small yellow scabs: herpes or just athletes foot?

[sc1234]

I’ve had on and off again athlete’s foot for over 10 years, mostly in between the two smallest toes on both feet. Just recently I developed what I hope is athlete’s foot between my big toe and the toe next to it. I can’t remember ever having it in that location or at least it’s been a while or it was a very mild case that I can’t recall. I felt it coming on about 10 days ago. I remember briefly looking at it two days after the itching began. I didn’t think much of it. It just looked red, like a mild case of athlete’s foot. It just itched. I didn’t see blisters of swelling at the time. I felt fine besides that. I’ve been busy and it has slipped my mind, until today. Today, it looked like athletes foot but it also looked like it had small crusty yellow scabs. I’ve looked online at pictures of athlete’s foot and I haven’t seen any that have yellow scabs quiet like mine which makes me worry of the possibility that it might be herpes. What adds to the worry is that just three week prior, I started using tinactin to treat athlete’s foot between my two small toes which it healed, but now I’ve developed what I hope it athletes foot between my big toe. I use it once a day before I put my socks on. I do recall wearing my socks a few times a couple of days in row because sometimes I work shifts with only a 7 o’clock turnaround. I would come home and want to shower but end up falling asleep with my socks on then wake up and go back to work and not take my socks off until I come back. I walk a lot at work too.
Does this sound like herpes or just athlete’s foot? It is possible to get herpes from a shower stall if you have athletes foot? I always use my own soap bar. It just worries me because some sites say yellow scabs are a symptom of herpes. Over the past ten years I do get occasional yellowish water type blisters around my feet, never clustered though, I guess its part of my athlete’s foot but they never look crusty.
I’ve tested negative for both hsv 1 and 2 igg 3 times between late December 2014 and late March 2015– it was twelve weeks apart. The reason I tested for herpes was because during a one month period, I was getting red dots on my penis that would never pop they would just settle back down after two or three days. I also had the red dots swabbed three days when it first happened. This was in late November 2014. Since then, my only sexual partner in the last 4 to 5 months has been my girlfriend. I have been her only sexual partner.
Because of the herpes scare 10 months ago along with an epilepsy and cancer scare three years ago I’ve developed a lot of anxiety and cleaning compulsions. There a few very playful dogs on the property I live on and sometimes when I go outside, they try to play and in the process lick my feet when I’m wearing sandals. This makes me clean my feet with alcohol. I know this sounds weird but I’m actively looking for professional help for my anxiety and compulsions. Could the alcohol be contributing to the problem? I only do this when it happens, which isn’t often, but I have done it a few times within the last three weeks.
I’ve taken pictures but I don’t see the attachment option anymore.

[Terri Warren]

I think this is clearly not herpes but rather more likely a fungal infection of the foot. Nothing about this sounds like herpes to me and you have tested negative by antibody test so that’s great, right?

Terri

[sc1234]

Thank you Terri for answering my question.

Yes I have. I tested negative for herpes 1 and 2 specific ab igg. The first time I tested I believe was on December 22, 2014 and then 3 months later on March 27 2015 — both times they were negative for both hsv1 and hsv2. Prior to that i had not had any type of sexual encounter in three years and I’m the only sexual partner my girlfriend has had.

I was just worried because the infection had some yellowish scabs but I guess it can be a fungal infection. Sometimes I think I was overdoing it with the Tinactin spray. Maybe it was also caused by the not changing my socks a few times for a couple of days or cleaning my feet with alcohol. When I first started getting it, it felt and itched a little, not too bad though. It felt like it would when I get athletes foot between my two small toes. I’m just going to keep my feet clean and dry and hope it’ll clear soon.

I know its a stretch, but two people I live with get an occasional cold sore, maybe once or twice a year, on their lip. They haven’t had one recently. Would having an active fungus infection or athletes foot and sharing a shower stall after someone has used it be a risk for acquiring herpes on my foot if they were to have a cold sore? or would the soap just kill the virus? I use my own soap bar and I’m always the last to shower because I get home late — an hour or two after the last person has showered. Its just that there is a lot of stuff on the internet about herpes living on a damp towel and such. I know they are more likely to get my fungus infection so I have been spraying lysol on the stall floor after I shower then throwing some water over it minutes after. I have anxiety about all infectious diseases — getting one or giving it to someone else.

[Terri Warren]

I think getting their herpes from using the same towel (do you really share towels with your housemates??) would not be a risk for getting herpes on your feet. Soap does kill the herpes virus, yes. Herpes is surrounded by a lipid layer and soap destroys lipids , that’s the job of soap, and so without an outside layer, the herpes virus dies. Have you had a clinician look at these yellow scabs? That might be a good idea, just to reassure yourself.

Terri

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