does this sound like herpes? if no, what?

[dbb79]

I'm a sexually active, 30yr old male. I'm dealing with an issue I've had for about 3 years now. I plan to go back very soon to a doctor to get to the bottom of this, but I'm hoping for some input here.

Three years ago I had a one night stand with a girl. It's tough to say how soon after the sex I noticed, but a few days afterwards, I noticed an itch on my scrotum. The itch itself didn't go away. I went to a doctor, afraid that I had contracted herpes. He would not test me, as he said I was asymptomatic. He said it wasn't herpes.

Although there was no test, I was content with what he told me. I didn't know what the itch was, but at the time, I guess I didn't really care. I was just relieved it wasn't herpes, as he said. Since then, within the last three years, I've dated and slept with several girls. None have mentioned anything even remotely similar. That changed this summer.

I dated a girl this summer and we were sexually active. We ended things in August. In October she emails me saying that somehow she's contracted HSV2. She started dating someone very soon after we broke up, so that's a full two months for her to contract herpes from someone else.

With my itch fresh on my mind, I went to get tested immediately. I had an IgG test done. It came back and said I was negative for both HSV1 and HSV2. I was totally shocked. I was convinced that I was positive.

For quite awhile, I've been aware of where the itch is coming from. I notice that there are two very small scrape looking places on my scrotum... each with the size of maybe 1/4 a grain of rice. These scrapes do not go away. When my scrotum isn't relaxed, it's sometimes hard to spot, but I can spot it in the shower every single time. The itch is coming from those very spots. The spots have never been puss filled.

The itch itself... I notice it nearly everyday, but it's not a continuous itch. Sometimes I will wake up with the itch... or I'll notice it at other, random times.

Any thoughts?

[Terri Warren, RN, Adult Nurse Practitioner]

Yes, I do have three of those cases over a 30 years period, that I know of.  An itchy scrotum, however, by itself, doesn't worry me.  At some point you need to go with the likelihood, not the remote possibility, and start living.  If it is fungal, you need two to three weeks of persistent treatment, twice a day if you are using the creams.  We find some patients just have a hard time because they don't use the treatment regularly enough, or need a prescription instead of an over the counter medicine.

Terri

[dbb79]

Thanks for your reply.

The itch itself is in the center of my scrotum.

Since I've had this issue, I've tried both anti-fungal creams and spray. I know some fungi is stubborn, maybe I didn't try it long enough? Anyway, my main concern is that it's not some type of STD. I have been afraid to really even date anyone, because I didn't want to spread anything. I will go to the doctor soon.

You say "trust the test"... Are you familiar of any cases where an IgG test reported negative but turned out that the individual was and had been positive for some time?

[Terri Warren, RN, Adult Nurse Practitioner]

It could be a fungal infection, they are very common in men, and on the scrotum, especially where the leg meets the scrotum, where it is warm and sometimes moist.  Is this where it might be?  Have you tried any thing on this, like an antifungal cream or powder?  I would believe the herpes test.  Besides, herpes isn't there all the time, it comes and goes intermittently.


Terri