like this on my penis. I do suffer from annal itching and an itchy dry patch of skin on the left side crease between my scrotum and thighs or years.  I’m 50, married, no history of genital issues.  

Any feedback is appreciated.

[auntiejessi]

Is there a reason you'd suspect herpes when you're married? You don't mention going outside of your marriage, or suspecting your spouse of doing so, so I'm wondering why you'd even suspect this as an STD.

That said, if it's just a patch, and not blistering, it's not likely to be herpes. It could be dermatitis, or an allergic reaction to the hotel lotion, which always is loaded with fragrances. It could easily be chafing from the shorts when you were on the Peloton.

The only way to know is to let a doctor see it. If you don't have any herpes risks, it's probably not herpes. I see from your previous posts that you already have hsv1, so even if your spouse gave you oral sex, and has hsv1, you can't get it again genitally.

[MDiamnot]

About 3 years ago I performed oral on another woman. A few days later I got a cold sore. Worse than I had in years. A few weeks after that another sore on the roof of my mouth. I have assumed that these were new HSV2. The only contact was oral. I was a bit concerned about whether I somehow pass this on to my genitals somehow - hand, towel, etc.

My wife and I do not perform oral on each other.

Sorry to have left out that detail. I was nervous that could lead to assumptions that I’ve engaged in other risk,  which I have not.

[MDiamnot]

To clarify, “the only contact was oral”, I performed oral on her for about 10-15 seconds. She only used her hand on me. No contact with her mouth or vagina

[auntiejessi]

Have you had another IgG test? That could easily tell you if you got hsv2 from the oral on the other woman.

The good news is that if you got oral hsv2, it rarely sheds, rarely recurs, and therefore, rarely transmits - to yourself or to anyone else.

Shedding rates - these are averages

HSV 2 genital 15-30% (55-110) of days evaluated

HSV 1 genital 3-5% (10-18) of days evaluated
  
HSV 1 oral 25% (91) of days evaluated

HSV 2 oral 1% (~4) of days evaluated

(We know that ghsv1 sheds about the same as oral hsv2 after 2 years - 1% of days.)

Also, oral hsv2 is pretty rare, and unless she had an outbreak at that time, it would be really unusual for you to get it on your mouth. Herpes doesn't typically go from the genitals to the mouth nearly as easily as it goes from the mouth to the genitals.

You can find out though by testing. LetsGetChecked.com offers the IgG and gives the index value. Or you could go straight to the WB, given your history with false positives. It could be possible that you'd always test with a false positive.

If you have insurance now, you could just let your doctor see it and see if they think it even looks like herpes.

Let me know what happens, whatever you decide. If they think it's herpes, you can get it cultured with a PCR swab - I'd insist on that. That would eliminate the need for blood testing.

[auntiejessi]

Oh the other thing is that you also would have antibodies for hsv2 by now if you got it 3 years ago. Those antibodies would protect you from getting it in another location.

[auntiejessi]

And 10-15 seconds of oral isn't likely at all to transmit anything.

[MDiamnot]

Thank you very much. I will look into testing. From what I’ve read, my symptoms don’t look like herpes. No lesions, no blisters, no fluid, no sores, no discomfort or itching or tingling, etc. Only red/pink patch without distinct border. Would you agree that this presentation doesn’t sound like herpes to you?

[auntiejessi]

Yes, I would absolutely agree that it doesn't sound like herpes, nor are you at any real risk for genital herpes.

I'd absolutely look for another cause. If it lingers, see your doctor.

Good luck!

[MDiamnot]

Thank you again!