Question:
I've seen two doctors and neither one seem to think you can have genital herpes and not have blisters.

Anyway, here's my story.

I had unprotected sex several times with a woman I met a few months ago. We broke up around Thanksgiving and shortly after our last sexual episode, I noticed a slight reddening on the foreskin of my penis. I panicked and immediately believed it to be some sort of STD. I went to a doctor the next week and he said it wasn't any kind of STD and prescribed Ketoconazole cream for a bacterial infection. When I used it, the reddening seem to worsen. I stopped using it. Later, I noticed the reddening lessened but a couple weeks later, I noticed a very slight swelling of the foreskin near the head of the penis and some reddening than would come and go over the next several days. The foreskin near the head has a waxy appearance. I also have a very slight dull pain in my scrotum and discomfort in the bladder. I also feel fatigued even when I get plenty of sleep. Anyway, it's been 5 weeks that this has been going on. I did have some itching a couple weeks ago but that went away. The reddening is more noticed when the penis is erect. I saw another doctor last week and he noticed nothing unusual and said there is no way he can accurately test for herpes unless I have an outbreak. I noticed a small bump on my foreskin about 2 weeks ago, but it went away within 24 hours. The slight discomfort, reddening of foreskin when erect, waxy appearance of foreskin near the head of penis, and fatigue continue with no other symptoms. Like I said before, I have not had sex since Thanksgiving and it's now Jan 2. Do you think I've been infected with the herpes virus? I suspect the woman I was with had many sexual partners and she did complain of itching and fatigue as well. I really don't know what to make of all this.

Answer:
I hear you man. I never know what to think about what these doctors say. They seem to think that unless you break out in blisters, you don't have it, and everything is all good.

For me, it's been 2 weeks since I last had sex (with someone I assume had a lot of partners). I was all paranoid about STD's and was convinced that a small bump and redness/tenderness on the underside of the shaft was herpes. However, two doctors said that it's not herpes because there's only 1 bump and no other significant redness. The bump has since gone down, but I'm just confused now.

I can't say I've experienced any fatigue (other than stress from worrying), but have noticed some slight general tingling in the whole area, but I may just be paranoid.

In my unskilled opinion, I would say that you should get an antibody blood test. Even though I've heard conflicting info on the accuracy of these tests, it seems that that's the only thing that could shed some more light on the fact. As for the shiny-ness of the spot, I too have noticed some scaliness/shiny-ness of the area where my reddening is, but then again, I've never really inspected myself this much and don't really have anything to compare it to.

One question: Was the itching you described localized right on the spot where the reddening is? Or was it more general to the whole crotch region?[/img]

Answer:
It was pretty much localized where the redness was. Mainly the foreskin underneath the penis. I had some reddening this morning. Weird, it comes and goes. I'm going to schedule an appointment with a university clinic that specializes in STD's. Hopefully, I can talk to a doctor with a brain and who takes their job serious. The girl I used to date will no longer answer my phone calls. I told her I was going to see a doctor a month ago to see if I have herpes. She never tried to get back in touch with me. That alone proves to me she has it, because if she didn't, she would want to know if I had it. I think she should be arrested. She's spreading this stuff to others knowingly. She never once insisted that I use a condom. I blame myself more than anyone, though. I was so stupid to get involved with her and to have unprotected sex.

The more I read about the virus the less it bothers me. It's such a common virus, though it will definantly affect my sex life, but that's ok. I should focus more on establishing a loving and emotional bond with a woman rather than expecting sex on the first date.