Possible wound infection / herpes outbreak?

[AmIParanoid]

Hello everyone.

I am 32M , and have not been diagnosed with herpes in the past.

I had a skin tag just below my anus, which I accidentally scratched off believe it or not. It left a pretty big open wound, that of course bled and was slightly painful.

I of course cleaned the wound and tried to keep it as clean as possible, but obviously with its location it was hard to keep it free from sweat / dry, especially with my job being very active.

After a day or so, I noticed several other spots / pimples appearing around it, which I eventually thought were blisters.

The picture is today, after a couple of days of continuing to clean it and keep it as dry as possible.

My question is do you believe this could be herpes? Or is it possible for these blister type things to form around an infected wound? It seems to be getting better now and no new blisters have appeared after the ones you see. The circled part is the initial wound.

Thank you for any advice

All the best

[xsevenx]

I suggest you see a health care professional. Don’t take any risks hoping it will all be ok.

[AmIParanoid in reply to xsevenx]

Hey thanks for your reply! I would but my job doesn’t allow me access to the health care professionals I would like to see so I just wanted to check here first as I know a lot of knowledgeable people are on these forums. I will definitely be seeing someone when my Job is over but until then I don’t have great resources sadly…

[xsevenx in reply to AmIParanoid]

Ok. I understand. Just get checked at some point. Soon.

Is it painful?

[AmIParanoid in reply to xsevenx]

Yes I fully intend to as soon as I can. My job requires a full intense medical with every aspect of my body / blood etc etc thoroughly checked so I will for sure find out when I can.

Only the initial wound seems to be painful, and there is slight tenderness in the area hence why I thought maybe it could be an infection of the wound instead of something else - there is no tingling / burning / itching like I’ve read a lot of herpes cases have.. which is why I’m questioning what the small pimple like things could be. They also seem to be clearing up more and more and I’ve read initial herpes outbreaks can last longer.. it’s just a bit confusing is all. Believe me I wish I could just go and be seen by a professional haha

[xsevenx]

Good you have little in the way of pain etc. That is reassuring.

[AmIParanoid]

yes I am very grateful for that as I’ve read herpes can be excruciating the first time - but other than the obvious pains that come with wounds there really isn’t much else. I’ve been having skin problems for the past year due to what I’ve been told could be hereditary psoriasis or eczema activation / triggering - my skin pretty much everywhere has become super sensitive to everything so maybe it could be something along those lines.

[saj01]

Hi It doesn't sound like herpes... If it was and being in that place... it would really hurt.

Begs the question as to why you would think you had herpes there? It could be something as simple as using a product that you're allergic to- like toilet wipes. I say that because I was using a particular brand and they made me sore.. so I've switched and no problem now. Or have you removed hair from that area?.. Try using something as simple as sudocrem from a pharmacy to see if it calms it down. It's a simple but effective antiseptic cream and as cheap.

Depending on your life style, if you think it could be related you could always make an appointment with a sexual health clinic..

Hope that helps to allay your fears. Take care.

[AmIParanoid in reply to saj01]

Hello thanks for your reply!

Yes I mean there is minimal pain if direct contact is made but only really to the original wound, there isn’t any other pain really.. no itching or burning like I’ve read there would be with herpes. The reason I thought herpes was because I have had unprotected sex in the past, and after the skin tag came off the other sores appeared so I feared the worse as I’ve never had a reaction like this before to any products I use.

But like you say there really is only minimal pain so maybe I am just being paranoid like the username suggests haha. I will of course get tested as soon as I can - I just thought maybe someone would’ve had a similar thing and could verify for me before I get tested.

Thank you!