Urethral herpes? Please help.

[Borat1]

Hi all, I'm a mid 30s male that recently came down with some symptoms.  I've had a feeling I need to pee for the last three weeks and around two weeks ago I had a descent amount of stinging at the tip of my urethra.  I've never had any sores but just inside my urethra it was a bit red and irritated for a while.  I don't have any discharge and I feel perfectly healthy other than a soreness at the tip of my penis and a very mild burning sensation after urinating and sometimes in the middle of the night.  I've tested negative for GC and chlaymidia.  I'm waiting on the blood test results for herpes, but the concern over what is wrong is driving me nuts!  Any information on if this sounds like urethral herpes will be greatly appreciated.  Thank you for taking your time to help out.

[Borat1]

Update....

This rash is not herpes.  It is instead a very stubborn case of jock itch.  The little red spots eventually joined and formed a red rash around 2 inches long on my inner thigh between my scrotum and thigh.  I've been fighting it with anti-fungals, and have reduced the itching a good amount and it looks to be in recession.  Having never had an outbreak of jock itch, I have a feeling that I've had a few minor issues with it, as it would explain some of the burning and itching that I've felt over the last year.  It looks like the broad spectrum antibiotic, surgery and sweating on the couch in recovery finally gave the fungus the advantage it needed to get a good foothold.

The Western Blot HSV test was accurate and this is not herpes related.

Sorry to cry wolf, but after that false positive test, I was still pretty spooled up.

Thanks again all for the help and support.

Cheers,

Borat

[Borat1]

So,

I went in today.  It has been 4 days with this "rash" and I don't think it is a herpes outbreak.  The spots don't hurt at all, it itches a bunch and doesn't seem to be dug into the skin, rather has a red oval rash that varies in size.  I had asked to get a PCR swab done, but as I showed the area to my doc, he said there wasn't anything he could swab.  He's not a dermatologist or STD doc, but has seen and tested herpes sores and said there is usually a dug out ulcer that is wet enough to swab.  I've had no such thing, so....

My doc thinks jock itch.  I've never had it before, so I don't know how to compare, but the symptoms I've read online are pretty close.  I don't think herpes itches this much after the prodrome period so I tend to agree.  He gave me some anti fungal cream and a dose of fluconazole to see if that helps.

If no improvement after a 5 days, I'm going to try the steriod cream he gave me.  I hope it's not herpes, and with the result of a negative Western Blot I have to stop thinking herpes.

I'll post my final results when this thing resolves.  

[dex96]

See a dermatologist and ask him about a staph infection.  I am going through an "initial herpes scare" and had a bout of sores on buttocks, upper thighs and lower abdomen, some of them quite large (5-7mm).  Doc treated me for staph with doxycycline.  Sores were gone within a week.

[Borat1]

Petal,

Thank you for all of your replies.  Just to be clear, I hope you don't take the joke about the loony bin at the end of my post the wrong way.  I am a full supporter of using counseling...  and although I know you guys are here to help with more medical terms...

Grace, you and many others on medhelp have been counseling me for the last year.  Just being able to chat on this forum has been a big help and release.

Thanks again, and I hope you're right.  I'll check with dermatology and see how that goes.

Cheers,

Borat

[petal130]

JessyJames, clearly you play into some stigma that counseling means a "person doesn't have ground sense or a good head on their shoulders". Seeking counseling doesn't mean a person is crazy or nutty. It means they're dealing with something like anxiety, OCD, or say depression, as examples, which can happen to any of us at some point in our lives. It can be highly beneficial and any good clinician would recommend it.

Borat, you've posted for over a year on this topic, the whole entire time grace stating her constant doubt about herpes. Dr. H has told you even more firmly that it's NOT herpes (please, do post on his board again - perhaps his words will have more an effect!) Finally you have a DEFINITIVE test that says it's not herpes, and two days later you have symptoms that make you once again think you have herpes. There's a logic here, realize that.

Indeed, see your doctor if you have symptoms.  And perhaps post on the dermatology board, as in fact your issue is beyond herpes at this point.

[Borat1]

Jesse,

Thank you for your kind words.  I have to admit I was regretting writing this post, but when you look down at your genitals and see the first thing that truly looks like an outbreak, it's hard to just ignore it.

Petal,

I understand where you are coming from, but I'm not making this up, I have open red sores on my left inner thigh and on my scrotum.  I searched for a non HSV related cause, and heat rash is about as close as I can get, although it's a stretch.

I'm going to see my doc tomorrow, but was hoping to rule out HSV from the expertise that people like you and Grace provide on here.

I hope to report back a different cause for this outbreak after seeing my doc.

and then you can lock me up in the loony bin  :)