Please help me, confused

[PleaseHelp2k22]

Hi Terri,

I hope you are doing well. I wanted to get some clarity about my ongoing confusion I have had ever since I tested a low positive in 2018. In 2018, I took a full panel STD test two months after I had an encounter with someone. We did not have an intercourse but she did sit on my private for a brief second or two. When I tested at a Quest Laboratory, I had a low positive of HSV2 1.12 IGG and negative HSV1 and my whole world shattered. I did contact you at that time, made an appointment and you told me that the chances of me being positive is very slim and I also ordered the WB kit from you. This was all after three months after the encounter I had, the same time I ordered a WB kit I retested another time with Labcorp IGG HSV2 and this time my results came back negative for both HSV1 and HSV2. Since I tested negative on my Labcorp I did not do the blood draw to send in the sample for testing with WB(maybe at the back of my mind I wanted to feel satisfied with the negative result). Since then, I’ve had only one partner who at the start of our relationship around the mid of 2019 took a full panel test and was negative on both HSV1 and HSV2. I also took another Labcorp test in 2019 too and I was tested negative for both HSV1 and HSV2.

But here is my problem, I frequently(once a month or once every two months) get a bump(never in cluster) on my scrotum for some time now, usually at the same place and I’ve noticed that I get that when I haven’t shaved down there in a while and I don’t remember getting one when I am shaved and I usually sweat a lot around my groin. It is mostly painful to press on them, being very impatient, when I pop them, I notice they have pus and I bleed when popped and once popped they heal in a couple of days and they never scab over. I was able to visit a dermatologist on one such occasion and he told me it doesn’t look like it is a blister from HSV2 and I’ve been prescribed an antibacterial solution which I use whenever I have this bump.

[PleaseHelp2k22]

(cont) I have never had this bump on my penis nor do they look like the HSV2 blister pictures that I have seen online. It’s more like a cyst or an acne rather than a blister from my limited medical expertise.

I decided to retest a month ago and at the time of testing I have not had any sexual encounters for over an year since my breakup and this time I received an equivocal test result of 0.92 IGG from Labcorp with a negative reflux supplemental test. With the frequent reoccurrence of my acne like bump on my scrotum once in a while this thing has tormented me mentally for a while now. I do not experience any other HSV2 symptom. I will be out of country for a while and I do not this taking another WB anytime soon is an option. Can you please advice on my situation. Many thanks.

[Terri Warren]

I really don’t think you need to worry about this bump. Herpes rarely recurs on the scrotum and your negative and equivocal IgG tests should reassure you that you don’t have HSV 2. Your 0.92 is just BARELY over the cutoff for negative – if it had been negative, I don’t believe you would once again be worrying and these numbers are simply arbitrary cutoffs.

Terri

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