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Sexually Transmitted Diseases/herpes
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Question
Hi I am an 18 year old boy and just got done with my first year of college. I do not participate in to many high risk activities for stds, however I did have a condom break on me one time with a girl i do not know to well about 9 months ago. Since then I have had no problems, all though i know many people have herpes and do not know it. The last time i had sex was about a month and a half ago which was protected. I am writing because I recently developed some sort of rash on my genitals. The other day me and my friends were hangning out at a golf course where i am exposed to numerous bushes. I am extremely sensative to poison ivy and broke out with a rash on my face and neck about a day later. I am certain this is poison ivy. Since i am a normal 18 year old boy I am prone to touching, itching, and scratching my genitals for no particular reason numerous times a day. A day or two after I noticed the poison ivy on my face, I noticed that it had spread to my shoulder, tiny bit on my chest, and noticed the rash on my genitals. As for the rash on my genitals, it does not cause me pain, but it does itch a little bit, and there are two different sections that have it. One at the base of my penis and one under my penis, where it meets the testicles. Two spots that I itch a lot for no particular reason. These patchy red spots appear are somewhat widespread, about an inch and a half in length and a little bumpy, but do not have any visible blisters ulcers or anything like that. I am kind of a hypochondriac and so i know Im probably over reacting but i would just like to know how worried i should be about genital herpes or if it could juts be related to my poison ivy. Thanks
Hi John,
It sounds like you could have an itchy rash from poison ivy, or perhaps jock itch (from the athlete's foot fungus), or maybe even some bug bites. If it was from the poison ivy, you may have gotten some of the oil from the plants on your finger nails, and then spread it by scratching inadvertently. However anti-itch creams with hydrocortisone may make skin fungi worse, so if it doesn't go away, I would try either an antifungal cream (micatin, tinactin, lamisil), or an antiitch cream, such as calamine/caladryl lotion (the pink stuff). Other things can cause normal itching, so it is a good idea to get an accurate diagnosis, so that treatment will be most effective. One thing is certain, it absolutely does NOT sound like herpes.
Good luck!
--mark
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Mark Behar
Expertise
Almost any question or concern about sexually transmitted infections, abnormal Pap smears, anal cytology (anal "Pap smears"), gay men's health issues. There is no such thing as “d/d free” or “clean” (free of infection), so why do so many of us deceive ourselves into thinking that some people are indeed totally free from a potentially infectious disease, like HIV, herpes, hepatitis, syphilis, chlamydia, warts, gonorrhea, etc., just because they say so? Clinical laboratory tests are not perfect, and having a “negative” or “nonreactive” test does not mean that a person is free from infection. Perhaps at the moment the test was taken, the person was uninfected; or, perhaps, the test wasn’t sensitive enough to detect presence of the infection. There is really no way that anyone can determine that they are truly “disease free,” and there are over a hundred of infectious conditions that can be spread without your knowing anything. Rather than trying to “prescreen” or “serosort” a potential sex-mate with deceptive questions that are impossible to know by today’s technologies, a wiser option may be to consider everyone infected with something, and either use appropriate protective measures (“safer sex”), or accept the responsibility and conseqences of possibly “catching” something from someone who’s hotter than expected (pun intended!). There is much research that supports the contention that an HIV positive person reliably taking HIV medications, and having an undetectable viral load, presents a lower risk for transmission of HIV than people who may think or say they are HIV negative, but are not. Food for thought!
Experience
Family Practice PA since 1981;
Volunteer Clinician for Brady East STD (BESTD) Clinic, Milwaukee, since 1977; answer STD questions submitted to their web site.
Professionally lectured at national and regional Physician Assistant and Nurse Practitioner conferences, and at national gay & lesbian health conferences on topics including HIV/AIDS, herpes, hepatitis, STDs, human papilloma virus (the cause of venereal warts), abnormal Pap smears, gay and lesbian health issues, among others.
Organizations
Co-Founder, Lesbian, Bisexual, & Gay Physician Assistant Caucus of the American Academy of Physician Assistants, Inc.;
Wisconsin Academy of Physician Assistants;
American Society of Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (ASCCP); Board of Directors, National Association of Black and White Men Together: A Gay, Multiracial Organization for All People (NABWMT)
Publications
Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (JAPA)
Education/Credentials
Physician Assistant Certified, since 1982;
Masters in Physician Assistant Studies;
Colposcopy Recognition Award, American Society of Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (ASCCP);
Awards and Honors
Colposcopy Recognition Award (CRA), from the American Association of Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology;
Distinguished Fellow, American Academy of Physician Assistants;
Fellow, Wisconsin Academy of Physician Assistants
Past/Present Clients
Brady East STD Clinic, Milwaukee, WI
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