About a year ago, I had sex with a girl which had "been around" and midway through the act, the condom broke. I stopped there immediately. About 2 months later I broke out with some kind of rash only on the tip of my penis, on the glans. This also came with a urinary tract infection. To treat it I covered the head with a sort of triple antibiotic and drank lots of cranberry juice to stop the uti. Since then, it has occurred twice, once 4 months later, and again 6 months later, i.e. now. Just recently I started to shave my pubic area more closely and about 5 days or so later I came up with bumps in that area that may or may not be ingrown hairs or razor burn. I was wondering if shaving can provoke any kind of outbreak down there. As soon as these bumps came in, the rash on my penis, which i believe is balanitis, occured, along with a pimple or zit on my shaft. Now, the bumps, if I try to pop them they'll secrete blood, but the actual pimple on my penis will secrete pus if I pop it. Also, about a year ago, we got our hot tub here and I had never frequented using one so much before as i do now. I was wondering if symptoms for herpes could show up a year later, or my glans rash/infection had any relation to genital herpes, or if i'm just paranoid about all of this and my rash/infection is caused by the hut tub and my cleanliness, and the bumps in my pubic area are just ingrown hairs. Please, if anyone could help me out with their opinion, it'd help very much. I'm wondering if I should go to the doctor to get it checked out. I know this may read really dumb, but I'm a worrier, and if anyone could help, it'd be great. Thanks

Hi JJ,

I think if you're concerned enough that a year later you're still wondering, you should talk to a doctor about it and probably get tested. A type-specific blood test will tell you if you have either type of HSV (herpes simplex virus) but unfortunately it won't tell you where you have it. Since most of us have oral HSV-1 (cold sores), if you also have HSV-1 genitally a blood test won't tell you that but it still might be worthwhile to get the test done.

If you test positive for HSV-2 that's almost always found in the genital area, so it would be a good guess that that's what your symptoms are (at least some of them). If any of the symptoms come up (especially a wet pimple or blister) you should get a swab culture done ASAP, ideally in the first 24-48 hours. If that comes back positive for either type, then that's the best way to diagnose it. Just be aware that swabs very often return inaccurate negative results.

The symptoms that came up after shaving sound more like shaving-related problems more than herpes, but I can't tell from here of course and I'm not a doctor. Your doc or a dermatologist might have a better idea.

You should also talk to your doctor about the "balanitis" to find out if that's what it is. Herpes can be misdiagnosed for other conditions (and vice versa) that have similar symptoms, including rash, inflammation, irritation, burning, tingling or redness, not just the classic blisters.

Yes, it is possible for herpes to be dormant or asymptomatic for long periods of time (months or years). I'm not sure if herpes can be spread in a hot tub but you should probably avoid it when you're having symptoms until you find out what it is for sure.

Let us know what you find out.

TheOneInFour