Question:
Hi all, nice to meet you.

I'll keep it as simple as possible, so here goes:

I am male, and I had unprotected sex with a female I did not know well on June 9th. Right after that night, I came down with a cold (not flu) for several days and I am still a little sick (runny nose), although I have been feeling better. I also had a painful sore inside my mouth, but not on my lips or tongue; the sore has healed within the past few days.

Lately, I've been noticing a tingling sensation inside the tip of my penis, so naturally I am worried if it could be a mild outbreak of some sort or if it is an indicator that I have just received the herpes virus. The tingling has been going on for several days. Due to my paranoia, I have been paying careful attention everytime I urinate to see if it burns and I believe it to be burning slightly although it is hardly painful. I do not want to dismiss it as my imagination or a product of my paranoia, although it would be great if that was the case.

I am not showing any other symptoms such as bumps or blisters of any sort. Pretty much, it's a lot of tingling and very mild itching going on. Someone please give me their opinion on what this could be... I am planning to get tested ASAP, although from what I'm reading around on this forum I could get a negative result but still have the virus, since my body needs several weeks to produce anti-bodies which the test will pick up?

anyhow, I just want peace of mind... this was the only time i've had unprotected sex before, and surely it will be my last until marriage after this enormous scare I am currently going through. i would appreciate all opinions and thoughts about my symptoms and such.

thank you.

Answer:
Maybe you can have your doctor do the test where they scrape around your penis/uretha, just to make sure. They can also test you for other STDS (like Chlamydia and gonnorhea...both of which can cause itching and tingling, as well as discharge.) Rather than guess, go and get tested. And yes, this IS a very good (but very scary) learning experience for you...PRACTICE SAFE SEX. Believe me, I kick myself in the ass quite often for the one time I didn' t use a condom.

Good luck and let us know if everything goes ok.

Answer:
i've noticed two small bumps form inside my penis at the very tip, and my genitals are continuing to itch and tingle constantly.

im going to get tested tomorrow, but all doubt has been erased from my mind: i have contracted herpes. i've had almost every symptom i've read about associated with herpes happen now... the two bumps which will probably turn into sores, itching, tingling, muscle pain, not to mention i'm catching a cold almost every other day which means my immune system is shutting down.

so i guess that's that. this is something i'm going to have to live with for the rest of my life, so right now im depressed, sad and confused. not to mention, i'm overseas far away from home right now by myself, and will continue to be so for the next two months. i've been searching everywhere on the net to see and hope that these symptoms could be anything else other than herpes... but yeah, only herpes matches the bill 100%.

please, everyone pray that i stay strong through this ordeal. i know life will go on, but as of right now, my life has crashed into a ditch. i cannot go even a whole hour out of my day without re-evaluating my entire future from this point onward. and to my parents, i'm sorry. this is a heavy debt to pay, but it seems that it must be paid.

Answer:
yeah, when you know...YOU KNOW.....my first outbreak was nothing more than one single bump. Looked like an ingrown hair. But when I peed, it stung...I worked at Planned Parenthood long enough to KNOW something was amiss. I was right (one time I wish I WASN'T Right)

it is going to be tough. you will go through a myriad of emotions. Anger...(at yourself and the person who gave this to you) Depression, confusion....Please do not kick yourself in the ass forever over this. Give yourself one single solid good THUMP in the ass....then move on and work with this disease. There is a rough road ahead of you, and you need to be strong and healthy and take care of yourself. There ARE medicines to take too if the outbreaks are really bad. There are other ways to maintain the disease through diet and vitamins, and if you wish, suppressive meds. Keep clean, while in outbreak, shower twice a day, and be sure to cleanse your hands thoroughly any time you come into contact with the sores, to be sure not to spread it elsewhere.

not to be the forebearer of MORE bad news, but I would say in 6months, just for peace of mind, take an HIV test as well. I am sure you are fine, but it is just good to be triple cautious. I had to do the same (I ALWAYS did HIV tests anyway, but after I contracted herpes I was more zealous )

Like I said, you will go through the gamut of emotions right now, and will be angry at yourself.....but you can not let this ruin your life, or make you mean and vindictive because of it. (I have seen THAT happen too...guy I know caught this and now he is a mean person and I suspect he is not always honest with his partners because, in his eyes, ALL WOMEN ARE WHORES...oy vey!) You know we are all here for you to help out with any questions etc.

I will hope and pray for you that you are strong and stay healthy. Remember you are not alone AND you are on the right track by being honest with yourself and seeking knowledge :)

Answer:
Hi!

I'm in a foriegn country too. Dude two months is nothing, I'm here for a year. And just learned conclusively that I have herpes. I know becaue I suspected it a while ago while I was still back home but tested negative because I had such a herpes friendly diet that it kept the virus rather dorment. In the Asian country I have just moved to they eat a lot of sesame products and so I had my first real outbreak my second week here! Not very cool but at least I know for sure what's going on with my body now. There's no mistaking my symtoms and I've already been tested for things that are more serious. So although in discomfort I'm actually releived.

I agree it does nobody any good to get angry, especially since most people who have this don't even know they do.

It's good to know that there is some one else in a similar situation. I wish you all the best and a most outbreak free experience abroad.

Answer:
PS

If you do get tested and it's inconclusive but you still think you might have it and want to know for sure you can pretty much induce an outbreak in order to monitor you own symtoms by eating foods that aggrivate the virus. Try sesame seeds it worked for me.

Check out the food chart here;
http://www.globalherbalsupplies.com/...tion.htm#table

I kinda have to laugh about the date you might you might have contracted it Avatar ;o) 6/9

Answer:
Rhonda...that diet information was VERY VERY good...and holy crap!! I have been eating sunflower seeds (bad, I know...I didn't think it woudl be as bad as nuts though...) AND OATMEAL (who knew?!?) and I am having a humdinger of an outbreak!!! Sheesh, I am going to print this information out and put it on my fridge!!!

You know, when I use to follow a near atkins like diet...I NEVER had outbreaks. AND I EVEN ATE A BUTTLOAD OF NUTS!

Since I had my baby, I eat every damn thing in sight (while I was preggo I had morning sickness so bad, all I could eat was crackers and bread....so it kicked in my crab addiction. I have been on a 'carb bender' ever since!) So I am sure alot of this ties into my bad outbreaks now!!!


But that chart and this site is SO helpful. I am going to stop the seeds, the oatmeal...and most bread products...see what happens, eh? I already do the lysine, and this was my first outbreak in about 6 months...so....

Thank you for printing that. I appreciate it and I hope others on this board read it as well! :D