herpes symptoms?

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someOne - 28 Jun 2003 22:17 GMT

About two weeks ago I noticed several small bumps on the shaft of my
penis. They are a little lighter than the surronding skin and are so
small you can barely see them. They do not itch or hurt.

I went to the doctor a couple of days ago and he thinks it is Herpes.
Possibly Oral Herpes on the Penis. He took my blood and said he is
going do a test to know for sure. He also took a swab from the penis
opening but nothing from the bumps themselves.

These do not look like any of the herpes pics I have seen. It also
seems that I have none of the symptoms of herpes that I have read
about. No tingling, no pain, no itch.

How long should a Herpes outbreak last?
If this is my initial outbreak will it last longer?
If these timy bumbs are herpes blisters how long should it take for
them to open?

Of course, I'm hoping the doctor is wrong and I'll know in 2 weeks.
If the bumps are still there when I go back it will be a total of 4
weeks. This seems a little long for herpes.
Should I rush out for a second opinion while the bumps are there?

Thanks

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mishaisacat - 29 Jun 2003 18:09 GMT

As many have said, doesn't sound like the herp, if for nothing else the
duration of the bumps without doing anything else.

TO ME it sounds like either warts, as others have suggested, which other
than themselves cause no other symptoms OR maybe just normal skin oddities
on the penis. If they are very small and flesh colored and do not grow, I
wouldn't sweat over them big time. Easy for me to say, they're not on me,
right! As you said, it's possible they've been there quite a while without
you noticing. I asked my girl-part doctor about little flesh colored bumps
on the shaft just beneath the head, and she said that was completely normal
and not to worry my man-friend about it (I didn't want to make him worry
about something he shouldn't, so I asked my doc about it when I was in for
something else; I am famously a hypochondriac and didn't want to cause him
unnecessary grief.) Do they feel like just a grain of sand under the skin?
Remember, I don't have a penis, so I'm no expert or co-owner.

Warts will usually get bigger, even if very slowly, I think, and they tend
to have a rough, scaly surface, if you can see them that well. Like
cauliflower, one doc described.

And yeah, watch out for those webpics. Ewww! They can be extreme.

~mishaisacat

> About two weeks ago I noticed several small bumps on the shaft of my
> penis. They are a little lighter than the surronding skin and are so
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> going do a test to know for sure. He also took a swab from the penis
> opening but nothing from the bumps themselves.

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someOne - 30 Jun 2003 23:29 GMT

It's been three days since I've seen the doctor and the bumps are
still there. From what I hear a herpes blister usually opens within 3
days and I've actually had them for at least 2 weeks.

They have not opened, do not itch, and are not painful.

I'm pretty confident these are not herpes.

My next appointment with the doctor is in 2 weeks but I'm gonna try to
get back this week - if the blood work comes back.

What if the blood work comes back positive?
That will mean I'm infected but it does not mean these bumps are
herpes. How do I know for sure what these are?
Should I get the doctor to bust one open (if possible) and take a
culture?

I don't know what test the doctor is runing. He did say he was
testing for herpes so I hope he will get the type.

>About two weeks ago I noticed several small bumps on the shaft of my
>penis. They are a little lighter than the surronding skin and are so
[quoted text clipped - 20 lines]
>
>Thanks

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M.L.S. - 01 Jul 2003 05:57 GMT

>It's been three days since I've seen the doctor and the bumps are
>still there. From what I hear a herpes blister usually opens within 3
>days and I've actually had them for at least 2 weeks.

>They have not opened, do not itch, and are not painful.

What size are they? Are they lumps under the skin or are they the
skin forming lumps? What I'm getting at, is it the outer layers of
the epidermis or something just below? I would class herpes as
tearing up the epidermis and not creating any kind of discombobulation
from below. But then I would put HPV, gential warts, in the same
class, but note that they can vary widely in appearance. I think the
HPV family is very large.

>I'm pretty confident these are not herpes.

That's my vote, and whatever it is probably isn't life threatening.

>My next appointment with the doctor is in 2 weeks but I'm gonna try to
>get back this week - if the blood work comes back.

I don't know that you'll get that much more info out of the same guy
so quickly, I mean, if he hasn't figured you out, by now. If he's not
going to charge you an extra visit, then sure, but if you have to pay
why not pay to get a second opinion.

>What if the blood work comes back positive?
>That will mean I'm infected but it does not mean these bumps are
>herpes. How do I know for sure what these are?

That's hard to say, unfortunately. You're right that a positive won't
tell you everything.

Do you know anything about the history of the partner from whom you
might have acquired something?

>Should I get the doctor to bust one open (if possible) and take a
>culture?

Cultures are only good for certain things, but like dedale said, maybe
just looking under a microscope will give clues. I'd ask about HPV,
too, or funguses, or other errant possibilities.

>I don't know what test the doctor is running. He did say he was
>testing for herpes so I hope he will get the type.

It's always difficult until you know. I hope it comes back negative
for you, though that will mean you'll still have to find out what it
is. Keep us posted.

Mike

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dedale - 01 Jul 2003 00:50 GMT

I had something like that, and I got the doc to take a biopsy so the
lab could put under the microscope. They identified it as eczema.
-Dedale

> About two weeks ago I noticed several small bumps on the shaft of my
> penis. They are a little lighter than the surronding skin and are so
[quoted text clipped - 20 lines]
>
> Thanks

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